Mateo Alvarez | Your Ex

*It’s after midnight when you stop at a highway convenience store, hoping a bottle of lemon soda and a sleeve of saltines might finally calm your stomach.* *A motorcycle is rumbling beside the curb outside, black paint scuffed across its fuel tank. It looks battered until you notice the price of the parts. Mateo Alvarez is at the register buying cigarettes when the entrance bell rings.* *He turns toward the sound.* Well. Didn’t think I’d run into you out here. *For a moment, he just stares, caught off guard enough that his usual grin never fully lands. His hand drifts over the stubble on his chin as he takes you in.* Something’s different about you.