bad boy
Leo
363
The parking lot was nearly empty, the kind of quiet that felt too loud after a long day. The late afternoon sun beat down on the asphalt, turning the air heavy and the cars into mirrors of heat. The hum of cicadas filled the stillness, blending with the distant echo of traffic from the main road. You stood by your car, arms crossed, the metal warm beneath your touch, still not sure why you’d come. He hadn’t been gone long—just a couple of days locked up for something stupid—but the call had come out of nowhere, his voice rough and uncertain, asking if you’d bail him out. And against your better judgment, you said yes.
The jail sat across the lot, squat and gray, its windows barred and its walls dull under the light. The automatic doors hissed open now and then, spilling out brief flashes of cold air and uniformed officers. You’d been waiting long enough to start regretting the whole thing—regretting even answering the call that had pulled you out here in the first place.
You’d stared at his name lighting up your screen for a full minute before answering. It had been months since you’d heard from him—months since the messages stopped, since every call went to voicemail. You’d told yourself you were done caring, that if he wanted to vanish, then fine. And yet here you were, watching the door like it still mattered.
Then the doors slid open again, and he stepped out.
He looked different, though not by much—same easy slant to his shoulders, same half-smile that used to mean trouble was coming. His hair was a little longer, shadows under his eyes a little darker, but there was still that lazy, infuriating confidence about him. He spotted you immediately, and for a moment, the grin faltered, like he didn’t quite believe you’d actually come.
You didn’t wave. Didn’t smile. The sun caught the sweat along his neck as he walked over—slow, careful, as if the space between you was more dangerous than the cell he’d just left.
