Chapter Five: Ride

Lucas adjusted the collar of the borrowed oversized button-down shirt and rolled the cuffs up a little higher. The scent of something sweet, intoxicating with somewhat musky and earthly undertone clung to the fabric.

Her scent.

He rubbed his temples and glanced toward the door. “I should go. Don’t want anyone thinking I disappeared.”

Selene, seated by the window with one leg tucked under her, didn’t move. Her amber eyes tracked him, slow and steady, like a wolf watching a deer who hadn’t noticed he was standing too close to the edge of a cliff.

“You’re not walking,” she said flatly.

Lucas looked over. “What?”

“I’m driving you home.” Her voice held neither a questioning tone, nor force. Just a simple truth.

He raised an eyebrow. “You’re not gonna ask?”

Selene stood, languid and unhurried. “If I ask, you’ll say no. And I’m not interested in arguments this early.”

Lucas opened his mouth, then shut it again. Something about her tone made him feel like arguing would be like stepping into a trap that was already closed around his foot.

“I can catch a cab—”

“You’re limping, half-bandaged, wearing my shirt, and you almost got jumped by street thugs last night.” She moved toward him, grabbing her coat off the back of the chair. “I’m not letting you walk anywhere.”

Her voice was quiet but firm, the finality of it making him exhale through his nose.

Lucas’s mouth twitched as he muttered. “You really don’t like asking for permission, do you?”

Selene paused at the door, pulling on her boots. “You looked half-dead yesterday and I’m not pretending that didn’t happen.”

Lucas followed her to the door.

The air outside was brisk. A bite of early autumn clung to the breeze, rustling her hair as she strode toward her car—a sleek black coupe parked perfectly between two faded yellow lines. No dust on the hood. The tires were spotless. The kind of car that said: don’t touch me unless you want to lose a finger.

Lucas slid into the passenger seat and leaned his head back against the rest, eyes half-lidded. The scent inside the car was just like the shirt. Familiar. Dangerous.

She started the engine. He noticed she didn’t fumble with the controls. Her hands were confident. Every movement measured, precise.

“Where do you live?” she asked.

Lucas blinked. “Grover and 18th.”

“I know,” she said.

His head turned slowly toward her. “You what?”

Selene didn’t glance his way. Her eyes stayed on the road ahead, her voice calm and unapologetic. “I knew long before last night.”

Lucas’s brow furrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’ve… been watching you. For a while.” She said it with no shame. “Not to harm you. To understand.”

“To understand what?”

“To know what you're like” she said, her voice quieter now. 

He leaned back in the seat, processing. “You knew where I lived this whole time?”

“Yes.”

“Jesus,” he muttered, rubbing his temple. “You don’t think that’s just a little messed up?”

“I think it’s smart and careful.” she said. 

Lucas narrowed his eyes. “You do realize that sounds more like a confession than comfort, right?”

Selene’s mouth curved just slightly. “You’re still alive. That’s comforting, isn’t it?”

He didn’t answer.

Silence stretched between them as the city crawled past outside the window. Early morning traffic was light. The streets were bathed in that silvery haze of half-light—too late for night, too early for day.

Lucas spoke first. “So… do you do this often?”

Selene didn’t glance at him. “Do what?”

“Pick up strays off the street?. Patched them up. Drive them home.”

“No,” she said simply.

He frowned. “Then why me?”

Her grip on the steering wheel tightened, knuckles whitening for a moment. “Because I wanted to.”

“That’s it?”

“I saw you once,” she said, eyes fixed ahead. “Outside the café. You looked right through me.”

He blinked. “I don’t remember—”

“I know.” Her voice dipped low, quiet. “You’ve been in my head since the moment I saw you. And when I saw you again... bleeding in that alley…” Her voice trailed off like she wasn’t sure if she should say the rest.

Lucas shifted, suddenly very aware of the heat in the car. “So you saved me because…”

Her gaze cut to him, amber and unreadable. “Because I wanted to keep you.”

Selene tilted her head.

“Too much?”

He swallowed. “No. Just… honest and not normal”

“I’m not normal,” she said. “You should’ve figured that out by now.”

When they reached his apartment complex, she pulled up to the curb without needing directions the entire way.

Lucas raised an eyebrow. “You know where I live and where I work. I’m starting to feel very stalked.”

Selene didn’t smile, but her eyes sparkled with something close to amusement. “You’re not scared.”

“I probably should be.”

She tilted her head. “Are you?”

Lucas hesitated, then slowly shook his head. “No. But I don’t get why.”

“Because you trust me,” she said plainly.

He looked at her long and hard. “Maybe.”

He opened the car door and stepped out, holding the bundle of his bloodied clothes. His legs still felt a little shaky. His shoulder throbbed. But he was breathing properly now.

He turned back and leaned into the window. “Thanks. For… y’know. Everything.”

“You’re welcome,” she said.

Lucas opened his mouth to say something else, paused, then smirked. “I’ll wash your shirt.”

“Keep it,” she said. “You make it look better than I do.”

He blinked at her. “That’s… possibly the most dangerous compliment I’ve ever gotten.”

“Good.”

Lucas stepped back, and walked toward the door of his building. Halfway there, he turned back. She was still watching him, engine running.

He raised his hand. “Hey.”

Selene leaned out the window slightly. “Yeah?”

“You gonna stalk me again, right?”

“Not if you invite me next time.”

He stared.

And for some reason, he smiled and walked away.

Selene sat in her car for a long moment, watching the door close behind him, lovestruck by his smile towards her.

Selene sat there a few seconds longer.

Then pulled away from the curb — her heart annoyingly louder than the engine.

She had no intention of letting him go, not anymore.