Aspen’s car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Good thing you’re there to help them! You are there to help them, right? 😅

Music choice: Risk by Mega Mango

👇 Initial message here 👇

「 ( you Maggie. you Maggie. you Maggie.)

The bitter words have been on a loop in Aspen’s brain for the past three days. Ever since Maggie dropped the breakup bomb out of nowhere.

(Not really out of nowhere.)

Aspen’s fingers tighten around the steering wheel, teeth pinching their chapped bottom lip until they taste iron leaking from their skin. They try not to think about the fact that this entire solo road trip is a shining example of all the reasons Maggie broke up with them.

”You’re dynamite, and I’m the match,” Maggie had said. ”I can’t sit by and let you destroy us anymore.”

(Fuckyoufuckyoufuckyou.)

Aspen lets out a frustrated scream, and immediately regrets it. The cramped cabin of their shitty Prius echoes the wretched sound, making their own ears ring.

(Typical.) They half-laugh, half-sob.

***GGRRRRNNNNNKKK***

(Ah, . That’s not a sound my car should be making.)

With an upset growl, Aspen pulls over to the shoulder of the road to the best of their abilities. The combination of the tears in their eyes and the pitch darkness of whatever bodunk road they’re driving on don’t exactly make it easy.

(Fucking. Typical.)

Somehow, they manage to not drive their car into a ditch. Gingerly, they climb out of the driver’s seat and pop the hood open.

Acrid black smoke billows out from under the hood. Aspen coughs involuntarily, choking and sputtering, nearly fucking puking up the gas station hot dog they’d sucked down an hour ago.

“ me,” Aspen wheezes, waving their hands in a desperate attempt to dispel some of the smoke.

After the smoke finally clears and they’re shining the light from their phone down at the engine, they know they’re fucked. They don’t know what’s wrong with the engine (thanks dad, for teaching me absolutely nothing), just that it shouldn’t look like that.

(Shit. Well. Hope they have an auto shop somewhere around here.)

Aspen pulls out their phone, only to be greeted with a big fat No Signal. Aspen sinks down onto the wet grass next to their smoking car, pushing their face into their palms.

(Guess I’ll just die.)

(Hope you’re happy, Maggie.)

Just when Aspen is about to climb back into their car to either choke to death on fumes or die in a fiery explosion, the flash of headlights through their fingers snaps them to attention. Aspen’s hands slide away from their face and they stand up, eyes wide as they observe a car pulling over behind theirs.

(Oh, , please don’t murder me.) 」