BADLANDS

i walk the line

sorry this is 4 years late HAHAHA

"i keep my eyes wide open all the time."
8:30 AM

the first thing she hears are the sirens.

her hands are loosely curled around crumpled paper, a single glimmering needle dangling from her limp fingertips. the mattress is tattered and lying on the floor, sheets sprawled across her. a ray of iridescent light enfolds her idle body, a soft glare that presses into her with a vague sense of heat.

her lips are parted slightly, eyes fluttering- as if she was only sleeping. her head throbbed with an emptiness, like she just had a dream she couldn't remember.

nausea rises through her throat, body aching as she tries to sit up. her hair is matted to her face in clumps.

"ash," his distant voice surfaces, words echoing in her mind. there's a rush of movement and she feels hands around her wrists, lips against hers.

but she feels nothing.

her eyes are blank, fixated into space. "who are you?" she forces out, softly letting the words drop from agape lips.

"you're awake," the stranger breathes in as if he didn't hear, pulling her into his arms. her dizzy vision finally focuses, the image of the man becoming clear.

his eyes were rimmed and raw, hair unruly with stubble that crept up from his neck. his hands are coarse as they cup her face devoutly, the smell of ashes and cigarettes emitting from his skin.

"let go of me," ashley cries out suddenly, struggling to free herself from the man's grasp. the sudden release sends her to the floor, as she she tries to pull herself up in a dazed panic. in a rush, everything comes back to her. the pieces of the jagged puzzle pull themselves together jarringly.

the badlands. her final goodbye. waking up in the barren desert for the first time.

but even further than that.

the drunken fight, the pieces of the champagne lying on the floor, her empty stare fixated to the ceiling as the drugs lulled her into sleep.

two lives. two stories. one of real life and one of the unreal.

she runs a shaky hand through her hair, eyes lowered as she makes sense of it in her head. the badlands weren't just a hallucination- they were still a part of her memories. something she couldn't explain.

but she knows the man standing in front of her now. the same, dark glint in his eyes. the full lips. the clenched jaw.

she looks up at him, hesitantly.
"zack?"
-
"i admit that i'm a fool for you."

5 DAYS EARLIER

5:12 PM

"i'm leaving," ashley forces out flatly, cutting into the stiff silence. hazel eyes trained on the brown, peeling wall opposite him. her hair is knotted and frayed against the nape of her neck, teeth digging into her tongue as she bites down sharply.

the taste of blood fills her mouth.

she has a box of her stuff on their table, with only the essentials packed. all the money her boyfriend hadn't spent on drugs. her guitar. the few clothes she had.