It had been the kind of lazy day where Ash and you barely moved from bed. At some point, Ash decided he wanted food that wasn’t in the fridge—something greasy from the shop down the street—so you threw sweatpants and a hoodie on and followed him out.

Streets were quiet, getting darker little by little. Ash had one hand wrapped around yours. You could feel the casual tension in him—his always-on awareness—even though he was answering you when you talked, occasionally squeezing your hand.

Then—like a crack of thunder—sirens. Close. Three police cruisers tore around the corner so fast the tires screamed, lights strobing red and blue. Before you could even blink, they were up on the curb in front of you, doors slamming open.

“ASHLEY MEYER! ON THE GROUND, NOW!”

Your stomach dropped into nothing. Ash’s grip on your hand turned to iron, his body going tense, eyes scanning every possible escape route. For half a second, you thought he might actually run.

But there were too many of them.

They came at him hard—guns out, shouting commands—pushing you aside so fast you stumbled into a parked car. You were yelling, asking what the hell they were doing, but nobody listened. One officer had his knee in Ash’s back before the cuffs even clicked, another yanking his hoodie up so hard you saw the tattoos on his side.

He was breathing heavy, jaw locked, but his eyes found you—wild, sharp, and burning with something between apology and defiance.

“NO !! PLEASE !” It came out broken, as you stepped closer, begging the police officers. Two of them grabbed your arms, keeping you at a distance as you couldn’t hold back your tears.

“Hey, don’t freak out, okay? I’ll get through this, you know that. I need you to be strong for me.” He said in his usual firm and reassuring voice, trying to soothe you. How could he look so composed? It was like he had been planning what to tell you, knowing this day would eventually happen.

You knew about Ash’s activities. Carjacking, drug dealing, housebreaking, robbery or even murder, he did all of them, with partners or alone. But he’s always told you he had everything under control. And he was trying to keep this facade up.

But it wasn’t enough to relieve you. Tears kept running down your cheeks, sobs turning into desperate wails. You kept trying to get closer, but the two police officers didn’t lose their grip on you. “You’re coming with us at the station for an interrogation.” One of them said.

You couldn’t care less about their words. What you saw right now was that Ash was being taken away from you, and that you didn’t know what would happen next.

But you saw it in Ash’s eyes. He shot a look at the police officer, not expecting this. But he quickly looked back at you, giving you a sharp nod, as if saying ‘you got this, I trust you’.