╰*:｡ # – 𝖜𝖆𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖉 𝖽𝖾𝖺𝖽 𝗈

ALEXA DEMIE as Maddy Perez in EUPHORIA | This Little Piggy

TRACKER 3.01 The Process JENSEN ACKLES as RUSSELL SHAW

there were few, very few, men who made her rethink her own actions. not that she had done anything to be ashamed of, but the man on the other side of the door? sure, she had been a pain in the ass, his ass, at times but it couldn't have been that bad since they had sparked a friendship and something more subtle under the surface. it was that tension that made her rethink opening the door. topher had some nerve to be coming to her office after everything. audacity was never something he seemed short of though. letting out a quick breath, she opened the door. with anyone else, eva would've at least bothered to place a smile on her face. he didn't deserve that benefit. a man whose name she should've forgotten, whose face she should've erased, who still made the nerves in her body confused. "oh, you are alive, still. wonderful." her tone was dry. eva tightened her grip on the door, tempted to shut it on his face. knowing it would give her a small satisfaction, but wouldn't get rid of her irritation. but maybe that was enough for now. her gaze scanned his figure, stopping at the items in his hands. damn it. eva took a step back, turning away from him. six months. six whole months and he thought he could simply walk back into her life. maybe everything she felt between them had only been on her side. but she wasn't that naive. "you... you have a lot of nerve" turning towards him. eva opened her mouth to speak, only to shut it before she cussed him out. "what do you want?"

his  expectations  on  their  reunion  were  low  —  not  an  open  arm  or  smile  in  sight,  and  he  deserved  it  and  more.  the  six  months  of  radio  silence  had  been  carried  by  his  storm  of  conflicted  feelings.  years  of  walking  the  line,  displaying  dazzling  smiles  for  the  sole  purpose  of  pulling  information,  evangeline  was  a  first.  she  had  the  radiant  confidence,  anvil  weighted  respect  amongst  those  she  worked  with,  and  just  enough  grace  to  complete  a  choir  of  angels.  the  line  between  work  and  emotional  attachment  had  been  blurred  and  he  couldn't  sort  the  maze  to  make  a  clear  path.  he  abandoned  her.  "  i'm  dead  on  the  inside  if  that  helps.  "  another  damn  joke.  teeth  sunk  into  the  inner  flesh  of  his  cheek  with  a  faint, blink and you'll miss it,  grimace.  foot  steps  were  slow,  careful,  maintaining  distance  but  visibly  active  to  the  conversation.  "  just  hear  me  out. please,  eva.  "  topher's  plea  was  brushed  with  a  feathered  tone  yet  the  natural  roughness  within  his  cords  gave  a  gravel  effect.  he  placed  the  bottle  on  the  nearest  surface,  her  bag  still  in  his  hold  as  soft  guilted  eyes  found  her  own.  "  i  didn't  mean  to  hurt  you.  i'm sorry  [  .  .  .  ]  "

the calm before the storm , she had told herself many times , in fact . though , with them walking together as a ' family ' , considering their somewhat messy ending , marjorie had figured that taking their daughter on a family vacation would be nice , right ? that there wasn't any complete awkwardness between the two , that mom & dad were perfectly fine , despite everything that happened between . chuckling soft at his words as a sunhat was occupying her head , the instant crashing of waves along the cruise ship , it was like she was calmed down , in a sense . " i remember them offering to carry the bags for us , but you said no , " she huffs out , eyes playfully rolling as she keeps her eyes on their five year old , showing off a smile on her features , as if to tell her that everything's going to be okay , because it was . they're on a cruise , what could go wrong ? the suite was perfect - the way that the balcony opened up a world of new opportunities for them , the way that this cruise was going to be one for the books , special , in the sense of making it a great experience for their daughter . watching as he anchors himself with the nearest surface , another laugh leaves her lips at his words , shaking her head . " in the corner is fine , " she hums , nonetheless , merely playing along to whatever he was doing , acting as if he were a hotel concierge , but on a cruise ship . " i can't wait to relax . . & take this hat off , " musing , soon paying mind to their daughter as she manages to shrug off the backpack , placing it on the table . " & get her to a nap , hopefully . "

   he  savored  the  relief  he  felt  when  she  returned  the  mirrored  tune.  silently  admiring  how  she  kept  the  normality  of  their  situation  afloat  and  kept  a  steady  face  for  their  daughter.  “  hey  —  you’re  right,  i  might’ve  have  put  my  own  foot  in  my  mouth  with  that  one.  “  the  volume  towards  the  end  of  his  sentence  had  tied  with  a  joke  and  topped  off  with  a  fanned  laugh  that  displayed  teeth.  gaze  flickered  between  their  child  and  his  ex  —  the  word  still  tasted  sour,  an  aftertaste  that  he  took  with  silent  grace  ever  since  his  tongue  became  marinated  with  it.  the  scale  was  unbalanced,  things  left  unsaid  —  feelings  shelved.  topher  spin  on  the  heel  of  his  sneaker  to  slip  each  bag  starting  from  his  hands  then  to  his  shoulders  in  the  nearest  corner  per  her  request.  with  the  excess  weight  lifted  he  adjusted  his  poster  to  be  arrow  straight  as  he  listened  facing  her  general  direction.  “  whew  -  you  and  me  both.  “  something  they  finally  agreed  on.  a  hand  reached  for  the  brim  of  his  baseball  cap  to  pull  it  off  his  head  now  that  they  were  inside,  fingers  raked  through  strands  of  brown  then  tossing  the  cap  over  a  random  section  on  the  couch.  eyes  landed  over  to  their  daughter  when  he  noted  the  incoming  hug  from  his  peripheral  ;  actions  mirrored  her  mother’s  words.  “  and  just  like  that.  “  lips  were  spread  from  warm  fondness,  for  both  his  daughter  and  mother.  the  safety  net  that  he  relied  on  with  every  ounce  of  feeling.  topher’s  frame  lowered  while  he  extended  an  arm  to  carry  her,  the  tiny  head  rested  on  his  shoulder  on  his  shoulder  gave  the  hue  of  emerald  a  shimmer.  “  i’ll  get  her  settled.  “  he  offered,  tone  velvet  to  sooth  the  tired  five  year  old  but  was  in  depth  with  care,  “  i’ll  be  back,  just  kick  your  feet  up.  you  deserve  this.  “

Stay or block me, that's your choice, but this is where I stand.

JESSICA ALBA photographed by Carlos Jaramillo for Vogue Latinoamérica (2025)

𝙅𝙐𝙇𝙄𝙀𝙏’𝙎 𝙁𝙀𝙀𝙏 𝘼𝙍𝙀 𝙐𝙋 on the dash, one ankle crossed over the other as she lets out a heavy, overdramatic sigh. another welcome to sign flies by, and she doesn’t even bother reading the town’s name. they’d been on the road for over three days and whatever place topher was dragging her to was still two days away- which felt like a punishment she didn’t deserve. her father and her new, annoyingly hot bodyguard had explained to her several times that taking a plane to get to the safe house was too risky, something about a paper trail they didn’t want to risk having. despite her protests, the decision was made and now she was stuck in a car with a man she barely knew. she turns her head towards him, sunglasses slipping down the bridge of her nose just enough to peer over the top. she’s about to ask what hotel they’re planning on staying at tonight when something outside his window catches her eye. ❝oh! stop the car! ❞ she blurts out a little too loudly, the brakes screaming in protest as the car jerks to a halt. the femme lurches forward, bracing a hand on the window before finally putting her feet back on the floorboard. she doesn’t realize that the sudden demand had put the driver on high alert until he looks at her and juliet only blinks at him, then calmly points out the window and to the billboard she saw. ❝…that place sells homemade apple pie,❞ she bites her lip, feeling a little guilty for making him worry. yet… ❝can we go? i’m starving.❞

   the  hypnotic  hum  of  the  engine  and  endless  road  had  gave  him  tunnel  vision  —  a  singular  point  had  anchored  his  mind  and  body  under  one  directive.  to  escort  and  protect  his  boss’s  daughter  as  if  the  bodyguard’s  life  was  held  in  a  death  grip  with  sharpened  talons.  he’s  seen  more  than  the  average  contract  would  hold  and  one  mistake  would  ensue  in  a  nail  in  his  coffin.  maybe  it  was  the  nerves  overriding  his  senses  —  they  were  being  worked  to  its  limit  from  the  femme  in  the  passenger  seat  and  the  constant  link  in  communication  to  check  in  on  her  status.  a  peal  of  humor  or  grin  had  yet  to  grace  the  stone  surface  of  his  new  face,  deadly  focus  with  sharpened  edges  of  alertness  that  worked  tandem  with  reflexes.  senses  went  into  a  cold  shock  at  the  exclaim,  boot  pivoted  to  press  to  break  with  a  steer  to  the  side,  the  screech  and  the  inertia  of  the  halt  sent  him  leaning  forward  then  adjusted  his  posture.  “  what  is  it?!  “  topher  observed  the  scene  in  the  review  mirrors,  tone  was  spiked  with  a  zealous  nature  to  find  what  caused  them  to  stop.  alarmed  hues  of  bottle  green  gawked  at  her  as  if  he  was  hanging  on  a  ledge,  only  to  be  met  with  calm  after  her  protest.  albeit  he  was  aggravated  by  the  sudden  volume  .  .  .  he  couldn’t  turn  down  pie.  and  found  it  was  kind  cute.  his  tongue  darted  to  add  moisture  to  his  lips  before  silently  taking  his  foot  off  the  break.  checking  the  road  before  attempting  a  u-turn  in  juliet’s  favor.  “  it’s  insanely  quiet  in  here,  you  could’ve  just  tapped  me  on  the  shoulder  or  somethin’.  “  the  suggestion  rolled  with  polite  instruction.  gaze  flickered  over  to  her,  the  back  seat  of  empty  snack  wrappers,  then  back  to  the  road.  “  how  long  ago  we  were  out?  “  topher  felt  the  knock  of  hunger  being  conjured  now  that  it  was  the  centered topic.  “  we  gotta  be  in  and  out.  i  mean  it.  the  second  you  get  that  last  piece  of pie in  your  mouth  — we’re  gone.  “

up until now there hadn't been a hitch since paisley had moved temporarily to topher's farm. it was far enough away from the city that she felt truly safe again, and if for any reason the distance alone wasn't enough for that, the man who was always by her side could help her get there. but her manager had asked if she could come back in town today for a meeting, and while she was initially hesitant to follow through with this, the guilt trip they put on her ultimately helped the femme make up her mind. it was a quiet room in a private cafe, but topher was still there with her just in case the worst were to happen - and before long that unfortunately unfolded. paisley did somehow end up missing most of it, generally hearing a lot of shouting and her bodyguard pulling her out of the back exist. she followed him silently as he pulled her swiftly through the alley before ultimately making it back the car, the blonde not aware just how tight she was squeezing onto his hand until he helped her into the vehicle. sitting in the backseat, her heart was racing as she looked up at the man with appreciation. she wanted to tell him thank you, but the dryness of her mouth was preventing her from formulating any words. it was like he seemed to understand that what was trying though, the gentle pat on the top of her head letting her know she didn't need to say anything because he knew.

this is a free pack.

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