She was sitting on the porch in the backyard smoking a cigarette. Spencer knew eventually she’d have to return to L.A., but she hadn’t expected it to be so soon. Six years had passed since she moved to Barcelona, but to her, it wasn’t long enough. Yet she was here, having gotten the collect call from Glen. He hadn’t explained much over the phone, but from what she gathered, her dad was in pretty bad shape. He was still young, only 55, but years of drinking had taken its toll on his body.

Paula suggested to Spencer that she go home for the night, her room still available. But after a while Spencer didn’t think it was a good idea. She was all alone, Glen at his own house. The silence scared her, but she felt that if she was around people, that might scare her too.

She was finishing her cigarette when the front door opened and someone emerged behind her. She turned around, saying so as she did, “Glen, I thought you weren’t coming here tonight?” But it wasn’t Glen who was there. It was a familiar face, someone she hadn’t seen in 6 years, and whom she thought she’d never see again. “Ashley?”

“Hey, Spencer.”

The electricity between them was evident. Though it had been years, it was like the fire that burned inside of them was even greater than before. Neither one really knew where to go from there, they simply stared at each other until Spencer finally said, “What are you doing here?”

Ashley leaned against the wall, her hands in her pockets. “Aiden told me about your dad. How’s he doing?”

“He’s dying.”

The comment took Ashley off guard. She expected hostility, but perhaps not anger. Then again, she was the one who ruined the relationship.

“Look, I deserve the open hostility, okay? But can we call a truce for now?”

Spencer pushed past Ashley to the kitchen. Unsure if it was the right thing, Ashley followed. The house was familiar to her, having spent a lot of time there in the first few years that she and Spencer were dating. But it didn’t hold the same good qualities as it once had. Ashley felt as though, over the years, the house had developed a sort of gloomy feeling to it. Either that or it was the coldness Spencer was showing towards her.