[025] wish you were here!

                                            Suki's day usually went the same.

                                            She'd wake up, drink whatever remained of her alcohol before she got up, get ready for another day at the pottery shop she owned, drink in between, close up the shop after a long day at work, go to a bar and potentially pick up a new woman to sleep with, and then repeat. Suki never thought her life would turn out like this.

                                            But she knew it was a lot better than how she could've ended up.

                                            Opening up a pottery shop in a small town like Wiskayok wasn't exactly ideal. But surprisingly, it did fairly well. Maybe the fact that the owner was one of the Yellowjackets that survived the crash certainly helped. But the real reason that Suki opened a shop in the first place had been for her mom.

                                            Before her mom spiraled and ended up killing herself, she used to really love pottery. She couldn't make any of her own, of course, but she loved to collect all sorts of pieces. Whether it be bowls or cups or even vases. It made Suki grow to like them as she got older. After her mom died, her dad had thrown them all away - getting rid of any and everything that reminded him of Harriet Blair.

                                            Even if it meant ignoring his own daughter which carried the most of Harriet.

                                            So Suki had decided to learn pottery after coming back home, desperate to feel some sort of connection to her mom again. Even though Suki had come back home and she was free from the wilderness's clutches, she was utterly alone. Her dad treated her like she was a ghost and she was swarmed by paparazzi and reporters who didn't really care about her. Suki had never felt more alone in her entire life and pottery helped her when nothing else would. 

                                         And when she grew older, she'd open her own business. She did it all, despite the odds and lack of funds. But after a mysterious person managed to pay for all of Suki's expenses so she could acquire the shop, it was hers. 

                                            Suki had always assumed that it had been Taissa but she had never gotten confirmation. She didn't want to ask any questions and besides, Suki figured that it was just Taissa's way of keeping Suki quiet and complacent so she wouldn't do something reckless. Suki could understand that. Suki had nearly lost her mind during the time she had been in the wilderness and if she was being completely honest, she wasn't so sure she had all of the pieces even after so many years had passed.

                                            Drinking the last bit of whiskey in her bottle, Suki throws it away before she flips the open sign hanging by the door. And then she began creating, deciding to make a new vase to add. She grabbed the clay and sat down at her workspace before turning on the pottery wheel and starting. Suki was entirely at peace, molding the clay into her own design. She was so focused that she almost didn't hear the door swing open. But the faint sound of the ringing bell is enough to make Suki look back and seeing someone now walking inside of the store.

                                             Suki sighs as she turns the wheel off, abandoning her project to go and wash her hands free of clay. When she finished, she'd make her way outside and prepare to meet with her newest customer. She really hoped it wasn't that same annoying couple again. Suki wasn't drunk enough to be annoyed.

                                            "Welcome...," Suki trails off, realizing that she didn't even recognize the person standing there.

                                            She was a little taller than Suki with dark skin and short, curly black hair. She smiles over at Suki but it didn't reach her eyes. Something was up with her; Suki could sense it.

                                            "Jessica Roberts. I'm a reporter," she introduces herself.

                                            Suki raised a brow, wondering when it'd get to the interesting part.

                                            "Forgive my curiosity but... what's it like having only one eye?" Jessica then asks.

                                            "What's it like? Let's see. It's kind of like... seeing through both eyes. Except I can't because I only have one," Suki drawled.

                                            Jessica chuckles, quickly picking up on Suki's sarcasm. "Right. Well, I was hoping to speak with you for a moment about what happened during your time out there in the wilderness."

                                            "I don't want to talk about it. I've said that over and over to every reporter just like you. I don't know what you're all expecting to hear. We were out there for eighteen months, we scavenged and survived for as long as we could until the rescue team finally found us. End of fucking story," Suki shrugged, now walking behind the counter.

                                            "I get it. It was a traumatizing time, I'm sure. You and your team were out there for eighteen months. It's hard to believe a group of teenagers could survive for that long. But you did, miraculously," Jessica says, following behind Suki.

                                            Suki laughs. She'd hardly call it a miracle. She'd hardly call any of it a miracle.

                                            "I think there's a lot more to the story than what you're allowing others to think. Now's the time to speak. People just want to hear your story, that's all. But not from other people who think they know the truth. By an actual person who was there. Who saw it all. Why not give people the story they've been dying to hear and make some money off of it? Pottery can't be enough to get you by," Jessica remarked, her head canted to the side.

                                           "Why the fuck do you care?" Suki scoffed.

                                            "If you tell me the story, I can promise you a seven-figure book advance right now. We write it together; you get the fame and glory. The whole world will know the truth from your perspective. The true perspective," Jessica persisted.

                                            "Sounds tempting but I like my simple life with my pottery and my shop. And I'm not fucking interested in talking to you so you can give up now," Suki quickly shuts her down.

                                            "Why? Are you scared?" Jessica challenged.

                                            Suki chuckles again. "Scared of what?"

                                            "People thinking badly of you if you tell the truth. I can only imagine how hard it's been, given your mom's history and then the way she died -," Jessica began.

                                            "Don't," Suki warned her.

                                            "I can assure you that if you tell me everything, I promise to make you look good. You'll be more than a crazy woman's daughter. You can look like the hero," Jessica offered.

                                            "Get the fuck out of my shop," Suki says, pointing towards the front door.

                                            But Jessica barely flinches, pulling out a card for Suki to take. "There's my number, if you ever want to change your mind."

                                            Suki just looks at her and Jessica lowers the card onto the table instead.

                                            "I'll see myself out. It was nice talking to you," Jessica nods, turning around to walk away.

                                            "A pleasure," Suki responded dryly.

                                            Jessica pauses, turning back around. "One more thing. Are you still in touch with the others?"

                                            "Nope. I don't know what any of them are doing and I don't care to know. I'm living my life, just as they are living theirs. Now if you don't mind," Suki nods towards the door, hoping she'd finally get the hint and leave.

                                            Jessica nods, giving Suki one final look before she decided to leave. Suki takes a deep breath after that, trying her best to put the whole conversation behind her. But even while she tried to finish up the vase, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about Jessica. She certainly didn't act like the other reporters Suki had to deal with in the past. And how did she know about Suki's mom? Had she actually bothered to research her and the others?

                                            "Fuck," Suki curses, realizing she had been so busy in her thoughts that she'd end up messing up the vase. Some of it had fallen onto the ground, making a mess everywhere. "Ah, fuck me."

                                            She bends down to clean up her mess when suddenly, she sees a pair of feet in front of her. A long white dress was hovering a couple of inches above them and she was suddenly hit with the fragrance of dirt and pine. The faint noise of screaming could be heard in the background, but it's hard to tell if it was someone else's screams or her own.

                                            "You're not real. You're not real. You're not real," Suki says over and over again, closing her eye as she waited for it to go away.

                                            A shaky breath leaves her lips before she opens her eye again, finding that they disappeared. Suki sighs, going back to cleaning up the mess. When she finished, Suki instantly went to the back and found another bottle of whiskey for her to start drinking.

                                           After a long shift at work, Suki was more than happy to go home and drink. She didn't bother going to the bar like she usually did. Besides, she was tired and pretty shaken up after everything that had happened today. But as Suki went towards the front door, she noticed that she had a pile of mail waiting for her. She huffs before picking it up, unlocking the door and walking inside of her house.

                                          Most of it was just bills and spam, all of which Suki tossed to the side. But she'd pause when she saw a postcard. Wish you were here! was printed on the front of what appeared to be some sort of wilderness. Suki flips it over and her heart sinks when she sees the same symbol that had plagued her for nightmares years after she had come back home.

                                          Suki drops the postcard as though it were on fire, her hands now beginning to shake. She could feel her vision becoming blurred with tears and her legs grow weak, leaving her no other choice but to hold onto the wall beside her for support. Suki had been doing good for the past year. Well, as good as a borderline alcoholic with supposed mental issues could do. And now, all of a sudden, Suki could feel her little bit of progress go down the drain.

                                            First Jessica, then the vision, and now the postcard? Was it all connected somehow? Was she losing her mind all over again?

                                          Suki takes a deep breath before she pulls her phone out of her purse, allowing the other contents to spill out. But Suki didn't really care, only focused on dialing out one number in particular. She presses the phone up against her ear, waiting for the call to be answered.

                                         "Fucking come on already. I know you're not that busy," Suki murmured.

                                        "Suki?" Shauna answers after the fourth ring. "What do you want?"

                                         "I thought former PTA moms were supposed to be nice or something," Suki softly chuckled.

                                         "Did you call me to make fun or something?" Shauna inquired.

                                          "No, uh, I need to talk to you. Like seriously talk. Can we meet up tomorrow?" Suki clears her throat, deciding to go back to being serious.

                                          Shauna sighs. "Alright, fine. I guess I need to talk to you anyway."

                                          "You do?" Suki perked up, wondering if she had also been contacted by Jessica. Or maybe she had gotten the postcard too.

                                          "Yes. Listen, I have to go, but I'll talk to you tomorrow," Shauna replied.

                                           Before Suki could bother to respond, Shauna would hang up on her. Suki turns off her phone and slides down the wall, eventually sitting down on the ground with nothing but the silence to keep her company. Hugging her knees to her chest, Suki found herself struggling to come up with a logical explanation as to why any of this was happening. Or better yet, why it was all happening now.

                                            But whether or not she wanted to actually hear those answers or not, Suki wouldn't have a choice. The chances of having a normal and peaceful life were about to be null and void.

( 🌲🔪🦌 )

word count: 2078
notes: well now we know what suki's like as an adult. a bitter alcoholic who can't commit but runs a wonderful pottery shop. btw, who do you guys think paid for her to have the shop in the first place?

A ) courtney who's determined to take care of her gf no matter what

B ) lottie who's also determined to take care of her best friend and right hand man

C ) taissa and i'm just being overly dramatic and mysterious for no reason