[042] our little secret

                                                                 Courtney was panicking.

                                                                 She was afraid that she had officially fucked up now. Suki was going to leave her for good, and all because she couldn't control her temper. Her fingers ran along the bite mark Suki had left on her hand, the flesh still stinging from the pain. She was racking her mind for some sort of apology she could give Suki.

                                                              Courtney didn't even know where she was walking, her mind too distracted with thoughts to even realize that she was straying further and further away from the cabin. All that mattered was Suki.

                                                              "I promise I'll be a good girlfriend when I get back. I'll be perfect. I'll do whatever it takes for you to love me," Courtney murmured.

                                                               She was fine with the others hating her. But she couldn't lose Suki. Courtney was too attached to simply let her go. And Courtney wasn't going to let one fight be the reason for it all to come crashing down. But as she was thinking of all the different ways for her to make things up with Suki, she heard commotion a distance away.

                                                             Courtney hid behind a tree for a moment, listening for what the noise might be. When she realized that it was familiar voices, Courtney relaxed before she ventured closer and closer to the noise. She could see Misty and Crystal a short distance away, the two of them talking by the cliff. Courtney kept quiet, not wanting to alert either of them to her presence. She figured she could spook them and have a little laugh as a momentary distraction from her own issues.

                                                          But as Courtney moved closer, she could see that the conversation between the two best friends was far from friendly. Misty had gotten all in Crystal's face and she backed away, looking frightened of Misty. However, Crystal would ultimately lose her footing and fall off of the cliff with a terrified scream leaving her lips. Courtney rushes over to Misty's side, the two of them looking down and staying frozen for a moment.

                                                         Finally, Misty looks over at Courtney and acknowledges her with a stunned expression. "I - It's not what it looks like!"

                                                        "Really? Because what it looks like to me is that you killed your best friend," Courtney shrugged, her tone blunt as usual.

                                                        "She fell, I swear!" Misty exclaimed.

                                                          Even if it had been a horrific accident, Courtney knew that the group would turn on Misty. They already thought of her as a freak and a psychopath. And this would only solidify it. Out of her loyalty towards Misty, Courtney felt the need to look out for her. If she didn't, Misty could just as easily turn on Courtney and drag her down.

                                                        "Calm the fuck down, Misty. Calm down and explain to me what happened," Courtney remarked.

                                                        "We were just talking and having fun. Sharing secrets and whatever. But... I slipped up and told her about the black box," Misty reluctantly admitted, looking away from Courtney after all.

                                                        "Jesus Christ," Courtney huffed.

                                                        "I thought she'd understand or - or think of it as a joke. But she didn't. She was going to tell the others and I panicked! You're not gonna tell, are you?" Misty looked back up at her.

                                                      "Are you kidding me? Of course not. We're best friends, remember? This is going to be our little secret," Courtney replied, patting Misty on the shoulder. "We can still find a way to fix this and cover your tracks. No one has to find out."

                                                        Misty breathes a sigh of relief before she starts panicking all over again. "What do we say?"

                                                       "We all separated for a moment and we ended up losing Crystal. It'll prompt a search but, of course, they won't find her. She's with the Wilderness now," Courtney says as she looks back down the cliff, Crystal's body nowhere to be found. It was safe to assume that the snow was beginning to cover her up, hiding her in plain sight.

                                                       At least that's what Courtney hoped.

                                                     "Okay. Okay. She separated from us and got lost. Okay. What... are you doing out here?" Misty questioned, confused as to why Courtney had even ended up here in the first place.

                                                      Courtney frowns. "Doesn't matter. What matters is that we go back to the cabin and give the performance of a lifetime. Do you think you can do that for me?"

                                                       Misty meets Courtney's gaze for a moment before nodding, making Courtney smile.

                                                        "Good," Courtney responds, cupping Misty's face in her hands tenderly. 

                                                        Misty looked up at Courtney, glad to have made her best friend proud. But then Courtney moves forward and Misty falters, stumbling back as she realized that Courtney was beginning to move her towards the edge of the cliff. "Court? W - what are you doing?"

                                                         "If you fuck up again, it's going to be you joining Crystal. Do you understand me?" Courtney questioned.

                                                          Misty quickly nods. "I understand completely."

                                                          "Good. Let's not make this a habit. I have my own messes to deal with without cleaning up any of your own," Courtney replied, roughly letting go of Misty.

                                                           Misty manages to maintain her balance before she fell, swallowing hard as she looked behind her and down at the cliff once again. She then looked ahead and saw Courtney walking away, rushing over so she could go and join her.

( 🌲🔪🦌 )

                                                              "How long has she been hitting you for?" Natalie questioned.

                                                              "What?" Suki turns to look at Natalie, wondering if she had heard her right. There was no way Natalie just asked her that question.

                                                              "How long has Courtney been hitting you for?" Natalie repeated herself with a frown. "That couldn't have been the first time. She was already fucked up for poisoning you but to now abuse you in front of everyone -."

                                                              "You've got the wrong idea. T - this was the first time. She's never done that before, I swear. Besides, it was my fault. I bit her. She reacted. She was sorry," Suki reasoned.

                                                             "Suki -," Natalie began.

                                                             "It's the truth. You all saw it. She'd never hurt me. We were fighting and it all just went out control," Suki cut her off, desperate to try and convince Natalie. Because if she managed to convince Natalie of that, then she'd be able to convince herself as well.

                                                             "Maybe you're right. Maybe it was just one big old fight that blew out of proportion. Doesn't make it less fucked up. I mean, you two are toxic," Natalie argued.

                                                            "No offense but I don't think I should be asking you for relationship advice," Suki immediately retorted, the words leaving her lips faster than she could stop them.

                                                            Natalie flinches. It hurts more than an actual slap to the face.

                                                           "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for saying that. I shouldn't be taking this out on you. It's all my fault," Suki apologized, quickly realizing how fucked up it was for her to go after Natalie. She may have been wrong but she was only trying to help.

                                                          "No, it's not. And the sooner you realize that, the better off you'll be," Natalie responded.

                                                          Suki looks down at her hands, knowing she'd find some way to apologize to Courtney when she got back. But Suki wouldn't be allowed to dwell on that for much longer when she suddenly heard shouting coming from Misty.

                                                          "What the fuck, Lottie?!" Shauna exclaimed, shoving Lottie far away from her.

                                                           "What happened?" Taissa asked while Suki got up, rushing over to Lottie and helping her get back on her feet.

                                                           "She was whispering weird shit to my baby!" Shauna argued.

                                                           "I was just talking to him," Lottie reasoned, unable to see what she had done wrong. She only wanted to help. "It's good to talk to them in utero."

                                                           "Yeah, so they learn to recognize their mother's voice," Shauna retorted.

                                                          "I know it seems weird but it was all from a good place. Lottie just wanted to help, we all do," Suki encouraged.

                                                           "Suki's right. She wasn't hurting anyone, Shauna," Taissa sighed.

                                                           Shauna scoffs as she looks at Suki, quickly taking off the protection necklace and throwing it at her face. Suki narrowly manages to miss it, more upset that Shauna had taken it off than the fact that she had nearly attacked her with it.

                                                          "Shauna -," Taissa scowled.

                                                          "Wow... okay, fuck this," Shauna retorted before she stormed out of the cabin, letting her anger guide her.

                                                           Taissa frowned at Lottie, more in disapproval than anger, before she eventually went out to go and bring Shauna back. Suki held onto the necklace in one hand while holding Lottie's hand in the other, opting to comfort her as best she could.

                                                           It wouldn't be long after Shauna and Taissa left that two more people would come back. But it was Courtney and Misty out of all people. Suki felt a rush of emotions upon seeing her girlfriend all over again. But they'd all have to be put on hold since Misty had quite the tale to tell.

                                                           "Guys, something went horribly wrong with Crystal! Misty, tell them!" Courtney insisted, her features overcome with emotion.

                                                          "I lost Crystal, I lost her! We - we were together and then we got separated in the storm. I tried calling out for her but I ended up finding Courtney instead. If it wasn't for me running into Courtney out there, I probably wouldn't have been able to make it back," Misty sobbed.

                                                           "We need to find her, quickly!" Courtney insisted.

                                                           "Crystal's gone?" Suki questioned with a frown. She tried to sense Crystal but she didn't feel anything. She just felt... cold.

                                                           "Okay, well, we need to go look for her," Akilah remarked.

                                                           "Oh, shit. Tai and Shauna are still out there!" Van exclaimed, quickly realizing that they could potentially lose two more people if they didn't make a move.

                                                              Everyone rushed out of the cabin out of concern and fear, running out into the storm. They were immediately hit with harsh cold winds, the speed picking up dramatically. Suki struggled to hold her balance as she joined Lottie's side, looking out into the distance. She couldn't see much of anything, making her feel even more hopeless.

                                                             How were they going to find Taissa and Shauna if they couldn't even see where they were going?

                                                           "Tai! Shauna! Crystal!" the girls began to shout, desperate to try and call out to their friends in the hopes that they were close enough to hear.

                                                           "Van, what do you hear?" Lottie questioned, all of a sudden, as she closed her eyes.

                                                           "What the fuck does that have to do with anything?" Nat inquired.

                                                           Suki takes a deep breath before closing her eyes, trying to tune in to her surroundings. As much as she still had her reservations about the Wilderness, she hoped that this final sign would be enough to convince her to either believe in it or denounce it for good. If this didn't work, Suki would stay firm in her decision. But if it actually did, Suki wouldn't question it again. 

                                                           At first, all she could do was hear the wind howling in her ears. But eventually, she heard something else. She could hear the sound of snow crunching underneath boots. She could hear two sets of breathing. And then -

                                                            "I hear Taissa. I can hear Taissa's voice," Suki excitedly says, "She's with Shauna and they're on their way here."

                                                            "I can feel them," Van quickly agreed, looking equally as relieved and happy. "They're coming back to us."

                                                            "I feel our friends coming back to us," Suki remarked, opening her eyes and taking a deep breath.

                                                           Soon enough, she could see Taissa and Shauna now approaching the cabin. When they were close enough, they both fell to their feet out of both pain and exhaustion. They rushed out of the cabin and towards the two, helping them back inside of the cabin and rushing them out of the blistering cold.

                                                           Just as the two made their way inside, Shauna dropped to her knees once again. But this time, it'd be due to pain. Suki looked at her and quickly realized that something was horribly wrong. The pain was written all over her face. Not only was she breathing really fast but her face was turning red.

                                                         "Is she in labor?" Akilah questioned, pointing over at Shauna in concern.

                                                           Everyone immediately looked over at Shauna, watching with bated breath as she seemed to recover from the pain. The recovery period didn't last for long. A second wave of pain hit Shauna much harder than the first and she wailed in agony, clutching onto her stomach in a desperate attempt to stop the pain. It wouldn't, of course. It quickly grew evident that Shauna was in labor and they'd have to prepare Shauna to give birth right then and there.

                                                           Whether they were actually prepared or not.

( 🌲🔪🦌 )

word count: 2201
notes: the next chapter is definitely going to be a painful one to write so be prepared, guys. besties who cover up each other's crimes together, stay together!!