[046] signs

                                                                 By the time that Suki arrived back home, she'd be stunned to find that Callie was there. She and Courtney were talking up a storm, the woman quickly catching Callie up on who she was and how she had known her mom. Suki had to give Courtney credit on one thing. She was acting totally normal - like she and Suki hadn't just murdered someone who was completely innocent. Courtney was truly a master at it.

                                                               "Aunt Suki!" Calllie excitedly exclaims, running over to Suki and hugging her.

                                                               She was a little surprised by the hug but she eventually hugs her back, patting her on the back. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

                                                                "I... didn't want to be home," Callie vaguely responds as she pulls away from Suki.

                                                                 "Why not?" Suki's brows furrow in confusion.

                                                                 "Her mom is kind of being a bitch. My mom was a massive bitch too, so I get it. I told her she could stay here and lay low for a while," Courtney explained before she takes another sip from her glass of wine.

                                                                "Court -," Suki began.

                                                                 "When I came here earlier, I was expecting to find you. But I'm pretty glad to have met Courtney when I did," Callie admits, not bothering to hide her admiration for the blonde millionaire. "You're seriously so cool, how come my mom never mentioned you?"

                                                                 "Mm, I don't think your mom would think of me as her best friend. Besides, I moved away right after we were rescued," Courtney vaguely explained.

                                                                 "So why'd you come back here? You never told me," Callie remarked.

                                                                  Suki quickly realized that Callie and Courtney had to have been talking for a while now.

                                                                  Courtney looks at Suki with a small smile. "For one person in particular."

                                                                  Callie looks between the both of them, quickly realizing what was going on. "Oh, so you two are a thing. Congratulations."

                                                                "We're high school sweethearts, I guess you can say," Courtney shrugged with a small smile.

                                                                "Like you and your boyfriend," Suki replied.

                                                                 Callie frowns at the mention of him, leaving Suki confused. 

                                                                 "Things are kinda stale between her and her boyfriend at the moment," Courtney added.

                                                                 "Oh, I'm sorry," Suki apologized, watching as Callie sat back down at the table with Courtney.

                                                                   She sighs, pouting as she rests her chin in the palm of her hands. "It's... whatever."

                                                                  "Don't get me wrong, Callie. I'm happy to see you and all. But I don't think it's such a good idea for you to be here. Shauna wouldn't like it," Suki remarked. The last thing she wanted to do was piss Shauna off.

                                                                 "I don't really care what my mom likes right now. I don't want to be around her," Callie admitted.

                                                                 "Come on. Suki. It's just for a night anyway," Courtney reasoned.

                                                                  Suki ultimately nods, deciding that she wouldn't be able to argue against Courtney and Callie. And the way Callie looked at her, Suki was reminded of the sweet little girl she remembered. She wanted to help out, even though there was a risk of pissing Shauna off. She had no idea what was going on between Callie and Shauna but she didn't think it'd be a good idea to intervene. She'd help Callie out this once and then she'd send her back.

                                                                Suki was sure that whatever Shauna did, it wasn't nearly as terrible as Callie thought it was and they'd get over it soon enough.

                                                                "You're the best, Aunt Suki!" Callie beamed.

                                                                 Suki smiles back at her.

                                                                 Courtney ended up buying takeout for them all again, even setting up a bed for Callie so she'd be comfortable. And when the night time rolled around, Courtney and Suki found themselves back in bed together. But while Courtney was cozy, Suki could hardly sleep.

                                                                "Why didn't you call me and tell me that Callie had come over?" Suki questioned.

                                                                "I got caught up with talking to her. She reminds me a little bit of Shauna actually. A lot like her actually. I only wonder if she's as crazy as -," Courtney began to say.

                                                                "Stop it. We need to be laying low right now, not allowing our friend's daughter to stay over after we just killed someone," Suki hissed.

                                                                "What do you mean? It's perfect. Now no one will suspect us of anything. Callie Sadecki's the perfect alibi. Besides... you don't think we'd make good babysitters? I think we did really well tonight," Courtney shrugged.

                                                                 Suki chuckles. "I guess so. If Shauna comes around here, you're going to have to deal with her."

                                                                "Gladly. I've been meaning to catch up with her too," Courtney replied with a grin. "I actually want to meet up with the others. Do you think they'd be happy to see me?"

                                                               "I think they'd actively try to kill you instead," Suki responded.

                                                                Courtney chuckles. "How exciting. It'd be just like old times."

                                                                Suki scoffs as Courtney kisses her on the forehead, finally turning off the light so they could sleep. But Suki couldn't fall asleep along with Courtney. She couldn't help but feel as though something was off, even if she couldn't quite place it. Suki finally decided to climb out of Courtney's grasp and the bed, making her way into the kitchen so she could get a glass of water. But as she opened the fridge, the pack of blueberries she had bought fell out of the fridge and it spilled everywhere.

                                                              "Shit," Suki curses, bending down to start and picking them all up. 

                                                               The kitchen was dimly lit, save for the light coming from the open fridge, but Suki was able to see well enough. However, she'd soon notice something that made her take pause. The blueberries gathered on the floor had made a shape, an all too familiar symbol which makes Suki's heart sink.

                                                              "Aunt Suki?"

                                                               Suki gasps before she looks up and sees Callie standing there, looking at the older woman confusedly. She then looks down at the blueberries, realizing that the symbol was gone. Suki forces a laugh from her lips as she continues to pick up the rest of the blueberries.

                                                             "I'm fine. I hope I didn't wake you up," Suki says, Callie beginning to bend down and help. "No, no, I made this mess. I got it. See? I'm already done."

                                                             "Oh," is all Callie says.

                                                             "Hey," Suki adds as she places the box of blueberries back onto the counter, "I... know it's probably not my place to tell you anything but... whatever's going on between you and your mom, it might seem terrible now but I'm sure you two are just going to... laugh about it later on."

                                                             "But it is terrible. She did something really fucked up," Callie replied, eyes widening when she reaized that she had cursed in front of her. "I'm sorry."

                                                             "I don't care. Besides, I cursed at your age so I'd be a hypocrite," Suki quickly dismissed.

                                                             Callie nods. "Well, she seriously fucked up and I just can't forgive her. I won't. I'd rather you were my mom instead."

                                                           "I don't think you would. In case you haven't heard, I'm a bit of a lunatic."

                                                           "You don't seem crazy. Just... misunderstood maybe. And lonely. But you're not really that lonely with Courtney around."

                                                           "No, not anymore. Ever since she's come around, things have been a lot more... interesting."

                                                            Callie chuckles bitterly. "I wish I could have that. Instead, I'm dealing with a boyfriend I can't stand and a psycho mom. It's not fair. I do everything possible to follow the rules and make her proud. But it's not enough. None of it feels like enough. It's just... empty. It feels like I'm doing all of this for nothing."

                                                            Suki pats Callie on the shoulder, trying her best to comfort her. Callie sends her an appreciative smile. "Things'll get better. I'm sure you'll find a way. You know, you remind me a lot of your mom when she was your age. She was going through something similar before... the crash."

                                                           "She was? You know... Mom never told me about what happened out there. What happened to you guys. I mean, I could only imagine what it was like. But -," Callie began to say.

                                                            Suki shakes her head, quick to cut Callie off. "It's better off if you don't know. It was an absolute nightmare, one we all managed to survive for some reason that I still can't figure out. Trust me when I say you'll be better off not knowing what happened out there. Have you ever considered that she's not telling you what happened to protect you?"

                                                             Not only would public perception of the survivors change but also, she was pretty convinced that their own family and friends would look at them differently for what they had done to survive. None of them could have that. And besides, Suki wished that she could've remained ignorant about the horrors which had been waiting for them in the Wilderness.

                                                           "No, I didn't really consider that," Callie shakes her head. 

                                                           "Hey, maybe it'll help if you talk about it," Suki offered. "What did your mom do that was so terrible anyway?"

                                                            Callie bit her lower lip, contemplating the choice before she sighed. Callie was tired of holding it all in and she needed someone to trust. And Suki was truly the only person she could think of. "She... she's been cheating on Dad with some younger guy. I caught them at the club together."

                                                           "Holy shit, are you serious?" Suki scoffs, completely shocked by the news. Although she knew she shouldn't have been, given Shauna's track record. "You caught them? I... Did you tell Jeff? I mean, your dad?"

                                                           "She basically threatened me not to. And I've been keeping this a secret ever since. It's been... eating away at me for so long. But now that I was finally able to talk to someone about it, I feel better," Callie confessed.

                                                           "Well, you can trust me. Your secret is safe with me. I won't tell anyone else. This can be between us," Suki assured her.

                                                            Callie looks over at Suki, happy to finally have someone to listen to her. She then pulls Suki in for another hug, keeping her close. Suki properly hugs her back this time and she feels a little better about herself. She was able to help Callie, even if it was doing something as simple as listening. Maybe Suki wasn't nearly as terrible with kids like she always assumed she was.

                                                            After she had managed to comfort Callie and help her go back to sleep, Suki made her way back to bed where Courtney was already up and seemingly waiting for her.

                                                          "You mean to tell me that Shauna's cheating on Jeff? I have to admire Shauna for how consistent she is," Courtney snorted.

                                                           Suki's eyes widen and she swats at Courtney's arm, saying, "Were you seriously eavesdropping on me?"

                                                          "I couldn't help it. I didn't think Shauna had it in her after so many years. But poor Callie, am I right?"

                                                          "You better not say anything to the others," Suki warned.

                                                            Courtney pouts, appearing as innocent as possible. "Me? Say something? I won't say a word to any of them. I mean, I might tease Shauna about it a little but I'm not going to spill the beans to anyone. You have my word on that."

                                                           "Go to sleep now," Suki responded.

                                                           "You better come over here first," Courtney remarked, ushering Suki over and holding out her arms so Suki could move closer.

                                                            Suki rolls her eye before she chuckles, moving towards Courtney and allowing her to wrap her arms around her again. This time, Suki was able to get herself comfortable and fall asleep. But she'd have more dreams of blood and death - seeing a head consumed by bright, orange flames just before she'd wake up the following morning.

(🌲🔪🦌)

word count: 2062
notes: not court and suki being weirdly wholesome for a little while. they're lowkey gonna end up adopting callie at some point lmao and callie won't mind. i hope you enjoyed this chapter and the next update will be up soon!