Duskwood - Afterstory

Chapter 8

[A/N: While writing this story, I realised that Hannah and Lilly's last name is Donfort, not Danford, but I'll stick to the latter now haha.

A/N 2: Since we have no idea what Jake's last name is, given his family history I took the liberty call him Danford as well.] 

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Chapter 8 

"But you and we got a little secret in our playbook

A little something that'll shake the game up."

('Laser Guns Up' - Simon Curtis)

*

It's bright when you open your eyes. Every part of you is in pain as you carefully move in the bed. You pull the blanket off yourself, slowly sitting up. Your back is aching, your ankle is just as bad as it has been. You reach for your phone, pressing the button on the side to unlock your lock screen check the time, then it clicks - your phone is smashed. But you spot Jake's phone on the bedside table, so you take the liberty to check the time on his device. It's one in the afternoon. 

You get out of bed, hissing as you feel sharp pain in your ankle. You walk out of the room, limping. 

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Lilly greets you, sitting next to the fireplace. Fire is burning in it peacefully, the cracking sound makes you feel like this whole thing is just a group vacation. 

"I've only slept for, like, three hours, Lilly," you smile at her. 

"Three?" Phil speaks now, his eyebrows raised in surprise. He does a quick counting on his fingers. "Make it twenty-seven." 

"What?" 

Lilly and Phil glance at each other, chuckling. 

"Well, you woke up a few times, but you barely noticed us," Lilly adds. "You just walked into the bathroom, then back into the room, and according to Jake, you just passed out." 

"Makes sense," you admit. You've been so exhausted and frankly, traumatised even, no wonder you've slept through an entire day. 

You look around. Cleo is wrapped in a blanket, sitting on one of the sofas next to the fireplace, Lilly is sitting on the other, her phone in her hand, probably browsing the web. Phil is on the couch, on his phone like Lilly, and you can hear Thomas, Jessy and Hannah talking in the kitchen. 

"Go eat something, I bet you're starving," Phil says to you. 

"Uh-huh... where is Jake?" 

"Outside, on the porch."

You walk into the kitchen, greeting Thomas, Jessy and Hannah. They give you a small smile, asking you how you feel, and you answer briefly. Honestly, the only person you want to talk to right now is Jake. So you grab a mug, fill it with warm coffee, then you get a bread roll and make a sandwich out of it. After that, you make your way out of the cabin, trying to put your coat on without ruining your sandwich. 

The freezing air feels like a slap against your face as you step outside. The mist is just as thick as it has been. You spot Jake sitting on the bench, his phone is his hands. 

"Hey," you greet him, sitting down next to him on the bench. 

"Oh, good morning. How are you feeling?" He sounds concerned, you assume that he's never stopped being worried about you, even though you've got back in one piece. 

"Well, I feel like someone threw a bus at me and then hit me with said bus, and then... yeah, I feel horrible." 

Jake chuckles, and you can't blame him, you really tried your hardest to make a joke out of your situation.