Love Restrained | Yellowjackets

chapter twelve

XII

It has been three days since the expedition started and they still haven't found anything useful. The moon was out and they were all gathered around the fire, listening to Van tell a story

And although everything was peaceful, Hayden still hadn't been able to take her head off Natalie and what Taissa said about giving her a chance. So now she was once again trying to push all of that away by listening to Van's story time.

"So, get this, after Bill Pullman falls in love with Sandy, his fucking brothers wakes up." Van proceeded with the story as the girls listened closely.

"It's a whole-ass mess. I mean, this dude actually thinks that Sandy is his fiancé, but she's not, so just..."

Hayden leaned in, trying to absorb herself in Van's story, hoping it would distract her from the turmoil inside her.

A distant howling pierced the night air, sharp and eerie. Van stopped and the group fell silent, every head snapping up in unison, eyes wide with alertness. The sound was far away, but it carried an unsettling note that sent a shiver down their spine.

"We'll be fine. Wolves are scared of humans." Taissa reassured the girls, masking her own fear. "Besides, it doesn't sound like they're very close." She continued but nobody seemed convinced. "We can take turns keeping watch, just to be extra safe, but I really don't think we have anything to worry about."

They all exchanged glances. Unconvinced.

"You know who does need to worry?" Van asked, creating a suspense in the air, "Our girl Sandy." She said going back to the story and making them all giggle. "Because she does not know this man, and he's never seen her before. He is like 'who is this girl?" and his doctor is like 'well, you must have amnesia because you don't remember your wife-to-be."

.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.

Natalie was up for another day of hunting with Travis, and if she was being honest, spending time with him wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. She just didn't know if he was nice for real or if he just wanted to get with her.

"So, Nat, I think we could go the other way this time." Travis suggested. "You know, maybe we can catch something there?"

"Yeah, that sounds good." She agreed.

As they headed the opposite direction as usual to explore a new part of the woods, Travis and Natalie engaged in a conversation.

Once again, Natalie couldn't stop but compare. Travis was more talkative, always trying to fill the silence with conversation. Natalie appreciated his efforts, but it was hard not to feel the difference. Hayden only talked if it was to say something annoying, her unique purpose was to annoy Natalie. Why the hell did it feel like she missed that?

Travis' voice broke through her thoughts again. "So, you ever thought about playing professional soccer?"

She shrugged, "I don't know if I'm good enough for that."

Travis glanced over her, "You are amazing." He said with a smile on his face.

"You've never seen me play." Nat furrowed her brows.

"I don't need to. I just know you're good." He insisted, "But I'd really enjoy seeing you handle the ball one day."

Natalie looked away, "Well, what about you? Ever thought what would you do after school?" She changed the subject to him, feeling a little shy.

"My dad wanted me to go to Law School."

"But what do you want?"

He sighed, "If I'm being honest... I don't have a fucking clue."