Love Restrained | Yellowjackets

chapter seventeen

XVII

Hayden slowly opened her eyes, her head throbbed with a dull ache, and the taste of awful booze lingered on her tongue. She blinked a few times, trying to clear her vision, everything was a little blurry.

She sat up slowly, feeling the stiffness in her muscles. She sat, looking around. Why did she sleep directly on the hard wooden cabin floor? She didn't remember.

Some flashbacks of the previous night were now coming to mind. The doomcoming. Travis and Natalie. The girls acting weird. Shauna holding a knife to Travis' neck. Her argument with Nat in the woods. Their kiss. Natalie. But she didn't recall getting back to the cabin.

As she sat up straight, another wave of dizziness hit her, and she caught sight of someone slumped in a chair in the corner of the room. It was Jackie. They were the only ones there.

Jackie was sitting there, unmoving, she had blank expression on her face, like she was completely lost in her own thoughts. Hayden cleared her throat to catch the girl's attention, but she didn't react.

"Um, where's everybody?" she asked her directly.

Jackie didn't bother to look at her. "I don't know." She told Hayden in a monotonous tone.

Hayden pushed herself to her feet. Her legs felt weak, and her head spun momentarily before she found her balance. She glanced back at Jackie in the chair, hoping for some sign of acknowledgment, but she remained motionless, unbothered.

She moved to the door and stepped outside, the bright morning sun making her squint. But there was no one in sight.

So she went around the cabin to see if maybe they were trying some new breakfast spot today. That was when she found Travis. Not exactly who she was looking for but at least it was something.

He was turned back, looking at the mirror, holding a cloth and pressing it against his neck. Memories of Shauna with a knife to his neck came to her.

Hayden noticed how it was probably hurting because of the way he was whimpering as he touched it.

She approached the boy, who still hadn't acknowledged her presence. "Hey, um, have you seen the others?" she asked.

He didn't respond. He continued to clean his neck, clearly frustrated that it was hurting.

"Are you alright?" She genuinely asked.

He finally turned to face her. "Why wouldn't I be?"

She frowned. Didn't he remember? "Well, last night-"

"I'm fine. No, actually, I'm better than fine." He sharply cut her off. It became obvious to her that he didn't want to talk about it. "I'm gonna go look for Javi."

That made her frown once more, "He's not here?" Hayden was starting to get worried with nobody being around.

Travis left without a word, clearly upset about what happened last night. Hayden wasn't his biggest fan but still, maybe he needed someone to talk to. However, Travis really didn't seem like he wanted to talk. So she just let him go.

Hayden was still watching Travis disappear through the woods when she heard her name being called.

"Hayden!"

She turned sharply, heart racing. Emerging from behind a cluster of trees was Natalie. Seeing the girl coming her ways made her feel a big relief. Natalie carried the rifle with her, just like she was about to go hunting.

Natalie approached her, and Hayden noticed how it seemed like she was going for a hug but hesitated, choosing to place a hand on her shoulder instead.

"Oh my God. Are you okay?" Nat analyzed her face.