The Sound of Silence - Yellowjackets

10. Fast-Forward

It's been four days and we haven't spoken once since the kiss. The weather is slowly getting colder, especially at night. I wonder if she... "Stormer!" I look up and see Nat walking over to me with a huge shit-eating grin on her face.

"What?" I ask. "I just completed part one of my ten-step revenge plan on Travis." She says. I cock my brow. "What did you... wait, do I even want to know? You know what, don't tell me. Let's make it a surprise." I reply, thinking about it. She huffs.

"Fine. Oh! If Jackie comes asking around about me, tell her I said to go fuck yourself, okay?" She says. I nod. "Sure thing, Nat," I reply. She nods and walks off. "Hey, Andi? I need you to come take a look at something." Misty says, approaching my makeshift bed on the floor. I sigh.

No peace around here. Ever. "Alrighty," I say, defeated. I stand up and stretch. "What needs to be looked at?" I ask. She gestures for me to follow and leads me outside onto the porch where Van is seated on the top step. Misty kneels down beside her and examines her leg.

"I think it's good to go but I figured you should have a look," Misty tells me. I squat down and examine the red scar and Van's leg. "Have you tried putting pressure on it?" I ask. She nods. "It's still slightly painful, but it's a lot better than before." She tells.

I nod and stand up. "It looks good. You can start moving around without the crutches. Do not, and I repeat, do NOT overwork your leg. If you need a break, take one. Don't risk it. Also, avoid running or jogging. That will put unnecessary strain on it. Understood?" I tell her, my tone stern.

"Sir, yes, sir." She mumbles. I squat down again and get at eye level with her. "I'm not joking, Van. Do you understand?" I say, my voice even more stern and serious than before. "Yeah, I understand." She replies, nodding her head. I stand up.

"Perfect. I got shit to do so tell everyone to piss off, would you?" I tell Misty. She seems taken aback by my vulgar language but nods. "Okay." She replies. I head inside and grab a backpack. I put some water, some leftover venison, my lighter, and my cigarettes inside.

I also decided to pack a jacket in case the weather decides to get even colder. I sling the backpack over my shoulder and start my trek through the woods. After half an hour of walking, I finally arrive at my destination.

I sit down on the edge of the cliff and set my backpack down beside me. I sit there, smoking for a few minutes, when I hear rustling behind me. I turn to see the last person I expected. "Andi?"

***---^^^---***

2003

***---^^^---***

"Go fuck yourself, Greg!" I shout. Greg just shakes his head. "You're drunk. Go home, Andi." He tells me. I huff and stand up, stumbling a little. "This isn't finished." I slur. "Sure it isn't. I called Diana. She should be here any-" He is interrupted by the sound of the door bursting open.

Diana storms over to me, her brown hair in a neat ponytail. She slaps me across the face, hard. "We'll talk about this when we get in the car." She scolds me. I'm not a fucking child. She then looks over to Greg and gives him a sweet smile. "Thanks for the call, Greg." She tells him. "Any time, Diana." He nods.

Diana takes my arm and pulls me outside. She opens the passenger door to her car and shoves me inside. She hops in the driver's seat. "I can't leave my car," I tell her. She looks like she's about to slap me again. "Your car will be fine, Andi. You're way too drunk to drive." She tells me. I scoff.

After a moment, she slams her hands onto the steering wheel and places her forehead on it, sighing. I watch as the tears flow down her cheeks. "Diana..." I say, my voice soft. "No, you be quiet." She tells me, sobbing.

"You can't keep doing this to me, Andi." She continues. "Every time you leave the house, it's either to get drunk or gamble. Every time the phone rings I have to wonder if it's the police or the hospital calling to tell me you finally did something stupid enough to get yourself killed." She says.

"I'm sorry Diana. I'm so sorry." I tell her. I hang my head as tears flow down my cheeks. I look over and see the wedding ring I gave her resting on her finger. I look down at the one she gave me.

What are you doing, Andi? This beautiful woman is your wife and you've screwed it all up. Stop the pity party and pull yourself together. I'm about to speak when she interrupts me. The words that come out of her mouth next are about to change my life, little did I know.

"Andi, the IVF worked. I'm three weeks pregnant."

***---^^^---***

2006

***---^^^---***

"Here lays Penelope Stormer. Two years old." I read aloud. I stare at my daughter's grave. Tears roll down my face. Rain starts to drizzle. I take a deep breath and kiss my daughter's gravestone. "I'm sorry," I mutter.

It's my fault. I should have been faster. It's my fault my precious daughter is dead. I shift my gaze over to the car parked on the side of the road. Diana is sitting in the passenger seat, her eyes straight forward. Empty. I force my legs to move and walk away. I get into the driver's seat.

"Diana-" I begin but she stops me. "I can't, Andi. I just can't." She tells me as a few more tears roll down her cheeks. She refuses to look anywhere but forward. I put the car in drive and take off.

***---^^^---***

1996

***---^^^---***

I sit there, smoking for a few minutes, when I hear rustling behind me. I turn to see the last person I expected. "Andi?" Javi asks, looking at me confused. "Javi?" I ask, just as confused.

"How do you know about this place?" Javi asks, walking over and sitting beside me. "I... discovered it a while back during a... midnight jog," I reply, lying. He nods. "What about you? Also, why are you out here alone?" I ask. "I like adventures. Plus, I'm not technically alone, am I? As for how I found this place... it was during one of my adventures." He tells me. I smile.

"Okay, Javi. Would you-" I start but my voice is cut off. Seriously, why does this always happen? Am I not allowed even a moment to breathe? "Javi? What the hell are you doing out here!" I turn to see Travis and Shauna. Shauna... Travis is holding the rifle.

Probably out hunting. With Nat ready to stab his ass, it's no surprise he took Shauna out instead. "I-" Javi begins, the panic clear on his face. "Cool it, Travis. He was with me. We both wanted some fresh air so we walked here." I tell him. His face visibly becomes more calm.

"Whatever. You two still shouldn't be out here alone. I'll take Javi back to the cabin so he and I can have a little chat. You two carry on hunting." He says. I roll my eyes. "Sure thing," I tell him. He hands Shauna the gun and drags Javi away.

"So, I guess we should talk, huh?" I say as Shauna and I walk through the woods, searching for something to shoot. She remains silent. I can tell she has a lot on her mind and is carefully thinking about what to say.

"You know what, fuck it. Shauna, I want you to be my girlfriend, okay? I have feelings for you and considering we have kissed twice, I think you at least feel something for me. So, what do you say? Yes, or no?" I ask.

She seems taken aback by my boldness. "Yes." She says. "Good," I say. I lean in and our lips connect. It's slow and soft, but still passionate. Suddenly, I twig cracks behind us. I spin around a see a deer standing there, ten feet away. It just stares at us.

Shauna carefully lifts the gun, nice and slow as not to scare the deer. She aims and a loud boom fires. The deer drops to the ground, dead. "Hell yeah!" I shout. Shauna grins. We each lift up an end of the deer and start the trek back to the cabin in a comfortable silence...

So, what did ya'll think? I gave you a sneak peek of Andi's future. In the next chapter, I'll be focusing on Andi in the future. Get ready, it's gonna be a long, sad, happy, and wild ride. Also, thanks for three hundred views! When we reach a thousand, I'll release a special chapter!