doomsday. ( yellowjackets )

cinquante-huit.

xxx.

chapter cinquante-huit.
chapter fifty eight.

2021.

xxx.

" Hey, Lottie, you got a— " Alex interrupted herself as she came around the corner of the woman's office. She stopped in the doorway, her hand holding onto the side as she found Lottie sitting at her desk, holding a card between her fingers, her other hand clasped to her mouth. The look on her face was what Alex would call almost horrified, making the short haired woman's brows knit together. She cleared her throat to make her presence known as she called, " Hey, you okay? "

Lottie looked up, a surprised expression coming over her face when she met Alex's eyes. She quickly tried to wipe it off, replacing it with a small smile of welcoming, " Alex, yes, I'm alright. I was just reading today's gratitudes. "

" Gratitudes? " Alex repeated, taking her response as permission to enter. She walked in and observed the office, trying to see anything that screamed 'Lottie' to her, but it honestly looked more like a therapist's office than anything. Perhaps she modelled it to look like that since she spent quite a bit of time with a therapist when they were younger.

" They're cards, people write them to say what they're grateful for. " She lifted one as an example, " They're anonymous, but it's still good to give thanks to show appreciation. "

To give thanks, Alex echoed in her head, recalling a similar sentiment from their time in the Wilderness. She pushed it to the back of her mind and nodded regardlessly, walking closer to Lottie's desk, sitting on the edge of it. Alex glanced down at the desk, unable to read anything on it since they were upside down to her. She went to speak as she felt Lottie's analytical eyes on her, but she noticed the bandage wrapped around the other woman's hand, blood staining it.

Lottie must've seen her catch it, as they locked eyes a split second after that, but, much like when they'd both seen the strip of skin missing from Jackie's arm when Shauna had been confronted, they said nothing to each other. They simply locked it away, understanding that both of them knew exactly what that meant.

For Alex, it meant Lottie had tried to spill blood for It again. She had been acting oddly that day, but Alex wouldn't have guessed that it was because she was trying to sacrifice to It. She didn't seem like she'd been doing that routinely now, so what changed? The skittish look in her eyes told Alex that something had scared her into that, but she didn't have it in her to ask quite yet.

" I wanted to apologize, Lottie. For helping them send you away. " Alex instead said, clasping her hands together as she looked away from her, letting out a small breath. " It was wrong, I shouldn't have went along with it. The others thought you and Theo would both talk about what happened out there, I was outnumbered and I convinced myself it might've been the safest option for both of you. "

" It's okay, Alex— "

" No, it's not. I should've stuck up for the two of you. You didn't deserve that, and I'm sorry that it took this fucking long for someone to say it to you. " Alex insisted, shaking her head and finally meeting Lottie's eyes again. She reached out and sat her hand over one of Lottie's, hoping it would show at least a sliver of her sincerity. " We blamed you, let you both look crazy when-when really it was all of us. We weren't any better than either of you, if anything you might've been better than we were. I'm sorry, Lottie. I thought I was protecting you, but I failed you and Theo. "