AFTERMATH [until dawn]

Chapter Four

SAM

Samantha sat among the three couples, sipping a beer quietly while the others laughed and joked, perhaps a little nervously.

This time, she was definitely "seventh-wheeling". She had always been different from the girls in their little friend group—while Jessica, Emily and Ashley had some complex shit going on in their love lives, Sam had nothing. And she was fine with it. She enjoyed platonic relationships with everyone. It just made things so much simpler and manageable.

She never thought there would be a day like this, though. She used to be able to chat with Chris or Mike or... Josh about anything she wanted but now, with everyone paired up, the room was full of awkward sexual tension that made her feel uncomfortable. Even after last year, her friends were still the same horny teenagers who had gone up to the lodge to party like "porn stars", as Josh had said. Emily and Matt, Ashley and Chris, even sickly Jessica and Mike were snuggled together on the sofa, talking only to each other. After the awkward arrival of Emily and Matt, her friends had greeted each other and went back to talking amongst themselves.

I thought we were here for Beth, Hannah, and Josh. Sam thought bitterly. They're acting like this is just a normal, casual triple date... Like everything is fine.

Sam decided that she had seen enough.

"Okay, everyone, that's it." Sam said as she stood up. Everyone turned to look at her, and she momentarily panicked. Oh, shit, what was I going to say? "W-we. We decided to meet up today to honor—to remember the Washingtons. Our friends, remember? Hannah, Beth, and J-Josh?" Her voice was shaking. She took a deep breath and continued.

"I get it, we're all excited and happy that we have our girlfriends or boyfriends with us today, but can we please stop acting like the last two years didn't happen? We lost three of our friends. Why is everyone acting like nothing's wrong?" Sam knew she was borderline whining now, but she couldn't help it. Was nobody else in pain like she was? "I miss Josh. A lot. And I guess none of us thought about what we were going to do once we all reunited—but definitely not this. This—this useless fucking sitting around!" Sam flopped down onto her original seat on the sofa. Everyone was silent. She missed Josh so much. He was always the life of the party, with his bad jokes and weird pranks. Nothing felt the same without him.

"I'm sorry, Sam." Chris said quietly. She looked up. Their eyes met for a second, and Sam saw that, although he tried not to show it, he was hurting just as much as she was. Of course, Josh was his best friend too. "I-I...Yeah. You're right." Chris turned to face everyone else. "I know that none of us here are as charismatic or fun as Josh but." He took a deep breath. "We should honor him with our reunion. He tried to bring us all together. Josh wanted us to be good friends who did crazy pranks and had fun together. He tried his best a-and we should do that this year too. For him. And Hannah and Beth, too."

Sam smiled a gratefully at Chris. Jessica shifted uncomfortably in her seat, while Mike put his arm protectively around her. Ashley looked like she was on the verge of crying again. Matt sat there, still processing what Chris had said. Emily was the one who stood up decisively and addressed everyone.

"They're right," Emily said curtly. She nodded at Sam. "We met up here for a reason. Let's do more than just sit and talk about random shit that we can easily discuss at home. We've got to honor the Washingtons..." She glanced around the crowd, purposely avoiding Mike and Jessica. Emily reached out and grabbed a beer, opening it and holding it up.

"For them," she said. "Also, fuck Wendigos."

Mike, surprisingly, joined in immediately. He held up his beer.

"No more pranks," he said decisively. Emily gave him an appraising look, while the ghost of a smile tugged at the edge of her lips.

Matt silently stood up.

"We'll protect each other," Matt added, reaching around to put his arm around his girlfriend.

Jessica reached for Mike's hand and held up her water. She ended up standing next to Matt, who gave her a friendly smile. She smiled back.

"No dying, guys. We've got to stick together." Jessica grinned. "Also, like Em said, no Wendigos. Ever again." Sam thought about Josh, who was god-knows-where, probably scared out of his mind—even as a Wendigo, she still wanted him back here. Yes, Jessica. Sam thought sadly. All Wendigos except one.

Ashley glanced at Chris before standing up and joining the circle in the middle.

"This is cringey, but." She paused for a moment to think. "To... to no more fighting, no more grudges, no more conflicts." Emily laughed while Mike looked at her, surprised.

Sam and Chris watched their five friends in the center of the room. This is, like Ashley said, the cringiest thing ever, Sam thought with a smile. But it's so sweet.

Emily turned to face the two of them.

"What the fuck are you guys waiting for? I never do this sentimental shit... And my arms are getting tired." She waved her arms at the people surrounding her. "Come on."

Chris, shooting an amused glance at Sam, went and joined the group.

"Hm..." Chris thought for a while, then raised his glass as well. "To Josh, Hannah and Beth. To the Stranger guy who saved our lives. To—"

"To Wolfie," Mike suddenly cut in.

"Who?" asked Matt, with a confused expression. Mike just smiled.

"Nobody. Just...A friend." Mike smiled as Jessica glanced at him curiously.

"Alright, then, and... to Wolfie." Chris added with a shrug. He held Ashley's hand while his other hand raised his drink. Chris turned and gave Sam a reassuring smile. "Your turn, Samantha."

Sam slowly approached the group. She took a deep breath and raised her beer bottle.

"To Josh, Hannah, and Beth, again," Sam started. "But also... To the seven of us being here together tonight. We still have each other... and we're all fucking badass." She smiled and lifted her bottle to meet the others'.

The sharp clinking sound of the glasses echoed through the small room as the friends cheered. Through the night, Sam could still see the pain in her friends' eyes as they chatted, and she knew that they were never going to forget the tragedies that had unfolded at Blackwood or the friends they had lost. But she appreciated everyone coming out here to honor Josh. She wondered how he would feel if he could see them right now.

He would have been so happy, Sam thought. All he ever really wanted was for us to all get along and have fun together... She swirled her beer and stared at it, with a sad smile on her face. If only he was still here.