powerless // f.w

Radio Silence

It had been nearly three hours since Declan and Cameron had left. No one had their numbers. Their trailer was gone. When they finally realized that Matt and Ross had their contact information and called them, there was no answer, and Declan had a full voice mailbox so they couldn't leave a message either.

"Why the hell would they just leave like that?" Finn paced around in Caleb's trailer.

Everyone was there, confused and uneasy: shifting, sitting, standing, pacing, calling, texting, waiting. Every five minutes or so someone new insisted on calling again. Every four minutes someone assured the group they were fine. Every three minutes Sadie went outside to see if they had come back yet. Every two minutes Finn asked another question. And every minute they grew more anxious and uncertain. Charlie and Natalia and Joe came by every once and awhile to check on them, trying to get them out of the trailer or focused on something else but they refused.

"If she came back and wanted to find us, this would be the first place she would check" Caleb insisted.

"It's weird that they took the trailer, right?" Sadie frowned.

"She didn't even ask him why" Noah mumbled.

"She just... left" Millie huffed.

"She'll call" Gaten insisted. "She may be stranger than the rest of us, but she still knows she has to"

Just as Gaten finished his sentence, there was a soft knock on the trailer door. Everyone jumped up.

"Just me" Natalia's small voice called out.

"Sheesh" Caleb huffed, "Were really on edge aren't we?"

Finn sighed and went to get the door. Natalia gave him a forced smile as she entered carefully.

"So..." Natalia said nervously, all anxious eyes and ears on her. "She called"

"Who?!" Finn asked quickly.

"The Duffers" Natalia replied calmly but quickly.

"I guess that makes sense" Millie shrugged.

"She's okay" Natalia said.

The group breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank god" Sadie sat down.

"And Cam?" Noah asked.

"Yeah he's fine too. They're all okay" Natalia nodded.

"So then what happened?" Finn asked as he got closer to her.

"We don't exactly... know..." Natalia replied sheepishly.

"What?" Gaten asked, thinking he must have heard wrong.

"She was in a rush and she wouldn't say. Just that her and Cam were fine, that she was sorry she had to leave, and that she probably wouldn't be back" Natalia delivered sadly.

"What the hell does that mean?!" Finn suddenly shouted.

"Finn!" Millie scolded.

"No! You don't get it!" He shouted back.

There was something in him that snapped. A crushing weight that gave in. He wanted to fall through the floor, melt away, scream at the top of his lungs because of course this had happened, of course she was gone without a trace. Nothing. Just empty and scarce of feeling. She hadn't cared enough to even say goodbye. To call.

After all, she had said he would come out of this hating her.

He didn't think she'd be so right.