𝙼𝚊𝚡 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛-𝙱𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚖.

Chapter 27

You struggle with your words before Max speaks up, tears forming in his eyes.
"They're still over there! We need to drive back and get help!"
David's eyes widen.
"We'll take the bus! Let's go!"
He takes Max's hand and begins to run for the driveway. You try to follow, but-
"Oww—"
You fall to your knees as a sudden shot of pain runs up your leg. Gwen sprints up to you and helps you up.
"I need to—"
"No no, Y/n. You're hurt. You're gonna have to sit this one out. Let's take you to your tent."
And just like that, she had picked you up and began to walk.
Jesus Christ, how could she pick you up that easily?!
"Gwen, I'm fine..it's only the bus—"
"No you're not. Besides, I'd rather not have you go on another vehicle."
"But Max is—"
"Shush it, Y/n. He's tough. He'll be fine. You're clearly not fine."

Okay..

~~~

Gwen continues to walk until she reaches your tent - where she enters and places you on your bed.
"Now wait here. I'm gonna go get some bandages."
And just like that, she was gone.

.
.
.

Hmm.
What now?
Would Max be alright?
Yeah.
Maybe.
Hopefully.

I can't take this.

Sitting up and wincing at the tiny shot of pain, you look around your tent for any source of entertainment.

Aha.
Bag.

You reach over the side of your bed and unzip the top pocket of your bag, hoping something could be there.
Just my phone.
Wait, I have my phone?!
I've had my phone the whole time and I didn't even remember I had it?!
Jesus Christ.

Swiftly, you shove the phone in your jean's pocket and mentally slap yourself for not doing so sooner.

There wouldn't be service, so you'd have to keep it for later.

You continue to search through your bag when you find your sketchbook and a slightly blunt pencil.

Ooh, fun.

Making an effort to grab the two items, You satisfyingly place your sketchbook in your lap and begin to look through your drawings.

Wolf.
Trees.
Another wolf.
Cat.
Bird.
Realistic bird.
Max.
Bird—
Wait, Max?

You hesitate to flip the page over as you stare at the odd drawing.
Was this the drawing you had drawn that night in your tent?

Maybe you had caught feelings for him sooner than you thought.
Unconsciously, you pick up the pencil and begin squiggling tiny hearts around the small portrait as you sigh.

I hope he's alright.

Suddenly, Gwen opens the entrance to the tent and you quickly flip the page over to make sure Gwen didn't see your portrait.
"The medicine cabinet was filled with Campbell's old bull crap. What kind of person leaves money inside of a medicine cabinet? Jesus."

She catches your distraught glare and flashes a look at your sketchbook.
"Whatcha got there?" She said, giving you a sort of knowing half-smile that someone would only give if they thought someone was hiding something.
You knew that she saw you quickly flip the page over, so you struggled to find an excuse.
"It's..my sketchbook."
She sighs happily under her breath.
"Yes, I know that's a sketchbook. What was the drawing?"
UhH—
"..Why do you want to see it?"
"Because you're trying to hide it."

Who knew a grown woman could be so..nosy?

You don't reply.

"You signed up for art camp, Y/n. You came here for this type of stuff. Sooner or later you're gonna have to show everyone your drawings, whether you like it or not."

That's not what I'm worried about. Lay off.

Once again, you can't find the right words.

Gwen sighs.

"Whatever. Just..stay still, okay? I'm gonna put a bandage on your leg."

Finally, you sigh with relief and place the sketchbook on the far side of the bed.

"..Okay."

She walks up to the bed, bandage in hand. Examining your wound, her eyes widen.
"Jesus Christ, Y/n. How badly did you crash the car?"
"I don't remember much. All I remember is someone yelling 'tree', and then everything went black."
She kneels down and carefully unwraps the bandage.
"..You're lucky you didn't die out there. I was really worried."
You give her a concerned look.
"You? Worried? About..me?"
Suddenly, she begins to softly chuckle.
"Not because I was scared for you, but because of all of the paperwork I have to get through because of a dead kid."
You tense up and Gwen catches your glare.
And then she begins to laugh. A sort of laugh that begins with a snort and then continues with a soft chuckle.
"I'm just kidding, kid. Chill out. I was worried for all of you. For real."
"That wasn't a very funny joke."
"I was never the comedic type."
OWW!—
"Hey! That hurts! B-Be careful!"
You jolt upwards and see Gwen attempting to apply the bandage to your leg.
"You're gonna have to tough this one out, kiddo. You really messed up your leg."
You breathe in through your teeth as she continues to wrap your leg with the bandage. As much as you despised the pain, you wanted to tough it out for Gwen. It would probably make it easier for her if you did.

After a while, Gwen is still wrapping your leg with the bandage.

The tent seemed to be enveloped in silence.
It was like there was nothing to say.
Well, that's what you thought until Gwen looked up at you.
"If I'm being honest, that was probably one of the most elaborate escape plans any of you kids have pulled in all of my time working here."
You smile slightly at her remark. She does the same, but eventually..her smile fades.
"..But that doesn't mean you're off the hook, you know."
Your smile dissipates as she looks down at your leg once again.
"Once your little gang is back, it's not gonna be all fine and dandy. You still have to understand what you did wrong, and for that you'll have to be punished."
You gulp.
"I'm not sure what the punishment will be, but even if it's a crappy one - I just want you to understand that we're responsible for you guys."

"As much as you guys hate this camp, you have to realise that people have feelings too."
"So I want you to remember that every time you do something really bad, that's on us."
She finishes bandaging your leg and stands up, her tall figure staring down at you with a pitiful glare.
"..I want you to tell Max that, okay? I know that he likes you more than the others. And even if you don't particularly like him, I feel like you out of all people might be able to help him. Even if he won't cooperate at first, I want you to make it your goal to try and help him as much as you can, alright?"

You look up at her, your eyes on the verge of tears.
What she was telling you really hit deeply.
This whole time, neither of you had really noticed how you were hurting others by the things that you were doing. You didn't really do anything wrong, but you encouraged Max to go along with his obviously doomed to fail escape plan.
So in a way, you were responsible for the crash.
But weren't you all?

Gwen gives you another smile before waving.
"I need to go and make sure David's alright. I'm sure you won't have a problem waiting here, right? You need rest anyways."

You nod as she, once again, opens the entrance to your tent. She began to exit when she stopped and hesitated.
"Show me your drawings sometime, will you?"

And then she was gone.

~~~