It Lives In The Woods

Chapter Seventeen

-2020-

It had been a week since the showdown in the woods, and the town of Crescent Point had come to a standstill, like the buildings were holding their breaths, waiting anxiously for the next thing to happen, if there was a next thing. The seven adults hadn't gone their separate ways yet, not yet, they, like the town they had grown up in were waiting to see if their spell had truly worked. Noah and Bee remained laid up in her bed, the two of them healing from the wounds the beast inflicted, the nurses at the hospital claimed if the dogs had bit even the slightest bit harder, they would've punctured Noah's femoral artery, and he would've bled to death in the woods, amongst the trees no matter the outcome. Lily announced her decision to begin writing a follow up to the book she initially wrote about their childhood, now a book about their revenge, and instead of being filled with rage, the others supported her decision fully, "let them know'', Ava said, "Let the whole world know". As for Ava, she hadn't left her husband's bedside, waiting eagerly for him to wake up, to tell him the good news of the life growing inside of her, everyday his vitals got stronger, but still, he didn't wake. "Why isn't he waking up?" Ava asked in the afternoon, turning to Fiona who sat beside her diligently every day, not wanting to leave her star pupil by her lonesome in such a dreary situation. "The demons hold on him was the strongest of all, you only trapped the beast last week, it's possible that power hasn't completely died out yet. But you can see he's getting better by the day, it's only a matter of time." Ava sighed, squeezing his limp hand in her own, laying it on her growing stomach gently so that perhaps, even in his comatose state, he would feel the life they had created growing inside of her. Fiona watched with narrowed, yet sad eyes, "What do you plan on naming the child ?" She asked, thinking somewhat regretfully to her own made up names, and wasted dreams she had, had once. Ava shrugged, pausing a moment to think, "I haven't really thought that far ahead." She confessed, "With everything that's been going on, I wasn't sure if that would be an option, if I would even get to live to have and meet my child." Fiona reached out and patted the woman's back in support, "The toughest part is behind you now girl, now we all just play the waiting game."

That was true, all of them were just playing a vicious waiting game, Stacy felt the weight of it most of all. With everyday that passed she felt the absence of her son weigh heavier and heavier on her mind, she missed his laugh and cheeky grin, she had been away now for nearly a month, and she wasn't sure how much more she could handle. "It won't be long now." Lily said on afternoon as they sat on a bench outside the high school, "I can feel it, this whole nightmare, it's almost over." She promised, giving Stacy an encouraging smile, though she herself missed the comfort of her large home, and the familiarity of her girlfriends arms around her every morning, they were all getting angsty. All except Noah and Bee, they, unlike everyone else, never wanted this span of waiting to end, because they got to wait with each other. On this particular Wednesday morning the two were bustling around Bee's grandparents kitchen, Bee with a large bowl in hand, beating a mixture of cinnamon, brown sugar and eggs together, Noah tossing and turning burning pieces of bacon on the skittle, grease sizzling in the air, both barely dressed and chilled, but both alit with a warmth from the other. Bee looked up from her mixing, watching as Noah's black curls bopped along to a song in his head, "How much longer do you think we'll stay here?" She asked, heart growing heavy. Noah paused momentarily, only missing a beat before continuing in his task. "We could stay here forever if you wanted. The house is yours, the town is safe, what's stopping us?" Bee swallowed down the lump in her throat, thinking of all the angry voicemails her agent had left her, five concerts had to be cancelled already, anymore and she might find herself out of a gig, her dream, down the drain. "I have a life back in New York Noah, I miss it there, I miss performing, and the sounds of the city. I can't just stay here." Noah stopped, fully what he was doing, and hung his head, his pale shoulder blades arching as his body bent under the weight of the impending sadness he would feel if she left him again, alone, in this god awful town. Bee saw this and went to him, wrapping her arms affectionately around his bare chest, snuggling into his warm back, "Come with me." She whispered, closing her eyes, trying to capture this moment in her mind. Noah's brown eyes lit up, he turned, her arms shifting to fall around his waist, her curly black hair tickling his chest. "Really? You'd want me there, in your new life?" He asked. Shocked and enthralled by her offer. Bee lifted her face off of his chest and looked up at him, grinning brightly, "Of course I do Noah. My life is already so full and rich, the only thing I was missing was you." Noah was overwhelmed with the emotions that were possessing him, he had never felt so loved by another individual before, he'd had girlfriends, but none that he felt so strongly for in just the last month they'd spent together. "Okay." He said, laughing slightly. "Really? You'll come?" Bee asked, heart racing with excitement. Noah laughed again and nodded, "Yes! Yes, I'll move to New York with you, I'll put the store on the market tonight, I can make the call now." Noah exclaimed, hugging his girlfriend tightly, squeezing her like he was scared she'd melt away. Bee grinned, kissing his forehead affectionately, "Are you sure we're not moving too fast?" She asked carefully. Noah looked down at her and shook his head no slightly, "We've been waiting for this moment literally our whole lives, why not enjoy it to its fullest extent ?" He asked with a smile. Bee grinned back up at him, her heart leaping with glee. "You're right. And after tonight we can start our new life together." Tonight was the agreed upon last night they would all stay in Crescent Point, Stacy was eager to get back to her son in the morning, and Tanner had classes to teach the next afternoon, his sabbatical over. The others would remain, Ava vowed not to leave till her husband had awoken, Lily was doing field research for her new book, and Andy wanted to spend more time with Paul, who was the sole reason they had all agreed to stay until tonight. Paul was a starter on their old high school basketball team, and tonight was the first game of the new season, he wanted desperately for them all to be there, so, with Andy's gentle nudge, they all agreed, one last night, just for Paul's sake.

"Do you think we'll win?" Paul asked, running amuck with Andy on the makeshift gravel court Andy had constructed in their driveway years before. He slowed, trying to catch his breath, "I think if you've been working hard, you already know the answer to that question." Paul shrugged, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose awkwardly, "I've been working my ass off, but the others? Not so much." He confessed, slapping the ball out of Andy's hand before taking the shot, and making it. "Hey, you win as a team, you lose as a team. There's no shitting on your teammates in basketball." Andy warned him, reaching out and squeezing his shoulder. Paul sighed, nodding his head with slight guilt. "I know, I'm just worried." Andy smiled, "I know, I was worried every time before games too. Always thinking about whether I'd trip over my feet, or if the others would pass me the ball in time. But there came a point when I realized that it's not about winning Saudara, it's about having fun while you still can. Take it from someone who knows, " Andy bent down and patted the metal extension attached to the nub right above his kneecap. ",the fun doesn't last forever." Paul nodded, and surprised Andy by reaching out and grasping him tightly in a hug. "I love you dude, I've never told you how happy I am that it wasn't you that died that night." Andy frowned, and hugged him tightly back, "Me too man, me too."