As an hour passed since the fight, Kate was still in the cabin, curled in on herself as the quiet pressed in around her. No matter how hard she tried to compose herself, she couldn't.
"He was such a dick…" she muttered every now and then, her voice shaky as she tried to push herself from sadness into anger—but it never fully worked. The anger kept slipping, dissolving back into something softer, heavier.
Meanwhile, as if nothing had happened, Ray and Jake were having the night of their lives by the campfire. Bottles passed between them as laughter broke out easily, Marco and Dylan having joined a while ago, feeding into the chaos.
Then Nia showed up too, slipping into the circle like she'd been part of it all along, the energy around the fire only getting louder.
As if the noise woke her, Julia made her way over, approaching the group with a tired but alert expression as she took in the scene.
When Ray turned his head toward her, the bruises were impossible to miss.
Her expression hardened instantly.
Her eyes moved between them, irritation flashing clearly across her face—until they landed on Jake.
She rolled her eyes.
Of course they fought—probably about something stupid.
What did you idiots fight about?" she said, grabbing a beer from the cooler before sitting down next to Ray, her tone dry but clearly annoyed.
"It's nothing, really, Counselor—a small misunder… misunder…" Ray tried to get the word out, but couldn't.
He's drunk off his ass, probably about that redhead girl, huh?
"You didn't try to fuck Kate, did you, Jake?" she asked, looking at him with a teasing, almost dangerous smile.
Jake's face immediately turned red. "I didn't… I just stole his mattress."
"You did what?" Julia shot up to her feet.
"It was just a joke!" he pleaded, raising his hands defensively.
"If you left it in the woods, it's ruined… you're lucky we have damage coverage," she said, her voice sharp before her eyes shifted to Ray. "I'll need a week to get it sorted out."
Then she looked back at Jake, her expression turning cold.
"Until then, you'll need to share a bed with Miss Kate or sleep on the floor."
"Probably the second option—" Jake started to laugh, but it died almost instantly the moment he saw Julia's face.
"I might need to join you boys more often—you seem to make quite a bit of trouble," she said playfully as she stood up, subtly shifting her posture, fully aware of the attention she was drawing.
"Good night," she added, glancing at them one last time before turning and heading back toward her cabin.
"She's…" Jake started, still staring in the direction she had disappeared.
"Yup…" Ray added, taking another sip of his beer as they both sat there for a second, silently agreeing.
"I need to go back to the cabin. If I'm gonna sleep on the floor, I need to at least prepare something underneath," Ray said as he stood up, swaying slightly as he caught his balance.
Jake watched him for a second, some of the earlier tension creeping back into his expression. "I'm sorry for the—"
"It's fine." Ray waved a hand dismissively, cutting him off before turning and starting toward the cabin, his steps a little uneven but determined.
As he approached the door, he heard it—a quiet, uneven cry slipping through the wood.
He froze for half a second.
Then he pushed the door open immediately.
That's when he saw her.
Kate was sitting on the edge of her bed, shoulders slightly hunched, her face buried in her hands as her body trembled with quiet sobs. Her hair had fallen forward, hiding most of her expression, but it didn't matter—he could hear it, raw and unfiltered.
Ray stopped in the doorway, all the leftover anger draining out of him in an instant, replaced by something much heavier.
"Oh…" he muttered under his breath, barely audible, his posture softening as he took a hesitant step inside.
As he quietly closed the door behind him, the soft click echoing in the small room, he didn't move toward her.
Instead, he let out a slow breath and lowered himself to the floor, sitting down with his back against the wall, keeping a careful distance.
He glanced at her for a moment, then looked away, jaw tightening slightly—not wanting to make it worse, not knowing if he even had the right to say anything.
She noticed him a second later.
The shift in the room—the quiet, the presence—made her lift her head slightly, her eyes landing on him through blurred vision. For a moment, she just stared, caught off guard, her breathing uneven.
Almost instantly, she wiped at her face, dragging the back of her hand across her cheeks, trying to compose herself. She straightened a little, pulling in a shaky breath, like she could force everything back under control if she just tried hard enough.
"You're done beating up your friends?" she asked sarcastically, her voice still unsteady as she kept her eyes fixed on the wall, refusing to look at him.
Her fingers tightened slightly in her lap, like she was holding herself together just enough to keep from breaking again.
"I… I…" he started, the words catching in his throat.
"What, can't find the right words now?" she snapped, her voice sharp despite the slight tremble in it. "Ugh, you're such a dick!"
"I'm sorry," he muttered finally, his voice low.
She looked at him then, really looked at him, and her expression softened just a little, the edge in her face easing even if it didn't disappear completely.
He stood up and slowly approached her, each step careful, like he wasn't sure how close he was allowed to get. The floor creaked softly under his weight as he reached the bed.
He sat down next to her, leaving just a small gap between them.
"What do you think you're doing?" she asked, finally turning her head to look at him, her eyes still a little red.
He hesitated for a moment before reaching out, trying to place his hand on her shoulder.
She immediately brushed him off.
"Leave me alone!"
"I'm sorry, alright? I wasn't thinking!"
She let out a shaky breath, her lips pressing together as she looked away again, blinking rapidly like she was trying to stop herself from tearing up all over again.
"Yeah, no shit," she muttered under her breath, her voice softer now—but still hurt, still not ready to let it go.
He tried to pull her into a gentle cuddle, but she pushed him away again, her face flushing.
"Now you wanna be a good boy? Go hug a fucking wolf, you moron!" she screamed as she stood up and stormed into the living room, slamming the door behind her.
He let out a quiet gasp as he dropped back onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling, the events replaying in his head.
He really fucked up.
But what the fuck was going on with her? Did she like him, or did she not?
…eh.
He thinks he's gonna hug me now and everything's gonna go back to normal?
Such an idiot.
And now I'm wet—why the hell would I be horny right now? What the fuck is wrong with me?!
"Fuck!" she shouted out loud, the word breaking in the middle as her voice cracked.
Her legs gave out as she dropped to the floor, the cold surface barely grounding her as she buried her face in her hands again, her shoulders shaking as the tears came back just as hard.
Ray only caught the last word of her scream, the sound cutting through the quiet—but he didn't move.
He stayed where he was, staring at the ceiling for a moment before letting his eyes fall shut. Giving her space felt like the only right thing to do. Pushing her now would only make everything worse.
The weight of the day finally caught up to him.
The tension, the fight, the alcohol—it all settled in at once, dragging him down.
Before he even realized it, his breathing slowed, his body relaxing against the mattress as exhaustion took over.
And just like that, he drifted off to sleep on Kate's bed.