The Returned

Heather’s hands rose to her face almost the instant she stepped inside the cabin. Partially it was to cover her nose against the **** of sex and sweat that swept out of the room as soon as the door was open, but it was also to cover the huge grin adorning her face as she caught sight of Gavin and Chloe wrapped up in the sofa throw, spooning on the couch. It was obvious by the mess of clothes and various fluids that the pair were naked beneath the blanket. The dark haired cheer captain had to fight not to burst out laughing at walking on such a sight, the room looking like the aftermath of some wild sex orgy and yet the two apparent culprits were the least likely suspects.

Kurt, on the other hand, didn’t quite find it as funny, frowning bitterly. Whatever encouragement he had gotten from Lisa earlier in the night completely evaporated. To see them so openly and carelessly intimate with each other practically confirmed to him that they were a couple and any feelings he’d developed for the redhead were unreciprocated. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lisa cast him a sympathetic glance, she alone of the four being aware of his true feelings for Chloe.

“I’m going to bed,” he grumbled and stomped off down the hall to his room.

“I wonder why he seems upset-huh?” Zack said suddenly, patting the pockets of his shorts. A moment later he pulled his mobile from his shorts and opened up the message that had caused it to buzz against his thigh. “Oh, my mum says Victoria wasn’t at the hospital. She must still be out there.”

“No sweat, I’ll let the Rangers know. I was gonna call them anyway,” Heather replied, producing her own phone from her shorts and disappearing into the kitchen for some privacy, away from the snoring pair on the sofa.

“They must be really exhausted,” Zack noted. “Chloe’s a deep sleeper but Gavin usually wakes up at the slightest sound.”

“Speaking of sleeping, do you mind checking on Ashley for me?” Lisa asked. “I don’t know if she’s up or not, and she’ll take it better if you disturb her rather than me.”

“Sure, no problem,” Zack agreed, heading off down the hall towards the master bedroom.

The door into the room wasn’t completely shut, it had been left slightly ajar, but inside was pitch black. Zack couldn’t see a thing inside the room without opening the door wider. With care, he eased the door open further, cringing when it creaked. Nothing inside stirred however, allowing Zack to breathe a sigh of relief and take a proper look around inside. The large, king sized bed housed only one, the small, slender shape of Ashley hidden beneath the blankets, her blonde-haired head visibly resting upon the pillow. He could just about make out the side profile of her face, soft and pretty and relaxed, breathing softly, eyelids fluttering with dreams.

Satisfied, he slipped out of the room and closed the door tight behind him. Back in the living room he found Lisa having been rejoined by Heather, the Latina holding up the empty whiskey bottle as she questioned whether Heather’s father would really be alright with the teens drinking his stuff and having sex in his cabin.

“I don’t know any parent who would let their kids drink and fuck under their roof,” Lisa told Heather, raising an eyebrow at the dark haired cheer captain. “Much less allow them to use a cabin for a whole two weeks of debauchery.”

Heather laughed at the word ‘debauchery’ and shrugged. “My dad has always been open and honest with me about sex. I know he does it and he knows I do it, and he’s not the kind of guy to go snitching to other parents about what we do. Honestly, I can see him being more bothered by the whiskey than the sex.”

“That’s so weird…oh, hey,” Lisa said, noticing Zack’s return. “Think it’ll be safe for me to sleep there tonight?”

“Ash looks like she’s out for the count, and there was no sign of Hannah,” Zack informed his Latina ex-girlfriend, and then to Heather, “I’m guessing she left with your dad.”

“That seems likely. Good riddance I say. I bet all this debauchery was her idea,” Heather retorted, thinking actually of a few different reasons why she was glad to see Hannah go. Though the fact that Hannah was still somewhere with her father didn’t sit well with her, but she distracted herself by telling the others about her phone call. “Anyway, I got through to the Ranger station, but Jennifer wasn’t there. Emily said she should be back soon and then they’d put together names for teams to do a sweep of the area we hiked and the caves in the morning.”

“In the morning?” Zack said, worried. “That’s a long time for Victoria to be out there alone, and possibly hurt.”

“I agree,” Heather replied sympathetically. “But the Rangers can’t just drop everything and pick up a few backpacks and torches like we did. They have to follow a certain procedure, but they’re also capable of being more thorough that we are.”

“I wish there was more we could do too, but the Rangers know what they’re doing,” Lisa assured Zack, placing a hand upon his shoulder. “The best thing for all of us now is to get some sleep.”

“That’s a good idea,” Zack admitted. “It’s been a long, draining day, physically and emotionally. I could do with some rest.”

“Well, just think of it like this,” Lisa said, rubbing his back. “There’s no way tomorrow could possibly be as dramatic or as turbulent as today.”