The cabin.

To get to the designated place, you need to go through a mountain pass. A look below, past the barrier at the edge of the road, shows a long ravine, vast greenery and a beautiful view of small streams, trees and rocks.

“I hope we can go down there in some way,” Emma says. “Looks like a nice place to take a walk, doesn’t it?”

“It does,” you agree.

You turn to Olivia, who’s still napping with her head on your lap (fully clothed, by the way). You took a nap after all the sex, too, but yours was only 20 minutes. When was the last time you took a nap at all? It was refreshing.

Eventually, the path takes you to an elegant building made of bricks. As you approach it, you see at the side of the road a sign that reads “Nature’s Blessings Resort”. You’re finally here.

“Olivia,” you say, gently shaking your girlfriend from the shoulder. “We’re here.”

Olivia drowsily rises as Emma parks the car in a lot under a metal roof. She looks around before stretching her arms and shoulder.

“Oh my god!” she groans in pure bliss. “Never in my life have I had a better trip.”

“Feeling good?” Emma asks, chuckling.

“Fresh as lettuce.” Olivia nods.

The three of you exit the car and stretch your legs. The fresh air of the mountain fills your lungs, but you’re not high enough to make it difficult to breathe. The rest of the girls approach your group as they come out of their cars.

“Had a good trip, Olivia?” Sophia asks the girl with a teasing smirk. “You’re practically glowing.”

“Girl, you have no idea,” Olivia says with a grin, once more stretching her arms up to the sky.

Sophia turns to Katherine and Mia with a smug smirk. “I told you they’d do it in the car.”

Mia chuckles. “How are you feeling, Emma?”

“After what were almost four hours of edging? Good enough.” Emma laughs. “I’m calling dibs on him first, by the way.”

“Fair,” Mia laughs.

Katherine groans and speaks in hushed tones. “Can we please not talk of sex out in public? Wait until we’re at the cabin, at least!”

“The girl has a point,” Julia says. “Mia, let’s check in. The reservation is to your name, right?”

“Right. You guys wait here. We don’t all need to go in there.”

“I’ll go with you, just in case,” Olivia says.

You and the rest of the girls start commenting on the trip. Emily says how she saw the area at the foot of the mountain and how she’d like to explore there, just like how you and Emma were saying you wanted to.

“I’m sure Julia will ask if there’s a way to go there,” Emily says.

“I bet Olivia knows, too,” Lilian points out.

About ten minutes later, Mia, Julia and Olivia come back.

“Get your bags, everyone,” Mia says. “One of the employees will take us to our cabin.”

“…It’s a little embarrassing that they’ll see us all go in as a group,” Anzu laughs nervously.

You understand what she’s saying, and there’s a uncomfortable feeling in the pit of your stomach. But this is why you came here for, right? So far away from town, where nobody knows you and in what should be friendly territory. This place belongs to Olivia’s dad. There’s barely any guests because the place is new and it’s not the season quite yet. You’re safe.

You should’ve been safe.

Your blood freezes when you see the employee Mia mentioned.

A short haired blonde girl, dressed in the resort’s uniform consisting of a white shirt, a red waistcoat and black pants, stands there looking directly at you with a grin. You know perfectly she’s your age, no, she’s already 19 at this point. Her face has always been an open book. Her expressions have always easily revealed her intentions. And her wicked grin and narrowed eyes make you feel sick.

“Oh my. David? What are you doing here?” she asks, playing innocent. Her tone immediately tells you she knows.

“Taylor,” you manage to say, getting your throat to let the words out. “You’re working here?”

“I am,” she says and starts eyeing your company. “Hello everyone, I’m Taylor Brook, and I’ll be leading you to your cabin.”

“H-How do you know David?” Katherine asks the question everyone wants to know.

“Me? Oh, we dated for bit back in high school.” She laughs innocently.

Taylor does as she says and leads you to your cabin, past the entrance building and through dirt walkways marked with stones at the sides. But you can’t pay attention to anything. You barely even watch your surroundings. Your mind is racing, but you can barely manage coherent thoughts.

Why did SHE have to be here of all places? How much does she know? What does she want? She obviously wants something. You don’t know where to start. You follow at the end of the group, your eyes glancing down. There’s tension among you as the girls probably have similar questions.

Soon, you arrive at the cabin. It’s built on a slight slope on the mountain. There’s a high wall around it, a metal sheet which you saw in the pictures, which is meant to give the guest privacy. You go through the gate and see the building.

The cabin is huge, built on the slope and supported by short, thick stilts. It’s made nearly entirely out of polished logs. Several wide windows sit at the upper half of the building, giving it plenty of natural light. The pool is right in front of the ample balcony that’s the entrance to the cabin, and keeping true to the general design is also surrounded by a hardwood deck where there are six long chairs for sunbathing and two round tables with a parasol and four chairs around them each. There’s even a hot tub next to it the pool.

The excitement you all would’ve felt at being here is dimmed by the tension of being watched by your ex-girlfriend. The girls start taking their things inside the cabin, and you decide to stay behind to face Taylor, right outside the metal fence.

“Almost a full year and I still know when you’re up to no good,” you sigh. “What are you planning?”

“What? I’m just happy to see an old acquaintance here of all places, ” she grins. “But I’m curious. Who are all those girls?”

“Friends of mine.”

“Really? You’re ‘friends’ with one of the teachers of the academy you’re attending?”

You shoot her a glare, and that seems to take her by surprise. In return, she glares back.

“Don’t give me that look, you fucking loser. I know everything. I know you went to Hayes Academy, somehow. Your dad probably got you in, didn’t he? I saw you there during the entrance exam. I tried to get in, too, but failed,” she tells you. “One of those women? The slim brunette with the really long hair? The older one in the thin sweater? She was there when I took the exam. I know she’s a teacher.”

Fucking dammit. She even remember Emma?

“Okay. Why should you care? We haven’t seen each other in a year, and we have no reason to.”

“You’re right. I don’t care. I don’t care what the relationship between you and that teacher is. Or all those girls for that matter. But I bet Olivia Hughes cares.” She grins widely.

“So she’s the one you’re after?” you groan.

“Convince her to promote me, or I’ll show this picture to your school.”

She shows you her phone, and in its screen is a picture of you waiting at the parking lot with Emma and the others around you. It’s tilted and slightly blurry, but you can still perfectly tell who’s who.

“I’ll tell them you spent the week here, fucking your teacher. Or perhaps I’ll say that your teacher brought you here and abused you? I wonder which would be worse?” She looks at you with a smug, confident smirk.

Your glare intensifies. You can almost feel bile rising to your throat. “You don’t waste time, do you?”

“We use what we have, Dave,” she says, her grin still present. “You’re a smart guy. You get good grades and will probably get a well-paying job. Me? I’ll make use of people like you to get where I want to be.”

Taylor leaves with a faint chuckle. You grit your teeth and your knuckles turn white from clenching them around your bag. You go up the short set stairs up the balcony and into the cabin, and not being able to hold it in anymore, let out a scream and throw your bag against the sofa, startling the girls.

“David?” Emma asks you, looking both frightened and worried.

“That fucking bitch!” you rage, falling back on the couch and holding your face in your hands.

There was no reason for her to be here! None! This was supposed to be a chance for you to relax with your girls, a week to have fun, the moment when you’d finally propose to them! Now you have to worry about her fucking everything up for no reason at all!?

Your chest burns, every muscle of your body is tense. You want to yell and kick everything around you. Never before have you felt this frustrated. You can’t think straight. But at the very least you’re able to contain yourself. As much as you want to, you don’t scream and kick things, trying to calm yourself by taking deep breaths.

Only once you appear calm enough do the girls start coming closer.

“Love? What happened? Are you okay?” Emma asks, sitting next to you and putting a hand on your back.

Megan sits beside you and holds your hand, looking at you with fright, just like Emma. But you’re able to discern that they’re not afraid of you, but afraid of what might have happened TO you.

“Can you tell us what happened?” Megan asks, rubbing your hand.

The rest of the girls sit on the long couches in the spacious living room to hear you out. You take a deep breath and start, holding tightly onto Megan’s hand.

“…That was Taylor, my ex-girlfriend, technically speaking,” you say, almost spitting the words.

“You’ve spoken a little about her,” Emily says. “I remember clearly how she described her as ‘Olivia, but without the pretty face and the killer body’.”

“Uh… when was this?” Olivia asks.

“Around the time of the photograph incident.”

“Oh, then she’s a total bitch, got it.” Olivia nods in understanding, causing the others to let out a quiet laugh and getting a small, tired smile out of you.

“We went out in high school, but that was in name only,” you groan. “She asked me out because my family had money and because I could do her homework for her. Of course, I was a complete imbecile and said yes because no one had ever asked me out and I hadn’t realized her true intentions.”

“But you’re not one to hold a grudge,” Jessica points out. “What did she do now that got you this mad?”

“She took a picture of us waiting in the parking lot. She knows I go to Hayes and knows that Emma is a teacher there. She doesn’t know much else, but she doesn’t need to. She’ll make up whatever story she wants with that picture as proof.”

“She wants to **** us?” Anzu asks. “What does she expect to get out of it?”

Your eyes turn to Olivia. “She knows you’re the owner’s daughter. She wants me to convince you to get her promoted.”

“…” Olivia sighs heavily and stands up from her seat. “Alright. I think I’ll go have a chat with her.”

“W-Why does that make me shiver?” Katherine asks with a worried tone. “What kind of ‘chat’ are you having with her?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Olivia says with a smile. “This’ll be easy to fix.”

“What do you have in mind?” you ask her carefully. “What are we doing?”

“You, David, are doing nothing,” she tells you, eyeing your firmly. “You’re staying here, relaxing and forgetting about this bitch. Emma called dibs on you, so after you get everything ready, you’re gonna fuck her brains out.”

“Olivia…” you start, but she stops you.

“Ah! No buts. You’ve had to deal with enough shit already. I’m taking this one.”

“We’re back in business, then,” Lilian says, standing up from her seat.

“No. There’s no need.” Olivia shoots her down. “You girls enjoy yourselves, too. I’ll make this short.”

“It’s not like we think you need help,” Jessica tells her, “but we want to help.”

“Seriously, it’s fine! I’ll be back before you know it and all will be back to normal.”

“Olivia,” Mia starts. “Seriously, what are you planning?”

The girl gives the teacher an honest smile. “I promise I’ll only have a talk with her. She wants to **** me? Well, I’ve been playing that game for a long time. I just want to pull this issue by the root as quickly as I can.”

She turns to you, and you eye her carefully. Her eyes don’t falter, looking into yours with confidence.

“Babe, please trust me. I know I don’t deserve it, but please, just this once.”

You click your tongue. “You leave me **** if you say that.”

“Thank you,” she smiles. “I’ll be back in 20 minutes tops.”

You watch Olivia leaving, not leaving room for anyone else to argue. The air in the room feels heavy.