*** TW: The following two chapters will contain the topics: menstruation, blood, y/n being sick. If that is something that makes you uncomfortable, read at your own discretion. ***
A/N: Thank you for the love and support on this story ❤️
The bus pulled up the bumpy road to the lakefront camp your boss used to attend as a kid and bought as an adult to turn it into a retreat. He didn't do much renovations, wanting it to keep the same charm it had for him. There were three buildings - all one level log cabin style, with the main one in the middle. The one on the left houses all the rooms and the one on the right was where the dining hall was. This resort was booked solid for the year except the weekend you would be here.
You waited for the bus to clear before you got up and walked down the steps, almost losing your footing but your seat mate caught your shoulder. You smiled in thanks and continued down the steep steps.
You all stood outside as the manager got you all your keys and handed you the itinerary. You had an hour to freshen up before the first activity, a friendly round of soccer followed by a bonfire.
Your key was handed to you and then you walked off to find your room. You looked down at the keycard and matched it to the gold numbering on the wooden doors. 107. This was your room. You scanned the card and pushed the door open, dropping your bag onto the floor.
The room was small, just a wooden bed, nightstand, and a private bathroom. A painting of the lake hung over the bed, it wasn't lavish by any means but it held a charm that wasn't found in the city. The old patterns on the bed cover looked like something straight out of someone's grandmother's house and you loved it.
You didn't have time to waste so you quickly changed into something more fitting for soccer, a pair of leggings and a long sleeve shirt before applying some sunscreen and putting on a hat. Just like that, forty minutes passed and you left your room, joining the employees in the lobby.
"Grab a jersey everyone. Yellow or red!" shouted an employee of the resort as he held up a bag. You got in line and almost jumped when someone placed their hands on your shoulders. It was your seat mate.
"Wanna be on the same team? Grab us two yellows."
Your inner child soared at being chosen by someone so you grabbed two and joined the side of your team. The employee explained the rules quickly and before you knew it, the game was underway.
Your new friend was skilled, he ran fast and got control of the ball often, even taking chances to pass it to you and laughing when the ball would be stolen from you. He reassured you often that you were doing good and the heavy smog that has been covering you slowly dissipated and you found yourself having fun.
A break was called and you drank some much needed water, wiping off the sweat from your brows and lips. Your chest was heavily moving up and down as you caught your breath and looked around, spotting h/n on the other side, also drinking water. His date had been glued to him the entire game and now she was fanning him. You looked away and focused on the lake. It rocked back and forth in gentle waves and the more you stared at it, the calmer you felt.
"Break's over!"
You set your bottle down and jogged back into the field and just like that, another game begun. Feeding off your newfound confidence, you ran after the ball. Just as you got it, you felt a familiar twinge in your side and your steps faltered, giving the other person the perfect opportunity to steal the ball right from under you.
Hearing the frustrated groans of your teammates made you feel worse as you smiled in apology and walked over to the bench. You grabbed your phone and looked at the date - it was the day before a time every woman dreaded - her period. Bile rose in your throat, you had awful periods, debilitating really, and they stressed you out. Maybe you should sit out the rest of the game and go back inside once everyone was done so you could pop a pain pill and hope for the best.
You saw your friend running towards you, abandoning the game. "You okay?"
"Yeah, just a cramp. Go back in. Don't worry about me."
He gave you a look of concern but jogged back into the game. Your limbs felt heavy as you walked away from the field, towards the rooms. You held your side as you walked, judging by the pain level, you had a few hours before it got bad. You held your keycard against the scanner and went inside your room. You toed off your shoes and changed into something comfy, washed your face, and crawled into bed. You really should shower but you didn't have the strength to. Before you knew it, you were already asleep.
Woken up by white hot pain, you rushed to the bathroom dry heaved over the bowl. After dry heaving for a bit, you flushed the toilet and curled into a ball on the cold bathroom floor.
Pills. You should've taken them right when you got into your room but you were too tired. Mustering up the bit of strength you had left, you crawled to your bag that was on the floor by your bed and dug through its contents, blindly feeling for a slim bottle that carried the small pills that made you functional during a rough cycle.
Hands coming up empty, you switched on the bedside lamp and desperately dumped everything onto the floor, panicking when the bottle wasn't in sight. Did you leave it behind? No, please no. With a tearful hiccup, you crawled back to the bathroom floor, ignoring all the warning lights in your head about how unhygienic this was, and laid there again.
The cool tile helped bring down your temperature but you still felt every cramp that worked against you clutching yourself tight when the pain intensified.
You covered your mouth and sobbed, as if that would bring some type of relief. You sobbed because you had no one to care for you, pick you up from the bathroom floor and tuck you into bed. You sobbed because you did nothing to deserve this. You sobbed because all the doctors didn't take you seriously when you said something felt off, the only thing they did was throw pain medication like it was the be all solution.
You must've worn yourself out with your sobs as you drifted off on the floor, maybe the universe did pity you after all.
Heavy. Your head felt heavy and your body felt frozen. You tried to move but you couldn't, nor could you open your eyes fully. The little sliver you were able to see through was blurred, halos around all the lights and items duplicated. Sweat soaked through your shirt, causing it to stick to your body. This wasn't normal.
From somewhere far away, you could hear a faint banging sound. Was that the door? You tried to open your mouth to scream but nothing but a groan came out. The sound stopped after a bit, I'm in here, you wanted to shout. Don't leave me here. You begged and begged but still, you were left alone like you always were. Would everyone be boarding the boat by now? Having the time of their lives while you laid here on the verge of passing out again?
An intrusive thought of them finding you when it was way too late attacked you, would any of them cry? Or would they simply gasp in pity as your body was loaded up into the back of a truck?
No, don't think like that.
The banging sound returned, only intensified now. You could feel yourself fading, your eye lids getting heavy by the second. A small part of you wanted to hold onto the hope that someone would break down that door and help you but a big part of you scoffed and laughed at the idea. Hope was just the poor man's delusional solution to escaping his painful reality.
Just as your lids closed, you hard a large noise and voices make their way towards you.
Too late. They're too late.
