ACT I, CHAPTER TWO ❛ final cold war, final peace. ❜ content: underage drug use (alcohol&acid), ghosts/paranormal, implied child abuse, violence, blood/gore.
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Evie tried to look comfortable despite the tense silence filling the locker room around her. She back her disgust at the humid air that made her fringe stick to her forehead. As much as she would've liked to gather up her things and storm out, the fact all her teammates were still sitting on the benches with worried expressions on their faces kept her rooted to the spot.
She sensed an argument, which she both dreaded and hoped for at the same time. On the one hand, she felt too mentally exhausted from the day's events to fight properly. But, then again, at least if they were arguing, she wouldn't be remembering the sound of Allie's screams . . .
Ever since the hysterical freshman was loaded onto a stretcher and taken away in an ambulance, each of the Yellowjackets shared similar expressions of shock, even the ones that weren't in on Taissa's plan. Evie felt like the odd woman out. She was unnaturally calm compared to her bewildered teammates. Horrific as Allie's injury was, Evie had seen worse. Her childhood had been filled with similar strains of violence. Broken bones and blood stains didn't really phase her anymore. Her dad had made sure of that.
Evie knew she should've felt guilty for going to practice knowing that Taissa would target Allie. But honestly Evie was just glad Allie was out of Nationals. She couldn't drag the Yellowjackets down if she was in the hospital. It was a heartless thing to think, but Evie thought it.
Still, Evie felt bad for her other teammates, who all had the thousand-yard stare. Obviously, none of them had seen a compound fracture like that. Lucky them, Evie thought cynically, rubbing her hand over the jagged scar on her upper arm, hidden by her shirtsleeve. She envied them, but sympathized with them, too.
Beside her, Lottie was staring vacantly at the wall of lockers across from them, running a comb through her hair over and over again. Evie recognized the look on her friend's face, frowned and linked her arm with Lottie's. The comb stilled in the air. Lottie softened at Evie's touch and managed the smallest of smiles. Wordlessly, they laced their fingers together.
Finally, team captain Jackie Taylor seemed to have enough of the silence. She leapt up from the bench and turned to face her teammates. Her big brown eyes were nervous yet determined. "Look, I know we're all really worried about Allie," she said, "but it might not be as bad as it looks . . ."
It really wasn't the right thing to say.
"You could see her fucking bones, Jackie," Nat deadpanned. "I'm pretty sure it's exactly as bad as it looks."
No shit, thought Evie, staying silent. Allie'll be lucky if she ever runs on that leg again. Evie knew that fractures sometimes heal wrong, especially ones as traumatic as Allie's injury. Evie remembered the CRACK! of Allie's shinbones and she tightened her grip on Lottie's hand.