I'm sorry this took so long, and it's kinda short lol

MATT; BW BED AND BREAKFAST; 23:21
SIXTEEN HOURS SINCE INCIDENT

I knock on the girls' room quietly.

I felt the beginning of a migraine from arguing with Mike. I don't know if I'm happy or annoyed that we didn't have to throw punches. As much as I want to fight the dude, he doesn't seem to have the energy and is just taking all the blame I'm throwing at him.

Still, he makes me so fucking mad. From what I heard, he almost murdered my girlfriend in cold blood, and for what? A stupid misunderstanding?

I want to strangle him.

I'm not exactly fond of Ashley right now either. Shame, though. We were kinda tight friends, but I can't forgive her for jumping the gun on Emily, even egging Mike on. Emily told me Chris didn't help either. I can only thank Sam who's doubting their claims. But Mike? He really does have the heart of a murderer. I will never trust him.

I didn't trust him with Em before. I'm not trusting him with Em now. More than ever.

"Matt?" I blink up to see Sam looking at my still hovering hand. I put it down.

"Hey, Sam. Em in?"

"Er, yeah," she says, opening the door wider, making me see Em staring out of the window with her arms around herself.

She seems terrified.

"Em?" I ask, still staying by the door, not really wanting to enter their room for their privacy.

Her head turns and her look of despair morphs into a look of relief.

"Meathead!" she exclaims, running up to me and hugging me around my neck.

I hold her close to me. She's shaking. I can only imagine what she's been through. Even though she told me, I still can't imagine it. What I can believe is how brave she has been and how resourceful she was.

I probably wouldn't have survived if I was in her shoes. I'm glad she didn't need the flare gun like I did. I could have been killed if I didn't kill that wendigo first. I didn't even know what I was killing back then, or that I killed something. Before I could see what attacked me, it vanished into thin air. I was so confused.

"Hey," I say, caressing her head.

"I'll give you two some time alone," Sam quietly says, pushing me a little bit so she can leave the room and so I can enter the room properly. She closes the door behind her.

"What's wrong?" I ask Em.

She sighs. "Everything's wrong."

"You were looking out the window," I tell her.

"I know," she whispers on my chest.

"Why? Doesn't it bother you to think of what's in the dark out there in the mountains?" I ask her.

"I don't know." She looks up at me then at the window again. "By looking out, it helps me think I can be prepared in case…" in case the wendigos come back, I hear the last words in my head as if she said them.

"You really are the reliable one," I say in awe.

She chuckles, hitting me lightly with her elbow. "You always have time to give me compliments, haven't you?"

I laugh. "It's a gift." I shrug. "How can I not? You outran a wendigo. And what did you say earlier? You ziplined out of the mines? That's pretty badass, if you ask me."

She laughs. "I am a badass, aren't I?"

"Damn right, you are. Plus who else aside from you was bitten and lived to tell the tale?" I say with a smile.

But hers fall. She places a hand up her shoulder again to see her ripped jacket with the gauze showing in the gap.

"Does it hurt?" I ask.

"Huh? What?" she asks, still dazed. "Ah, no, no, no, no. I told you it doesn't… but I almost died… a lot of times."

Something creeps at the back of my neck. She fell from a tower. She got bitten by a wendigo. She almost got shot by an ex. And what she told me what happened in the lodge itself.

She almost died four times.

I pull her closer to me. "I'm glad you didn't," I whisper before kissing her on the forehead. I pull away to put a hand on her cheek. "I'm glad you're the strongest most badass girl we have in our group, and I'm glad I get to be your boyfriend."

She laughs and looks away. Is she… blushing? Is she… embarrassed? Fuck, that's so fucking adorable. Em isn't usually like this. Fuck, my heart.

"Matt, what's going on with you? You're being so cheesy," she says, still looking away.

I bite my lips. "I could have lost you," I tell her.

"Well, you didn't, meathead. You told me yourself. I'm the most badass girl out there," she says, seeming to lose her terrified state earlier.

"How lucky I am," I say with a smirk.

But just then, a thunder claps from outside and Emily shakes harder at the sound. I pull her tight.

"Fuck, we're not gonna be okay, are we?" she asks. "Come on, let's get outta here. This room is giving me depression."

"Outside? Are you sure?" I ask in concern.

"Not outside , outside, idiot. Just in the lobby."

"You sure you don't want to… you know," I start with a flirty look.

She laughs. "Look, sweetie, as much as I want to, I'm still creeped out with what happened and I'm not exactly in the mood for some action."

I click my tongue and snap my fingers. "Darn," I joke.

She laughs and gives me a peck on the cheek. "Come on, meathead."

"Lead the way, your highness," I joke and she laughs again. Hearing her laugh is genuinely the best thing I've heard all day.

After a quick make-out session in the hallway, we reach the lobby and I'm not happy to see Chris and Ash sitting by the couch. And neither is Em. We barely see Sam standing at the other far end of the lobby.

"Ugh, the traitors are here," she says as they turn to look at us.

"Let's not fight, guys, okay?" Chris starts.

"Wow, finally, bold of you to stop a fight after letting one happen back there," Em tells Chris.

I glare at Chris as he stands up with his hands in front of him.

"Look, Emily," Chris starts. "We were all so scared—"

"Me more than anyone!" Em interrupts.

"Yes! Yes! We know, Em!" Chris interrupts back. "But we couldn't have known it wasn't like that. We didn't want more deaths back there.

"Couldn't have known? Couldn't have known ?! One glance from that hiker's book told us that bites from the fucking wendigos are not infectious! You guys would have killed me over nothing and because what? You were scared? Didn't you think I was? Mike held up a gun right here on my eye!" Em rants.

"We know!" Chris says. "None of us were of sound mind and body back then. We were being chased by fucking supernatural beings who can tear us apart. I'm surprised we didn't kill each other at all!"

"Look, Em, we're sorry—" Ash starts, standing up to move closer to us.

"I don't want to hear another fake apology from you," Em interrupts her.

As she fumes, I simply put a hand on her shoulder, showing my support from all this.

"She's trying her best to apologize to you!" Chris defends her.

"I don't think you have a right to defend someone so guilty, Chris," I interrupt.

"Well, you don't know what it was like! We were all so scared!" Ash tells me.

"I fought with them alone and without any clue what was trying to kill me or how to save myself from being killed by them. I was lucky I hid outside the mines and the helicopters caught me just when the sun was starting to rise. If it wasn't because I saw them with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe you either," I retort.

"And even Mr. Muscles here would know to find more information about what you were all accusing me of going to be. Because unlike you all, he wants me alive and none of you do!" Emily yells.

"Em, that's not true," Sam whispers from behind us.

"Sam's right, Em," Chris starts. "None of us want you dead either."

"Oh yeah? You were all quick to throw me at death's doors. If Sam didn't reread the notebook, I bet you guys would have let me be eaten by the wendigos anyway," she says and Ash looks away. "See? See that, Chris? That's the true colors of your one true love."

"Stop it, Em!" Chris yells.

"No! I'm never letting this die down. I thought you guys were my friends! I did all I could to give you all information on what we're dealing with. I was the one who almost died trying to get to the radio. But none of you had my back!" Emily yells.

"What's going on here?" someone asks behind us. Mike.

"Great. Now the murderer's here," Emily groans, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"Ah, I see," Mike whispers before moving to stand beside Sam, seeing to want to disappear. I glare at him and he looks away.

"Anything you want to add in their web of lies, Michael?" Em asks sarcastically.

"No," he whispers.

"This isn't a web of lies!" Ash defends herself. "We're really sorry!"

Em moves away from me to walk over to Ash, poking her shoulder with a finger. "Don't you dare lie more. I know who you really are. You are one big liar, Ashley Brown. Stop giving them your fake sweet words when your opinions are sharp disgusting knives. At least, I never became fake. I may be a bitch but at least, I'm honest."

Chris takes her hand off from Ash. "Stop it."

I see red. "Get your fucking hands off of her," I spit, moving his hand off.

Chris immediately backs up. "I'm not here to fight."

"Em, maybe you're right," I start. "Sometimes you just need someone to roughen up to lighten your own mood."

"Guys, please," we hear Sam behind us. "I know we're all anxious, especially from what we all went through. But let's not start a brawl right here."

I look to see some of the Bed and Breakfast staff standing behind Sam in concern. They must have been worried from the shouting matches and went to investigate. I'm so mad I didn't even see them come in.

"You're not worth it," Em practically spits to Ash's face before turning around and walking back to their room.

I move to follow her but a hand on my arm stops me. Sam's hand.

"Give her some time to cool off," she tells me.

"I know her. She needs me more than ever," I tell her, gently taking her hand off from my arm before following Em to the girls' room.

As I approach the room, I hear some grunts and some quiet shouts. I linger by the door and wait until I hear little sounds from the room.

I knock.

No answer.

I knock again.

No answer.

"Em? It's Matt."

"Come in," she spits.

I open the door to see her pacing inside the room with her hands on her waist. She's fuming in anger.

"I can't stand seeing those traitors happy and in love when they should be suffering and begging on their knees for forgiveness! Real forgiveness! Not like the half-ass ones those idiots are giving me!" Emily yells at me.

I close the door behind me.

"You should've seen them! At least, Sam was kind enough to actually ask if the bite was hurting and she even managed to ask me if I was okay. But the others?! The minute they found out I had a bite, they were ready to have me killed!"

Slowly, I move closer towards her and wrap my arms around her.

"They want me dead!" she yells at my chest before I start to feel her shake.

Then she starts to sob.

"Shh, you're okay," I start.

We start to fall on the ground and I slowly catch her and bring her to the bed to sit without removing my hands around her.

"I was so scared, and they didn't care," she sobs.

I've never heard her sound so scared, so lonely, so hurt. She doesn't seem to be surprised that Mike would have shot her. She seems more scared about being betrayed by Ash and Chris.

"I know," I just say.

She just continues to sob and in all honesty, I'm really not sure what to say.

After a while, she moves away from me and looks at me. She looks me straight in the eye, searching and searching. Honestly, I think I can disappear in her beautiful brown eyes. It may be red-rimmed right now, but they're still more beautiful than ever.

Then Em moves closer and kisses me. And I kiss her back. She moves away and wraps her arms around my waist and nestles herself on my chest.

"What was that for?" I ask with a small chuckle.

"A thank you," she whispers.

"For what?"

"For having my back. I know we fought when that tower fell down, but thank you for not giving up on me. Just know… how… devoted I am to you. You know, right? That?" she whispers.

I blink once. Twice.

I know she likes me and appreciates my devotion to her. I didn't really know how much she likes me despite how far we've come as a couple.

"I'm sorry," she says, bringing me back to reality. "For not treating you like a person—like a human being," she says, saying the same thing she did before I tried to help her when the tower was falling.

I don't know what came over me when it happened—forcing her to say that she'll treat me right when she's at death's door.

"I'm sorry, too," I say. "I… don't know what came over me."

"You were right, though. I treated you like shit. Now, look at you, caring for me when no one would."

"Hey, Sam cares for you."

"She really tried to stop them. She's a good friend. Did I tell you that after my fallout with Jess, I've been hanging out with Sam more?" she says.

I chuckle. "How could I not? I pick you up after you two go on a hike."

She laughs. "She really is a good friend. The last one I have."

I smile. "And what about me?"

She moves to look at me. "You're not my friend."

I raise a brow. "Oh?"

"You're my boyfriend. The best boyfriend a badass can have," Em says.

Then we kiss.