CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
We won't last out here!

JUNE.

              We hadn't bet the storm. It had caught up with us the moment we entered the tree-line. Lightning was illuminating the sky, sending bright flashes of light through the trees as we ran uphill as quickly as we could, but it was proving difficult when the rain began pouring from the sky with a vengeance. It felt like fucking hailstones rattling against our skin, hitting at such a fast rate it burned.

                I was holding onto Lennon, both of us trying our hardest to fight against the wind that threatened to blow us back downhill as we tried to claw our way upwards. Lennon's footing slipped but I managed to catch her on time, hauling her upwards before she could fall down. She had shot me a thankful look and continued on upwards, pulling me along behind her. 

                   Everyone was screaming and some were crying. Brooklyn and Hailey had fallen behind with their injuries, but Maggie and Hattie were trying their hardest to help them keep up with us.

                   I could barely see from the rain hitting against my face, dripping into my eyelashes and making my skin feel raw. Ethan, who was ahead of us, offered each of his hands to us, helping to pull us on top of a ledge that had been above our heights.

                    I was absolutely terrified. I was afraid we would either get struck by lightning, get lost to the storm or slip and fall down the hill. My entire body was aching from the rain lashing against my skin and from how quickly we were trying to make our way uphill. It was screaming at me to stop, but I couldn't, there was no choice but to keep on going. We had to try and get back to camp, otherwise we were sitting ducks in a tropical storm.

                   Once we were up, we extended our hands to Brooke and Hailey, helping to pull them up as Maggie and Hattie shoved them upwards from behind. Brooke cried out in pain from her shoulder, but I didn't care to be gentle, not when we were in a dire situation. We had bigger problems to worry about than Brooke's shoulder; and that was getting them to safety.

                     We continued on, fighting against the storm but we still had a long way to go. When we finally reached the top of the hill, I felt a wave of relief—although, I knew we weren't safe yet. As long as we were caught up in the storm, we were in constant danger of being hurt.

                   Lennon was one of the last ones up, helping Ivy get to the top who had momentarily lost her balance after helping Kitty and Evie get up before her. And that's when the worst thing happened. The ground broke away beneath them in a mudslide, sending them hurling down the hill, getting caught up in the mud and rocks.

                   "Lennon!" I screeched as thunder roared, but Eden grabbed ahold of me, yanking me backwards as the rest of the ledge began to crumble from where I had been standing.

                    We fell backwards into a heap, landing in all of the mud, rain lashing down onto us, "Let me go!" I screamed at Eden, fighting against her. "Lennon! Lennon!" My screams could barely be heard over the sound of the thunder roaring in the sky whilst the lightning flashed through the thick clouds.

                     "June, we can't stay out here!" Eden was crying, her arms wrapped around my body and I knew I was hurting her as I fought to get away from her but I didn't care. My sister had slipped right of my grasp and I didn't even know if she was okay.

                   Bringing my elbow up, I smacked it into Eden's nose who let out a screech whilst letting me go, falling onto her back. I scurried towards the edge, crawling through the thick mud. I leaned over, my eyes wide, skin wet with a mixture of rain, mud and tears as I searched all over for my sister.

                     "Lennon!" I screeched, but there was no sight of her. All I could see was water and mud sliding down the hill, like some kind of avalanche. She seemed to be nowhere, like she had suddenly just disappeared, making me feel like I could throw up.

                     Suddenly, before I could fight back, I was being grabbed and hauled over Ethan's shoulder. I immediately began kicking and pounding on his back, "Let me fucking go, Ethan!" I screamed at him, my voice breaking, tears streaming down my face, mixing with the rain water.

                      "We have to go, Juniper! It's not safe out here!" He yelled at me over the sound of the storm, beginning to carry me away from the ledge—away from my sister.

                     "We can't leave her! We can't just leave her! Put me fucking down, you bastard!" I yelled, my fists slamming into his back over and over again, thrashing my body. But it was no use, Ethan was a million times stronger than I could ever be—I was no match against him. "Ethan, please! She'll hate you! She'll fucking hate you if you do this!" I threatened but even I knew that wasn't true. Lennon didn't have that in her. As long as everyone was safe, she would accept being abandoned. But I couldn't accept it.

                      "She'd hate me if I didn't keep you safe." He corrected, making me let out a desperate cry as I tried to get myself off of him. No one else seemed to be arguing other than me, all too afraid of the storm to help my sister and I hated them. Lennon didn't have it in her but I did—in that moment, I hated each and every single fucking one of them.

                      Ethan carried me the entire way back to camp. Even when we reached it and he put me down, he still didn't let go of my wrist, holding onto me with a death grip I was sure would leave a bruise.

                     Everyone began making their way towards the plane when Hattie's voice stopped them, "Wait!" She called out, rain smacking into her, the wind almost knocking her down. "We can't go in there! It could get struck by lightning!" She cried, wiping the rain from her face but it didn't matter, the rain was a force to be reckoned with and immediately had her skin drenched within a second.

                      "Well, we can't stay out here!" Imani argued, a horrified look on her face, her curly hair wild in the high winds.

                     "She's right! Aren't trees likely to get struck by lightning too?!" Brooklyn exclaimed, a wild look in her eyes.

                    "Then what the fuck do we do?!" Nora screamed, her voice breaking, eyes wide with mascara all over her face.

                     Lennon would know. Lennon would know what to do—she always did. But they had all left her at the bottom of a fucking cliff in a mudslide and now we were doomed. It was either take our chances getting struck by lightning inside the plane or outside. Lennon would have known how to keep everyone safe, she always did.

                     Hattie looked around, taking in her surroundings. After a moment, it seemed like she had made up her mind, "Okay, just get in the plane and quick! Grab your shit and get inside!" She exclaimed, moments before lightning struck so close, it made the ground beneath us shake.

                    Ethan began dragging me towards the plane and shoved me inside. We were the first two in there and the moment he let me go, I tripped and fell onto the floor. Without thinking, my anger getting the better of me I kicked him hard in the chest, sending him flying into the cockpit doors. I knew that usually, it wouldn't have even knocked him off balance, but he hadn't been expecting me to do it—I had caught him off guard. I even caught myself off guard.

                     He took a moment to compose himself, thick curls hanging in front of his eyes. And then he bound towards me and grabbed ahold of my shoulders, "Do you think I wanted to leave her? Do you think I really wanted to do that?" He yelled at me, giving me a shake as I cried, trying to fight him off of me. "You're not the only one that cares about her, you know! We all care about her! I care about her—"

                  "If you really cared you wouldn't have fucking left her!" I screamed at him, trying to shove at his chest but he caught my hands and pushed me backwards, pinning me down onto the floor, holding me down by the wrists as I squirmed from beneath him, sobbing hysterically

                   "All Lennon ever wants is for you to be safe, okay? She cares about you the most! If I let you stay out there, you could have been hurt and she would never have forgiven me! She would never forgive you either for being so fucking stupid!" He yelled at me, the palms of his hands pushing against my wrists, his face inches from mine, water droplets from his hair dripping onto my cheeks. "I did this for her, alright? I made sure you were safe—"

                   "Who gives a fuck if I'm safe!" I screamed at him, raising my head against the ground. "I'm not the important one! She is! If she dies, we're all fucked! We won't last out here! Not without Lennon!" I was sobbing hysterically, and everyone else was beginning to gather on the plane but I was completely oblivious to them, wrapped up in my own meltdown.

                    "Don't you think I know that? We all know that! But I had to make sure you were safe. It's what she would fucking want!" Ethan yelled back at me, squeezing his eyes shut. He relaxed his grip on my wrists, hanging his head. "We'll find her, alright? We just have to wait out the storm. June, I promise you, we're going to find your sister. But in the meantime, I'm going to keep you safe—I'll keep all of you safe for her. So please, just let me keep you safe. Let me do it for her." He was no longer yelling at me, his words coming out softer as he hung his head, the curls on his forehead touching mine.

                    I lay there, for the first time no longer fighting against him. I was completely still. After a moment, I spoke up, "If anything happens to her, I'll never forgive you," I said coldly before raising my head, looking around the faces staring at me. "I won't forgive any of you." I threatened. And finally, Ethan got off of me but he didn't move, staying close to me.

                   "You're not the only one who has someone you care about, you know," Kitty suddenly said, glaring at me as she stood there, drenched from the rain. Thunder rumbled in the distance, the plane shaking side-to-side. "Ivy fell with her—and she's my best friend. Lennon isn't the only person in the world who fucking matters. Other people matter too, not just your sister." She hissed, her hands bunched into fists at her sides.

                    I chuckled humorously as I got to my feet, "And yet, you left her without a second thought." I spat out.

                    Kitty swung at me and I stumbled to the ground.

                    The punch hurt. It made my jaw ache and my eyes water as Kitty then grabbed me by the scruff of the neck, her fist raised, ready to hit me again, "You insufferable little bitch." Kitty growled, her eyes dark, hands shaking as everyone began yelling at her.

                   I couldn't help it, I laughed in her face. She went to hit me again but I was saved by Evie calling out to her, "Kitty, stop!" She exclaimed, grabbing onto her fist with tiny hands. Kitty was heaving from where she sat on top of me, her fingers curled around the front of my soaking T-Shirt.

                     "Why should I? Between her and Lennon, they walk around with their heads so far up their asses. People like that deserve a good beating." She hissed, giving my T-Shirt a shake as I stared at her, almost blankly. I didn't give a shit if she hit me again. Nothing mattered anymore. Not when my sister was out there, probably terrified and thinking I had left her behind. Or worse. She could have been dead for all I knew.

                      Surprisingly, Imani took a step forward, getting involved, "Kitty, let her go before I make you let her go." She warned, staring at the back of the girls skull.

                      "Do that and I'll break your nose." Nora threatened, only making Imani laugh, as if her threat was weak. Which I suppose to Imani, it was. She might have been some pretty Princess, but she knew how to throw it down with someone—and she had never lost a fight.

                    "Everyone enough!" Maggie exclaimed, her hands bunched into fists at her chest. Her eyes were watering as she looked around. "Lennon wouldn't want this—Ivy either. They wouldn't want us at each others throats right now when we're already in danger as it is. They're our Captains. They'd want us to be safe, not trying to hurt each other when we need each other." She tried reasoning and I knew she was right. Lennon wouldn't want anyone fighting over her and that made me so fucking mad. She could be such a push-over. She should want people to give a shit about her.

                   After a moment, Kitty let me go, "You're not even worth it." She growled down at me before grabbing Evie's hand and dragging her to the back of the plane, sitting down on the floor by the parachute that was rippling in the wind, threatening to fly off.

                    No one said another word, retreating to their chosen places. But I stayed rooted to the spot. I barley even moved an inch as I sat there, staring straight ahead. If Lennon was dead, I would never forgive any of them—or myself for that matter. And if she was truly dead, I would go with her. There was no life worth living if I didn't have Lennon.

                   AUTHORS NOTE.

                   well... that was something! this was actually super sad for me to write bc the twins care sm about each other 🥹!!

                   — taylor xx