Chapter 5

The words felt like poison in my mouth, but they were forced out, ragged and broken. "I'm... I'm sorry." My voice was barely a whisper, a ghost of a sound, but it was enough. Enough to satisfy them. Enough to break me.

Hot, humiliating tears streamed down my face, blurring the triumphant smirk on Alexandria's lips. She looked down at me, her eyes devoid of any real pain, only a chilling satisfaction. "It's okay, Grace," she cooed, her voice sickly sweet. "I accept your apology. Just try to be more careful next time, alright?"

She extended a hand, a gesture of mock forgiveness. I recoiled, jerking my head away. I couldn't bear her touch. Not now. Not ever.

I scrambled to my feet, my knees aching, my entire body trembling. I looked at Josiah, his face still etched with anger, his arm still protectively wrapped around Alexandria. In that moment, he was a stranger. A cruel, heartless stranger whom I had once loved.

I turned and ran. I didn't know where I was going, only that I had to escape. The jeers and laughter followed me, sharp barbs piercing my already shattered heart. I ran until my lungs burned, until the camp faded behind me, until I was deep in the woods, surrounded by the cool, indifferent embrace of the trees.

I collapsed against a thick oak tree, gasping for breath, the sobs finally ripping through me. My phone vibrated in my pocket. My parents. My only solace. I typed a desperate message, my fingers fumbling. Mom, Dad, I need to come home. Please. Now.

Then, a sudden, chilling realization. The woods were growing darker. The air was heavy, pregnant with an approaching storm. Thunder rumbled in the distance, a low, ominous growl. Panic seized me. I was alone. Deep in unfamiliar woods, with a storm brewing, and my hearing aids, essential for navigating this world, were still in my bag, back at the miserable camp. I had left them in my rush.

I stumbled up, my mind racing. I had to go back. I had to.

I retraced my steps, the woods now a labyrinth of shadows and increasing wind. The thunder grew louder, closer. Rain began to fall, fine and cold at first, then quickly escalating into a downpour.

I finally burst out of the tree line, back into the camp clearing. Josiah and Alexandria were standing near the main cabin, huddled under a small awning, arguing. His face was flushed, hers tear-streaked.

"Where were you?" Josiah demanded, his voice tight with frustration, spotting me. "I was worried sick! You just ran off!"

"I... I went to find my hearing aids," I rasped, the rain plastering my hair to my face. My voice was weak, barely audible over the wind.

"Your hearing aids?" he scoffed. "You ran into the woods, in a storm, for your hearing aids? Grace, what is wrong with you? Don't you ever think?"

"I can't hear without them," I stated, my voice gaining a desperate edge. "I needed them. I can't be... alone like that."

"You're not a child, Grace!" he yelled, his frustration boiling over. "You're seventeen! You can't just run off every time you're upset. You scare me half to death!"

"You don't care about me!" I screamed back, the words tearing from my throat, raw and painful. "You only care about her! About your reputation!"

His face hardened. "That's not fair, Grace! I was worried about you! Just like I'm worried about Alex! You think I enjoy this? This drama? This constant... burden?"

The word, "burden," echoed the vile things I' d overheard yesterday. It hit me harder than any physical blow.

"Josiah, tell her to leave me alone!" Alexandria whined, clinging to his arm, shivering dramatically. "She's always like this! So clingy!"

"Alex, not now," Josiah muttered, but his eyes were still on me, filled with a mixture of anger and exasperation.

The rain intensified. The wind howled, whipping through the trees. The world around us seemed to mirror the tempest in my heart. The three of us stood there, drenched and miserable, the chasm between us growing wider with every passing moment.

Suddenly, a blinding flash of lightning split the sky, followed by an earth-shattering crack of thunder. Alexandria, with a piercing shriek, stumbled backward, pulling Josiah with her. Her foot slipped on the slick, muddy ground. I reached out instinctively to steady her, to him, but she twisted in a frantic motion. Her flailing arm caught me, hard, in the chest.

I lost my balance. My feet slid out from under me on the treacherous mud. I fell, tumbling down a small, steep embankment, the rough earth tearing at my skin. A sharp pain shot through my head as I hit something hard. My vision swam. And then, the world went silent. Utterly, terrifyingly silent. My hearing aids, my precious connection to sound, must have flown off.

Panic, cold and absolute, gripped me. I was alone. Again. In the dark, in the storm, in the silence. It was worse than the car crash. It was worse than anything.

"Josiah!" I screamed, my voice raw, desperate, but I couldn't hear it. I couldn't hear anything. The terrifying silence pressed in on me, suffocating me. "Josiah! Don't leave me! Please!"

I saw him above me, a vague outline in the driving rain. He was looking down, his face a contorted mask of fear and indecision. Alexandria was clinging to him, sobbing, pointing at me.

"Josiah! She's hurt! We have to go!" Alexandria cried, her voice a blurry, silent movement of her lips.

Josiah' s mouth moved. His body swayed. He was speaking, yelling maybe, but I couldn't hear a single word. The silence was absolute. The void was complete.

"Josiah!" I screamed again, my arms outstretched, begging. "Don't abandon me! Please! Not again!" The echoes of the car crash, of being left alone, trapped and helpless, roared in my mind. He had promised. He had sworn.

I saw him hesitate, his gaze fixed on my face, then on Alexandria's. His fear, his cowardice, was a palpable thing.

Then, Alexandria pulled him. Hard. He stumbled, then turned. He looked at me one last time, a brief, haunted glance, and then he was gone. Disappearing into the driving rain, leaving me alone in the terrifying, deafening silence.