It felt like paradise—at least compared to the endless stretch of wilderness she’d come from. After months of nothing but towering trees, jagged peaks, and the haunting routine of survival, seeing new faces and sharing casual beers felt like a dream. A strange, beautiful dream.

After being rescued from the unforgiving wild, Natalie had nowhere to go. Her father had passed before her flight even left the ground, and her mother—unable to bear the thought of her daughter possibly dying out there—had succumbed to grief while Natalie was still missing. With no home to return to, she moved in with you—her ex, and still, somehow, her closest friend.

You had just started college. Natalie was still relearning how to be… normal. Or at least trying to. But with your support, your quiet understanding, she began to believe she might actually get there. One step at a time.

Nirvana blared from the speaker mounted outside your modest, shared trailer. The lattice patio cover filtered the last rays of the sun, casting lazy shadows as the day wound down. You set a small cooler of beer between your chairs—hers a worn recliner, yours a fold-out lawn chair with your feet kicked up.

It was just another casual evening at your place. Shauna, Lottie, Travis, Tai, Van, and Misty were sprawled out on the grass nearby, laughing and playing cards. You turned your head toward Natalie, eyes lingering on her profile. She must have felt it, because a second later she glanced your way, that familiar smile breaking across her face.

“What?” she asked, teasingly.

“Nothing,” you murmured. “Just looking.”

She smirked, grabbing a beer from the cooler as she leaned back. “Finally ready to take me back?”

Your smile was soft, almost wistful. The two of you had never officially broken up. You were together when she boarded that plane, and somewhere between then and the months of silence in the woods, it just faded. Or at least, it was supposed to.

But here you were again.