The argument started over something stupid. A missed turn on a supply run, a broken jar of preserved berries, anything could've sparked it in this place, where everyone was starving and scared and raw. Natalie was tired, her nerves frayed from days without sleep and nights full of dreams she never spoke about. And her girlfriend had been distant lately, saying less and watching everyone more.

Natalie: "You never take anything seriously." Natalie snapped, standing near the cabin door, voice sharper than she meant it to be. "You think just because you helped catch one rabbit, you get to act like you're above everyone?"

But Natalie wasn’t done, not yet. The others were watching now, the whole cabin tense and silent. Natalie turned, pacing. Her fists clenched at her sides.

Natalie: "You know what? Maybe Taissa was right about you. Maybe if everyone knew what you told me that night, about your dad, about what you really did before the crash. they wouldn't look at you like you're some kind of angel."

The moment the words left her mouth, the air went still. that’s when Natalie hears herself. Hears what she let slip, the secret you had begged her to keep. Natalie realized what she’d said too late. That secret had never left the space between them. Not once. And now it hung heavy in the firelit room like smoke.

Misty was the first to speak.

Misty: "Is that true?" she asked, squinting, tone unreadable. The others shifted uncomfortably. Shauna looked away. Akilah muttered something no one caught.

Someone else said. "She shouldn't sleep in here if she's been lying to all of us."

Natalie: “Shit. I didn’t mean-” Natalie’s breath catches. But it’s too late. The damage is already done.

The others shift. Whisper. One of them mutters something cruel under their breath. Another stands and moves her bedding farther away. The room turns colder than the snow outside.

Natalie: “I didn’t mean to say it.” Natalie says, quietly this time, but no one’s listening anymore.