POV: Frankie

"You rang?" Blake's voice echoes in the dark as they come up behind me on the beach. I smile to myself and crane my neck backwards, beckoning them over towards me, and patting the rocky shore beside where I sat.

Blake tenderly steps forward, their hands in their baggy pants pockets. They pause for a moment, gazing out at the vast lake. The moonlight glistened against the water, seemingly sending the light in a dozen different directions. Blake took a deep breath and finally plopped down beside me, cross-legged. 

We sit in silence for a moment, sharing the heaviness that the last few weeks had been. 

"Fuck, I'm sorry, Blake," I finally stutter out, just as Blake opened their mouth to speak. They laugh, finally making eye-contact with me. 

"I'm sorry, too. I mean, definitely not as sorry as you should be-- but still sorry," They smirk, as I instinctively roll my eyes. Blake can't go ten seconds without cracking a damn joke, but for once-- I really appreciate it. 

"It's hard for me, Blake. To-- fuck, I don't know, to just sit there and let somebody be so unnecessarily cruel to you. I never really seem to have the right words to defend you, but I can always rely on--" I pause, snorting. "Physical violence,"

Blake picks up a small rock from the beach, running their fingers over it as the consider my statement. 

"I get it. I mean, hell, all Marley ever wants us to do is to talk everything out, but she never tells us how," They say with a seriousness that catches me off guard. "I just turn everything into a joke," They admit, giving me a sideways look. I smile softly. 

"Well, at least your problem won't get you in trouble," I reply. Blake chuckles. 

"I guess. But it sort of gets you in trouble. I realize that I do have a tendency to start fights-- and then I let you finish them," Blake winds their arm up and tosses the rock as far as they can, landing with a satisfying splash a good distance into the lake. I smiled in the dark. It felt good to hear Blake admit that. 

"I guess we're sort of awful for each other," I laugh dryly, hating to admit it. 

"Naw. Shut up, dude. We're family. And I don't know a whole lot about family, but you've done more for me than any other fucker in the world. We might be dysfunctional family, but hey, all that matters is that we're here, now, admitting to our mistakes and promising to do better. That's more than my real family ever did for me, anyways," Blake says solemnly, grabbing my hand and giving it a squeeze, once again, taking me by surprise. We were always goofing around together, but it was very rare that Blake and I showed each other much affection. I squeeze back. 

"You are my real family," I whisper, all at once realizing how true that statement really is. We sat in silence for another moment, gradually leaning further and further on each other until we were laying down with our heads side by side, staring at the stars. 

"Are we, uh, ever gonna talk about Taylor?" I finally have the courage to say. Blake lets out a huff of air. 

"I didn't realize she resented us so much," Blake mumbles in response. I continue staring at the sky, looking for the only constellation I could recognize: Orion. "I guess I just sort of thought we grew apart. Taylor and I. But in her eyes, I replaced her with you," Blake continues. I shiver, pulling my flannel tighter around my neck. 

"I didn't do anything to her-- I mean, not originally," I mumble, feeling defensive. "I didn't even know you guys were ever friends--" Blake cuts me off. 

"I know-- and she knows that. We, uh, talked. It was my fault. Then she just let that anger towards me fester out of control until-- well, until now," Blake shifts, sitting up. "I didn't really realize that I missed the person she used to be. And I think you would like her, too," Blake stares at me, willing me to look at them. I shut my eyes. 

"I'll apologize to her, Blake, but we will never be friends," I say, defeated. Blake sighs. 

"Maybe not. But try?" Blake asks, their voice sounding small and frail. "Families can be more than just two people," 

"Fine. Let's go find her," I reply, forcing myself to stand up and brushing off the back of my clothes. Blake reaches out for me to help them up, and with a small grunt, I heft them upright. 

As we get closer to camp, we start looking around for Taylor. I can't help but notice that Rowan is no longer standing in the cluster of counselors. In fact-- the group had completely dwindled down to two people I didn't even know the names of. As I searched for Taylor, I kept an eye out for Rowan, too, getting an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. 

"Let's check behind the mess hall," Blake mutters, still searching for Taylor. I nod, following their lead. 

We traipse around the abandoned buildings-- the mess hall, Darlene's office, commissary, the tool shed, feeling slightly spooked in the pitch black of night. We were a ways away from the cabins, where the pathways were lit, and everything felt-- well, dead. 

Finally, as we approached the infirmary, we heard voices, and one of them was definitely Rowan's. We turned the corner, and there they both were. Taylor was seated next to Rowan, their backs leaning up against the wall of the infirmary. Rowan's cheeks were flushed, and the bubbly energy from earlier seemed to have vanished. I glance at Blake and they shrug, hurrying over to the pair. 

"Ro?" I say as they notice us. Her face lights up when she sees me, and a small smile leaks out. "Are you okay? Did she say something to you?" I ask quickly, assuming the worst. Taylor scoffs, throwing her hands up in the air. 

"Chill out, lesbo. I didn't do shit to her-- I found her like this, and came to comfort her," She says, only half-smugly, crossing her arms. 

"What's wrong?" I ask, falling to my knees beside her, and grabbing her hand. She closes her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. I can tell by how ragged it was that she had been crying-- hard. 

"Nothing. I just got in a fight with Kalea, that's all," She shrugs, opening her eyes and glancing at the ground. I glance at Taylor, who offers me a small shrug. 

"What did she say to you?" I ask plainly, rage flashing behind my eyes. Blake comes up close behind me and holds me at the shoulders. 

"Calm down," They mutter, squeezing their fingers tight into my muscles. 

"Nothing, Frankie, it's okay. It was just a stupid fight," She insists, leaning her head back against the wall. She takes a deep breath. I close my eyes, following suit. In, and out. Deep breaths. 

"Are you sure?" I ask again, after a moment. I search her eyes, but she gives me nothing. 

"I'm sure," She whispers, leaning forward and kissing me on the cheek. I got the sense that she wasn't telling me the whole story, but I didn't want to push. I wanted Rowan to know that I could give her space when she needed it, plus, I had another matter at hand. 

"How about," Blake starts, interrupting my train of thought, "I sit here and entertain our little weeping willow, and you two go... talk," They suggest, helping me up off the ground, and then Taylor. We regard each other and shrug. 

"Are you sure you're okay?" I ask Rowan again, squeezing her hand tightly from above. She nods. 

"Go, I'm fine," She insists again. Blake slings an arm over her shoulder and smiles boldly at me. 

"I'll keep her safe," They laugh. I squint my eyes at them-- I hadn't forgotten the flirtatious comments they'd made about Rowan a few weeks ago. But nevertheless, I walked off with Taylor. A sentence I truly never thought I'd say. 

"Uh-- sorry about that," I mutter sheepishly as we fall in step along the walking path. Taylor shrugs. 

"I was just making sure she was okay, it was no big deal," Taylor replies quietly. I nod. 

"Actually, I meant that I'm sorry for-- like, jumping down your throat," I laugh. Taylor gives me a look, clearly not as amused as I was. "Seriously, though, Tay. I've been a huge fucking asshole to you, lately. And I'm sorry," I mutter through clenched teeth. Taylor stops dead in her tracks. 

"Don't say anything you don't mean, Frankie." She says, looking small in the moonlight. I stop and turn to face her in the middle of the path. 

"I do mean it," I reply. She gives me a quizzical look. 

"This isn't group. Just say what you really mean," She says in a low voice, as usual trying to get a rise out of me. I sigh, putting my hands on my hips and gazing at the sky.

"You're really not going to make this easy for me," I laugh, but then stop. It was just like Rowan said. Nothing I could do or say would ever be good enough for her, she would just keep pushing and pushing and pushing until I crack, and then I would be the asshole all over again.

I glance back at Taylor. "Look, Tay. I don't need you to like me. Or forgive me. Or, hell, even accept my apology. I just need you to listen," I start. She slouches, staring at me blankly. "I'm sorry for everything I've ever done to you. I'm sorry for the instance in group, I'm sorry for--"

"--Save it, Frankie. You can apologize all you want, but every time I rub you the wrong way, you'll just turn right back into the monster that everybody hates so much. And next time, they won't forgive you. Marley, Blake, even your little girlfriend-- they've all seen the kind of person you really are. So do us both a favor and stop pretending like you're gonna change, 'cause you're not," She spews, her voice rising louder and louder. I feel the heat rising underneath my skin, but I push it back down. 

"Seriously, Taylor, I just want to work this out. I really think that we can--"

"--Get it through your head, Frankie. I don't want to work this out," She shouts back at me. I look at her like she's crazy and she forces out a laugh. "I'm not just going to roll over and let you win. I will make your life a literal fucking hell until you get the fuck out of here," She snarls. Jesus, what kind of batshit did I just unleash?

"And what makes you think I won't just go back there and tell Blake and Rowan what you just said?" I ask, stepping towards her and peering down the length of her nose. 

"Go ahead. At the end of the day, you'll still be the same old Frankie, right? But, if you do happen to mention anything about me-- I'll make sure everyone knows what happened to your little brother," She snaps, getting right back up in my face. I freeze for a moment, stunned. After a moment, I take a step back, laughing to myself. 

"You read my file," I state plainly. She smirks. 

"Yeah, I fucking did. And there's a hell of a lot more where that came from, too."