The car sputtered twice before giving up completely. Cassie tightened her grip on the steering wheel, heart pounding. “No, no, no—come on,” she muttered, twisting the key again. Nothing. Beside her, Riley groaned, pulling her hoodie tighter around herself. “Great. Just great. This is exactly why I said we shouldn’t take this shortcut.” Cassie shot her younger sister a glare. “Oh, so this is my fault?”, “You’re the one who wanted to ‘beat the GPS time,’” Riley snapped. Cassie opened her mouth for a sharp retort but bit it back. Their fight wouldn’t get them out of the middle of nowhere, with nothing but dense Wisconsin pines stretching endlessly in every direction. The two-lane road they’d been following for hours was empty, the last gas station miles behind them.

Cassie exhaled hard and rubbed her temples. “Let’s think. We have a flashlight, snacks—”, “—and zero bars of service,” Riley cut in, holding up her phone. Cassie resisted the urge to scream. The sun had already dipped behind the trees, the air turning crisp. If they didn’t figure something out soon, they’d be stuck here all night. “Okay,” she said, forcing her voice to stay even. “We walk. If we keep heading in the direction we were driving, we’ll hit a main road eventually.”

Riley hesitated, glancing at the dark forest pressing in around them. “You think that’s a good idea?”, “You have a better one?” Riley muttered something under her breath but shoved open the car door. Cassie grabbed their small emergency backpack and a half-full water bottle, then switched on the flashlight. The trees swallowed them almost immediately, their footsteps muffled by thick layers of fallen leaves. The deeper they walked, the quieter the world became. Even the wind barely stirred.

Cassie kept her focus ahead, but she could feel Riley’s tension beside her. It had been like this for years—like walking on ice, waiting for it to crack. Ever since they were kids, something had always simmered between them. Jealousy, competition. Cassie, the eldest, the “golden child” who excelled in school, sports, everything. Riley, the shadow, always trying to catch up, never quite enough.

“You ever think about Mom?” Riley asked suddenly., Cassie’s grip on the flashlight tightened. “What kind of question is that?”,“I mean…” Riley kicked at a rock. “You never talk about her. It’s like she didn’t exist.”, Cassie inhaled sharply. “She left, Riley. What is there to talk about?” “She left me,” Riley corrected, voice rising. “You had her for twelve years. I barely had six before she walked out. You remember things about her that I never got to.”, Cassie clenched her jaw, shoving aside the old pain pressing at her ribs. “Yeah, and you had Dad doting on you 24/7 after she left. You were his favorite.”. Riley stopped walking. “What?”, “You heard me.” Cassie turned to face her, the flashlight casting long shadows. “You got all the attention. I had to be perfect so he wouldn’t leave, too.” Riley’s mouth parted slightly, her face a mix of anger and something softer. “I thought you were the favorite. You always did everything right. You were the one people compared me to.”, Cassie exhaled, the weight of years pressing on her chest. “You think that made me happy?”

Silence.

Then, rustling. Not from them. Cassie jerked the flashlight toward the sound, heart hammering. A low, guttural growl cut through the trees. Riley grabbed her arm. “Cassie…”, A pair of glowing eyes gleamed from the brush ahead. A coyote—no, two. Maybe more., “Slow,” Cassie whispered. “Don’t run.”Riley nodded, her fingers digging into Cassie’s sleeve. They took a step back, then another. The coyotes stayed still, watching. Then, without warning, one lunged. Cassie shoved Riley aside as she swung the flashlight, slamming it against the coyote’s head. The impact sent a shock up her arm, but the creature yelped and scrambled back. Another lunged, but Riley grabbed a fallen branch and swung wildly, shouting. For a tense moment, the coyotes hesitated. Then, as quickly as they had appeared, they retreated into the shadows.

Cassie stood there, panting. Riley, shaking. After a long beat, Riley let out a breathless laugh. “Holy shit.” Cassie looked at her, and—maybe it was the adrenaline, or maybe it was something breaking free inside her—but she laughed too. For the first time in years, they weren’t two rivals fighting for scraps of love. They were just sisters. Cassie reached out, pulling Riley into a fierce hug. “I don’t hate you,” she murmured. Riley clutched her back just as tightly. “I don’t hate you either.”, For the first time, they believed it.

_And as they walked out of the woods, side by side, the weight of old wounds felt just a little lighter._