Oblivion (A Stiles Stilinski/Teen Wolf Fanfiction) [3]

Chapter 41 - Sleepless Nights

 I just can't stop thinking about him. Every inch of me is worried out of my mind that something else is wrong but I don't know what it is. I know that Stiles hasn't been himself lately, I just haven't wanted to admit it to myself. This darkness that he let in when he sacrificed himself for his father affects him more and more each day. I can't sit back and watch to the point where it takes over.

 I've been laying in bed for three hours now, sleep not even on the table. It's hard enough to sleep without Stiles, let alone knowing that there is something going on with him. I balled my fists up into the long sleeves of Stiles' hoodie I had stolen. I nuzzled my nose into the collar, loving the way it smelled freshly of him. 

 The other side of my bed felt cold and empty without him occupying it. I reached out my hand, but all I caught was air. I was stupid for thinking that he could just somehow magically appear next to me. Then again, I have seen stranger things happen in this town.

 The thing is, I never used to actually need someone. I was perfectly fine handling things on my own. Then came Stiles. He showed me that I didn't have to be alone, that it was okay to depend on people once in a while. He gave me hope then, and he is my hope now. He's my anchor.

 What he said to Scott and I earlier about possibly being the one killing people hasn't stopped running through my mind. I believe in a lot of things in this world. I believe in werewolves and spirits and prayer. I don't, however, believe for a second that my boyfriend -- my Stiles -- is the one trying to kill people. 

 I was pulled from my thoughts when my phone began buzzing on my bedside table. I sat up to look, and was surprised when I saw Scott's name above the incoming call. I yanked the charger out and pressed the phone to my ear.

 "Scott?"

 "Emma," he said, his voice frantic. "Emma, it's Stiles. Something's wrong,"

 My heart felt like it had come up and out of my throat. "Scott, what's happening? What's wrong?"

 "He - he called me, he said he doesn't know where he is," said Scott. "He sounded terrified,"

 I jumped out of my bed and immediately began grabbing whatever article of clothing I could find and throwing it on. My hand found my light switch and flicked it on, giving me a better sight as to what exactly I was grabbing.

 "Where are you? I'll meet you somewhere," I said. "We'll find him,"

 "Isaac and I are going to his house now," he said. 

 "I'll be there in five minutes,"

 I hung up the phone and slipped on a pair of boots. My hair and face were both a mess, but I really couldn't care less about that right now. Stiles is missing and I have to find him. I have to get past this unbearable, twisting knot in my stomach and focus.

 I slipped on a coat before grabbing my keys and practically sprinting out of my apartment. They said it was going to be cold tonight, and the possibility that Stiles could be out there freezing to death makes me feel physically ill. 

 The familiar route to his house didn't take me long. I pulled up the same time as Scott and Isaac, the three of us not hesitating before running inside. I was the first one to reach his bedroom, but I stopped in my tracks when I saw that Lydia and Aiden were already here. 

 However, it was what was behind them that caused me to throw a hand over my mouth to stifle an upcoming sob. Stiles' wall had twice as many pictures on it now than it did when I was last here. Red strings were tacked all around them, all leading into the center where they had been tied around a pair of scissors stabbed into the middle of his bed.