That Girl (A Derek Hale Love Story)

Chapter 18

EDITED

Derek turned off the engine when he was comfortable with their position looking out over the cliff. Haylie undid her seatbelt and turned to face him but stayed silent as she saw his clenched jaw and eyes darting over the scenery. They hadn't said a word after she got in the car and once, she realised he wasn't driving to his house or hers, she decided to let him say whatever it was that he wanted to say in the comforts of whatever environment he chose.

After another 5 minutes of waiting and the only movement coming from Derek's hands finding their way from the wheel, into his jacket pockets, she couldn't take anymore. "I'm sorry." His eyes didn't stray from the cliff even after she spoke. "Derek, you wanted to talk but you're not saying anything."

"I didn't attack the bus driver." He finally said, giving away no emotion to tell the young brunette that she had hurt him with her recent actions.

Haylie nodded. "I know." Derek scoffed back and finally turned to lay his eyes on her.

"But you think I killed my sister?" She let out a groan before shaking her head.

"I know you didn't kill your sister," He rolled his eyes and looked back to the cliff to avoid getting lost in whatever her and her brother had drummed up as excuses. "Derek, I didn't even know that it was your sister that was killed. You never told me but, as soon as I found out I knew it wasn't you and I've been waiting to see you just so I could tell you, that I'm sorry." He listened to her heartbeat for any sign of a lie but there wasn't even a blip. He knew her eyes were on him instead of her usual tell of looking for an escape, so he decided to turn and meet her eyes again and when he did, he knew she was sincere. "The Alpha killed her right? That's why you're after him?"

Derek looked away again, this time with a shrug, deciding to voice the thoughts he had to deal with alone. "When I found Laura, her body was cut in half." Haylie nodded along, even though she knew he was no longer focusing solely on her. "It's what they do. It's how they kill us." He turned back and focused on her beauty once again. "The Argents."

While Derek had told Haylie about the hunters, it hadn't really sunk in to her how much of a threat they were to his kind. Except it wasn't just his kind anymore, it was Scott's too. "I'm really sorry about your sister. And I'm sorry I didn't trust you, but I do now." He shifted in his seat, surprised that she was being honest. She did trust him. "But I need to know what happened to the bus driver. Was it Scott?"

"No." The relief that washed over her allowed Haylie to slide down a little in the seat and lose some of the tension. "He was called out against his will."

"Why?" He didn't know how to explain it in a way that wouldn't scare her. So, he settled on the smallest amount of truth he could give.

"He wants Scott in his pack. So, if he can get Scott to kill with him."

"He can get Scott to do anything." The relief disappeared again and was replaced with a feeling much worse but becoming all too familiar.

Haylie took in a deep breath, trying desperately to have a magic resolution to the Alpha sized, killing problem. However, she had only known about this stuff for 5 minutes and was still looking over her shoulder everywhere she went, terrified she would be his next victim. While she was brainstorming, she hadn't realised how Derek's eyes had become so fixated on her steady heartbeat that he had moved closer to her. He was watching how her eyes darted across the scenery the same way his own had. Her brown hair was down today with little effort apart from a brush running through after getting out the shower. There was something quite innocent in the way she looked, something calming.

"Haylie?" She turned her head towards him, but her response was captured in his mouth. Since the other night, all she could think about were his lips and what they felt like and here they were again except, this time she had learnt from her past mistake. She couldn't let her inner feelings distract her from reality, so she pulled away and placed her hands on his chest to keep him at bay.