𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐬 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 ▷ Stiles Stilinski²

67|the jersey

"Lydia, hey, I was just about to call you," I said, stepping aside to let her into my house.

She gave a tight smile as she stepped inside. "I had this thought about Stiles and what we saw in Canaan that I just couldn't shake, and I needed to talk to someone about it."

"Of course," I nodded, leading her to my bedroom.

We took a seat on the bed and Lydia began to pick at her nails nervously. Whatever she was thinking, she either wasn't sure she was right or wasn't sure I would believe her.

"Lydia?"

She bit her lip for a moment, before placing her hands in her lap and turning to face me. "Okay, so you know how Lenore conjured up Caleb so that she didn't have to be alone?"

The mere thought of the child made me shiver. We'd seen some weird things before in Beacon Hills, but certainly no ghosts. I nodded, continuing to listen.

"Well. . . what if the Sheriff is doing the same thing? What if he conjured up Claudia to deal with losing Stiles?"

My mouth fell open a little as I took in what she was saying. "Look, Lydia, she gives me weird vibes too, but we both saw her. She's alive."

"No, you saw how she looked at us when I went to peel back the wallpaper. And you told me how she treated you when you started asking questions again. There's more to it," Lydia shook her head.
"There's something I didn't tell you all - about what I found when I was researching Claudia."

"What did you find?"

"She had frontotemporal dementia. She should have died from it, but suddenly, she was miraculously healthy, which isn't possible because-"

"You know what they're looking for, right? It's called frontotemporal dementia," a voice said in the back of my mind.
"Areas of your brain start to shrink. It's what my mother had. It's the only form of dementia that can hit teenagers."

"There's no cure," I completed, making eye contact with the girl.

I found my breathing unsteady as I tried to grab back onto the voice. But, as quickly as it came, I could feel it slipping. It was Stiles, I knew that. Which only confirmed that Claudia had frontotemporal dementia, and should have died as a result.

"Exactly," Lydia confirmed.

"Well, Scott and the others have a plan to catch a Ghost Rider tomorrow night, so maybe we won't have to do anything about Claudia," I suggested with hope, not wanting to be the one to break the Sheriff's heart.

"Riley, what if having Claudia there is the thing that is stopping him from being able to remember Stiles?" Lydia asked.

My eyes drifted to my wall where all the photos were still pinned up. I looked so happy in all of them; all because of Stiles.
"You're right," I said softly.

"I think you should be the one to tell him."

At this, my eyes widened. "What? You're the Banshee, though."

"And you're the one who had the closest connection to Stiles," she countered. "If anyone is going to be able to convince him, it will be you."

♧♤♢♡

I didn't sleep at all that night. Any time I tried, my thoughts kept me awake. I was in a constant battle against my subconscious which continued to try and keep Stiles from me.

Plus, what Lydia said had been eating away at me also. All the logical facts said that Claudia Stilinski should not be alive, and yet, she was at home with her husband. Lydia's explanation was the only thing that made sense.