The Bite

13: Mates

"I'm fine, mom." Scott reassured as Melissa fussed over him. She scoffed in response, brushing his hair out of his eyes gently.

Scott blushed, glancing behind his mother to see the Sheriff standing awkwardly next to the door of the hospital room with a notepad and pen. The police had shown up not long after the shooting had began. Scott had been taken to the hospital for the wounds on his chest. He didn't remember most of it, being dazed by dwindling adrenaline and fear. When he woke up he had three stitches running from his chest to his hip and his mother doting on him.

"Mom." Scott raised his eyebrow at her. Melissa stood up straight and sighed. She smoothed out her scrubs and gave him a pitying look.

"Alright, alright. Will you be okay here with the Sheriff? I have other patients. Though, there should be other nurses availa-"

"Mom! Go, I'm okay." Scott smiled reassuring at her, successfully keeping the shakiness out of his voice.

Melissa nodded and reluctantly let herself out, lingering in the door for a moment before walking away. The Sheriff smiled at him then and took a seat next to the boys bed.

"Hey, Scott." He said softly. "You know how this goes by now. Just a few questions, okay?"

Scott nodded, casting his eyes downward and fiddling with a loose thread on his blanket.

"What were you doing at the school last night?"

"I um, I got a message from Stiles but when I got there he wasn't- he wasn't there." Scott lied, knowing his phone had been taken by evidence and they would see the message. "I don't think he had been the one to send it. He was meant to pick me up at my house."

The Sheriff sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. He nodded, wishing his son hadn't been involved.

"Okay, Scott. And do you know what attacked you?"

Scott shook his head, his wide eyes staring at the wall as he remembered the monster. "No," His voice shook. "But it was big, really big. It was some kind of animal, I'm not sure what. I mean, I mean it was like a- a bear?" Scott changed his story quickly, remembering that Stiles had been like the creature. He didn't want to sell out his friend until he spoke to him.

"A bear? You're sure of that?" Noah asked, his eyebrow raised sceptically.

Scott just nodded silently.

"Okay. There was meant to be a janitor on duty at the school but we found no trace of him anywhere. His car was in the lot. Do you know what happened to him?"

Scott nodded again with a whimper. He began to shake as his eyes filled with tears.

"I-I was hiding in the locker rooms a-and he came in and thought I was pulling a prank or something.." he took a deep breath. "He threw me out but when he closed the door he- he was screaming and there was so much blood! S-so much blood..." Scott whimpered, beginning to hyperventilate.

The Sheriff put his notebook down quickly and grabbed Scott's inhaler. "Hey, son. It's okay, you're okay." He reassured, helping the boy.

Melissa ran in quickly at the speeding of her son's heart rate monitor. She rushed over quickly, petting his hair as he calmed down. "I think maybe that's enough questions for now, Sheriff." She suggested warningly.

Noah nodded and stood up, looking at Scott sadly. "Thank you, Scott. Don't you worry, we'll find this bear, okay?"

Scott nodded, sinking down into his bed, still staring blankly at the wall.

Both parents shared a glance before walking out into the hall. The Sheriff filled Melissa in on what her son had told him. "I'm gonna run this down to the station. A deputy should be here in a few minutes to stand outside. He'll be okay, Melissa." He pulled his friend into a hug and held her as she took some deep breaths.