War isn't over • LM / SS

Chapter 21 - a lamb to the slaughter

"Oh, I've heard that voice before, haven't I? What're you wanting? Another smoothie? A Lamborghini? A piece of my soul?" he groaned, a hand on his heart in mock offence. God, sometimes she wondered why he hadn't just been an actor. "Hit me with it."

"Can I go out with my friends? It's not gonna be for long! Please?" she hoped that her clasped hands and her widest smile would win him over. She didn't like betraying her dad's trust; it made her feel guilty, she was praying he would say yes to avoid climbing out her window like a modern-day Houdini.

Caleb rolled his eyes playfully, throwing a dishcloth into the sink, rolling up his sleeves as he cleared the table of any dishes that had been building up. "Yes, but only if you're home for dinner. That means come back by five or I'll report you as missing. Got it?" he verbalised the rules, double-checking that they were on the same page before he agreed to something he would regret later on. "Ah!" he exclaimed, stopping her from going any further. "Medications."

He began rooting through a drawer, one that he had dedicated to bandages, daily prescriptions and the like since moving into their new house. Finding the small box labelled Friday: afternoon, he passed her the tablets, leaning against the countertop, watching as she downed the two in one. "Open." She fixed him with a glare. "Cut me some slack, kiddo. You heard what the doctor said, I need to make sure you're taking them."

She complied with a sigh, knowing that he was right. She knew it was true, having been in the room when the doctor specified that it wasn't optional, he had to make sure she was taking them. Lifting her tongue to the roof of her mouth and to the sides, he made sure the tablets weren't hidden. "Does that mean I can go now?"

"Sure does. I'm proud of you," he pulled his daughter in for a hug, ignoring Cosmo by his feet. He thought she was doing a great job. She was handling it better than the last time. "Right. Bring your cardigan, just in case it gets cold. Be home by five at the latest, I'm serious about that, Phoenix, not a minute past. Have fun, love you!"

"Love you, Dad!" she shouted over her shoulder, the door closing behind her as she shrugged the violet cardigan over her shoulders. She smiled at her next-door neighbour as she passed, walking in the other direction. She knew where Max and Theo parked, it was less than a minute away from her house, not far but just far enough that her dad couldn't watch from behind the net curtains.

She searched for the usual black car with a new paint job, unable to find it parked in any of their usual spots. When Max jumped out of a silver car, spotting the Stilinski boy in the front seat, she almost lost her life. With eyes as wide as saucers, arms wrapped around her chest protectively, she seriously debated bolting straight back home. "What's he doing here?"

Max rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the anxiety radiating from her like a heater, growing warmer as Stiles started to get out. He waved his hand behind his back, a warning not to come any closer, he knew Phoenix, he could explain. "They're not the bad guys, I promise. Theo wasn't the one who poisoned Stiles' dad. It was another chimera and we think we know who it is. All I want is to keep you in the loop. Scott and the pack— I know you don't trust them yet and they don't know what you are— but I think knowing them will be good. For all of us. You don't have to do this if you don't want to, I just think that getting to know the pack would be a good thing for you."

Phoenix let the idea swirl in her head for a couple of seconds, a hand turning her necklace over and over as she thought. She looked past Max to the car, Stiles catching her eye and sending a tight-lipped smile her way. You know what? The more allies she had, the better. "Promise me you won't tell them what I am."