The Shining ¥ Teen Wolf

twenty-two

    Winnie leaned against the marble island in the kitchen of her home, closing her eyes as Gerard Argent put a hand on her shoulder.

Gerard leaned in, angling towards Winnie's ear. He kept his voice low and haunting, it causing Winnie's skin to prickle. "I hope you're not lying to me."

Winnie clenched her jaw, Gerard squeezing her shoulder before letting go. She was shaking, more visibly than she would've liked.

"Since we've come to a mutual agreement," announced Gerard to both Winnie and Mr. Jones, "i'll delete this footage and act as if I never saw it."

The man seemed sweet, but Winnie knew he was a viper.

"I'll leave you two for the evening," Gerard said as he collected his laptop. Giving a sickly half smile, he headed out of the kitchen and towards the front door.

Both Aaron and Winnie stood in silence, left with a darkness lingering overhead.

"He's not a man you can lie to," Winnie quietly said to her father with a soft quake in her voice.

"We just did."

"It won't hold," Winnie told him. A single tear fell down her cheek, causing her to immediately reach up and wipe it away. "He's smart. He'll know I'm not-"

"Hey, come on, Win." Aaron went up behind his daughter, turning her towards him. "Breathe. We'll be okay. You'll be okay."

Winnie leaned against her father, feeling cold. "I can't do what he's asking."

"You'll have to, sweetheart." Aaron kept Winnie in a loose hug. "Let's get you cleaned up. Sit on the counter, I'll get the first aid kit."

Winnie pulled herself onto the island as Aaron left the room, still shaken by Gerard's visit. She let go of a soft breath, waiting for her father to return.

Aaron surfaced again, the sleeves of his white button up rolled to his elbows. He set the red box on the counter next to Winnie, beginning to search for alcohol wipes. "Do you feel alright?"

"I'm fine. I worked through most of my headache already." Wincing, Winnie let her father run the alcohol along the cut on her forehead.

"What about last night? I heard your car leave after you went to the pool." Aaron put two bandaids on Winnie after covering the injury in healing cream.

"I didn't want to stay here," Winnie told him as he started to clean up her bicep where Jackson had shredded her skin.

"Where did you go?"

"Since when do you pry?" Winnie retorted in question.

Aaron ran the alcohol wipes along her arm, meeting her eyes. "Since Gerard Argent put you under a microscope."

Winnie closed her eyes as her arm burned, trying not to pull away. "I just went to Lydia's," she lied.

"Take your arm out of your sleeve so I can wrap it up." Aaron passed over Winnie's answer, unsure if it was true or not. Even he knew he'd not earned her trust back yet.

Wearing a black tank underneath, Winnie went ahead and removed her sweater. She bundled it in her lap, hanging on to it as Aaron put gauze over the cuts and used an ace bandage to secure it.

"Take some ibuprofen before bed, alright?" Aaron threw away soiled alcohol wipes and paper wrappers, closing up the first aid kit as Winnie got down off the island.

"Okay," she agreed impartially while grabbing her sketchbook from the counter. "I'm gonna go to bed," she softly said. "It's been a long day."

"Sleep tight, munchkin." Aaron lightly kissed Winnie's temple, surprised she'd let him.