Heartbeat // A Derek Hale Love Story (Teen Wolf)

Bittersweet

"Melissa--" I tried to shrug her off, but I was unsuccessful, flattening my hand to my forehead, feeling a sob rise in my throat.

"Lillian, Rosie, your mom does have cancer," Dad finally admitted, crouching in front of Rosie and I. "It is Stage IV--"

"No--" I sobbed, bringing my knees to my chest up on the bench violently, kicking Dad in the process my accident. "Come on--"

"But--" Dad continued, grabbing my ankle gently. "There're options here, this isn't it for her."

"It sure as hell sounds like this is it!" I seethed, forcibly removing myself from Melissa's grip and pushing past my dad.

"Lillian!" Dad called after me, as I ran down the hallway, ignoring him. "Wait!"

I found the nearest door under a glaring EXIT sign, thrusting it open as hard as I could, to reveal a stairwell.

Suddenly, beneath the echo of the slamming as I shut the metal aperture, a voice was heard.

"Are you okay?"

I spun around, faced with a kid who looked a little older than Rosie, maybe ten or so, in a faded Batman t-shirt.

I drew my wrist across my face to be rid of my hot tears as best I could.

"Pretty much, no." I snapped.

"Why?" The boy asked, tilting his head, his innocent eyes curious.

"My mom, she's really sick." I coughed, moving to plop down on the top stair, leaning against the harshly cold bars of the railing.

"Really?" The boy asked, sitting down next to me. "My mom is too."

"Oh, I-I'm sorry to hear that."

"She has 'frontotemporal dementia'." The boy told me, giving a bittersweet smile. "I've been practicing how to pronounce that."

"I'm impressed." I sniffed, patting the kid's back lightly, understanding what his mom had was going to kill her. "What's your name?"

"Stiles Stilinski." He responded, his cute smile reflecting in his light brown eyes.

"Lillian Stager."

"Pleased to meet you." Stiles said, extending his hand, smaller than mine, which I took.

"Yeah, you too." My voice betrayed me, cracking under the sorrow in my chest, more tears flooding my vision.

I was shocked at the fact that this little boy, probably scared out of his mind like I was, was taking the time to talk to me like a normal kid.

"Hey, it's okay." Stiles told me, placing his little hand on my shoulder.

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, my soaking eyelashes making it more difficult to see.

"You wanna go somewhere cool?" Stiles asked, changing the subject.

"Uh, okay." I agreed, curious as to where Stiles was talking about.

"C'mon." He grabbed my hand before standing, lightly pulling me up with him.

With that Stiles led me up the shiny steps, to the top floor.

"Stiles, where're we going?"

"Just wait!" Stiles laughed, as we walked to the end of the hallway, where the looked to be a service door. Stiles opened it with ease, revealing another staircase.