REAPING INNOCENCE ◦ STILINSKI [3]

xxx.

xxx. CONSEQUENCES

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EVERYTHING, IN THAT moment, had changed.

In eighteen short years, Carter had bore witness to more tragedy than anyone should—and been the cause of far too much of it. With her, she carried the memory of her death. The sound of her last breath in the murky waters of the quarry beneath Dead Man's Bridge haunted her. She sees her lifeless body floating in her car every time she shut her eyes. She could still smell the burnt rubber when her car skidded across the bridge. And she can taste the blood she took and the life she just stole out of sheer hunger and indifference after her transformation. Most clearly she sees the curious girl she once was, and if her heart could beat, it would break for the vile creature she'd become.

But now the strength she has is a burden, the constant thirst for blood a curse.

"What are we gonna do about the body?"

Despite the situation, Carter laughed and she felt tears welling in her eyes. Her knees were pulled up to her chest, forehead resting atop them as she tried to get her breathing under control. The first thing that came to mind was that they should just leave to body to the animals. It would only be a matter of time before different scavenging species came out to nibble on what's left. That was their easiest option—no muss, no fuss, just leaving all the hard work to the food-chain.

"If you're worried about Scott, he'll have to understand. You couldn't control yourself. He's a werewolf, out of everyone, he should be able to understand that." Theo tried to assure her, but she knew Scott a hell of a lot better than Theo. He would never forgive her.

Carter blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill over. Honestly, Scott hadn't even crossed her mind. "He won't. He'll hate me for this." She ran her hands over her face. "And that's why we're not going to tell him, or anyone else."

Theo heard the pleading tone in her voice and couldn't even bring himself to deny her wishes. "Okay. We won't tell him. Why don't you head back to Scott's and I'll deal with this, okay?"

Deal with this. What a horrible thing to say. How does someone just 'deal' with a body that'd been drained of their blood? Do they just casually dig a hole in the ground and bury them? Maybe they start a fire and burn the remains. No, that's stupid, she thought, no one could possibly create a fire outside hot enough to completely disintegrate a body.

"Carter."

Theo's voice caused Carter to jump, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"You should go back. I've got this, I promise."

She nodded.

Misery welled up in Carter, and she glanced around the clearing. She didn't want to go back to Scott's house; she couldn't face her friends' worried questions or Logan's innocent cheerfulness right now. Not with her eyelashes wet and a stranger's blood drying on her lips. She made a lightning decision and quickly slipped into the shadows.

Once out of the clearing, she hesitated. She didn't want to run into anyone she knew. But where could she go to be alone? The answer came almost instantly.

It was a fairly long walk; almost to the edge of town but over the last several years it had become familiar to Carter. She crossed Old Beacon Road and climbed up the hill, past a ruined church, then down into the valley below. This part of the cemetery was well-kept; it was the old section that was allowed to run slightly wild. Here, the grass was neatly trimmed, and bouquets of flowers made splashes of bright color. Carter sat down by the big marble headstone with "CATERINA HALE" carved into the front.