Each Coming Night. (Teen Wolf- Stiles Stilinski)

Chapter 3: Awake My Soul

Chapter 3: Awake My Soul

“And I took you by the hand and we stood tall,

And remembered our own land, what we lived for”

-After the Storm, Mumford & Sons

I could tell my mom had been worrying about me- watching me jump at any loud sound, or my face suddenly go white for no reason she could see. From the questions she asked me now and then, she seemed to blame the change on Derek’s absence.

The terror that was always foremost in my thoughts usually distracted me from the fact that another week had passed, and Derek still hadn’t called me.

I had missed him horribly.

Then, more than ever, I yearned for his carefree laugh and his infectious grin.

I’d half expected him to call me the day after he left. If there had been some progress with what he was looking for, wouldn’t he want to report it, at least to my mom? I wanted to believe that it was worry for this situation that was occupying all his time. But I couldn’t be sure.

But now, that I was in Beacon Hills, California in search for Derek, everything seemed to be worse than before. I knew that the hunters had found out I wasn’t dead by now. If I did find Derek, I took the chance of leading one of the hunters to him. What if they caught up to me with Derek nearby? As much as it hurt me, I knew it was better for me to be away from Derek. Safer for him.

It was bad enough that I hadn’t figured out a way to keep my mom safe. Nighttime was the most likely time that they would come looking for me and what could I say to get Derek out of the house? If I told him the truth, he’d have me locked up and he would be super over-protective. But I knew Kate would come to the Hale house first, looking for me. Maybe, if she found me here, that would be enough for her. Maybe she would just leave when she was done with me, and let Derek and Laura be.

The worry was eating a hole in my stomach.

But I wasn’t paying attention to the familiar road, letting the sound of the engine deaden my brain and silence the worries. My mind was so preoccupied that the trip I’d been terrified of making seemed to take only a few seconds. Before I was expecting it, the forest began to thicken, and I knew I would soon be able to see the burned down house I once called my home.

I stopped in front the house, killing the engine. I found myself sitting in my car in front of the burned down house, keys in hand, for what seemed like hours. I was arguing with myself whether I would take the risk and put both Derek and Laura lives at jeopardy.

A movement flashed in my peripheral vision. My breath caught for just a moment in my throat, hopeful that luck was with me for once, and I’d stumble across Laura or Derek without trying. I turned and spotted Derek looking at me through the front window with a confused expression. I waved once, and smiled a tight smile, but stayed where I was. His eyes narrowed; he let the curtain fall across the glass. Soon enough, there was a sharp tap against my door.

I jumped, but all of a sudden Derek opened my door, grabbed my arm, and took me out of the car.

“What are you doing here, Meeya?” Derek growled. I stared at him in blank astonishment.

Derek had changed radically in the last week since I’d seen him. The first thing I noticed were the planes of his face, they seemed to have hardened subtly, tightened. His hands, where they gripped my arm, looked huge, with the tendons and veins more prominent. But the physical changes didn’t matter.