Oblivion (A Stiles Stilinski/Teen Wolf Fanfiction) [3]

Chapter 31 - Aftermath

"I'll figure something out, Sheriff. I promise you I will," I said.

 "I know," he said.

 I nodded, until I realized that we were on the phone and he couldn't actually see me. "Thank you for telling me,"

 "Of course," he said. "Keep an eye on him at school, would you?"

 "Always," I said, smiling to myself. 

 "Thanks, Emma. Take care,"

 "You too Mr. Stilinski,"

 I waited until the other end of the line went dead before hanging up. There was a soft knock on my door and I didn't have to say anything for Eric to know he could come in. He just knew. Big brothers are like that sometimes. 

 He sat down next to me on my bed as I continued to stare at my lap. Everything just kind of hurt and I didn't want to move. This new incident struck me more than all the other times the Sheriff has called me in the middle of the night to go over there and calm Stiles down. Maybe it's because never before has he had to be held down until he stopped screaming. 

 "Is it getting worse?" Eric asked, his voice softer than usual.

 I nodded and tightened my jaw as I fought back a round of tears. Eric wrapped his arm around my shoulders and I leaned into him. I curled a strand of hair behind my ear before resting my head on his shoulder. 

 "I just want him to be okay," I whispered. "I want them all to be okay,"

 "I know, Emma," he said, rubbing his hand up my shoulder. "I know,"

 I turned my head just enough to look up at him. "Are you okay?"

 We hadn't talked a whole lot about how Eric was feeling about all of this. He's been through just as much as the rest of us, even if he isn't experiencing it first hand. He had to be sat down and told just before he was about to graduate high school that his mother and youngest sister were killed in a car accident. Then, years later he finds his father's mangled body tied to a tree. Not to mention he had to watch me kill someone. You don't exactly come out of all of that unscathed. 

 He looked back at me with a sense of determination in his eyes. That's something I admire so much about him, his strength. Before he used to run away from his problems, and now he faces them head-on. He's so brave.

 "I'm getting there," he said. "And you should be getting your butt to school,"

 I giggled and swatted his hand away as he poked my side. "Yeah, yeah,"

 We both stood up and I grabbed my bag from against my dresser we had taken with us from the house. Eric's been keeping himself busy when I'm at school with insurance claims on the house from the fire and trying to get it sold. He also has to sort out all of Dad's finances. I think he's beginning to wish he would have paid more attention to his business classes in high school.

 "Call me if you need anything," he said.

 "Of course," I said. Sometimes I forget that Eric is now my legal guardian since I'm not eighteen yet. That just feels weird. 

 I waved him goodbye and headed out into the hall, locking the door behind me. I looked up to see Allison stumbling out of her apartment. I called out to her, but she didn't seem to hear me. "Allison!" I called out again. She got onto the elevator without even looking up. 

 Something didn't seem right with her. She looked kind of...spooked. I went to follow her onto the elevator, but the doors had already closed. I decided to shrug it off and wait for the elevator to come back up.