Embracing The Shadows (Shadow Series #5)

19 - Shower

The headlights of the jeep glided over the neighborhood road before it illuminated onto the Stilinski driveway and house. Luckily, Mr. Stilinski had a night shift and wouldn't be home to witness his son and friend wander into this household, covered in blood that didn't belong to them. The breath knocked out of my lungs as I sat stagnant in the passenger seat, understanding I needed to get us to safety inside of Stiles' house before anyone spotted us.

We seemed entirely too suspicious returning to his house this late at night with our clothes and skin tainted with blood. The neighbors would undoubtedly call the cops if they saw our appearance, along with the distraught expressions sketched on our faces.

The million of intrusive thoughts of how Isaac could possibly react to this whole situation paralyzed me in fear. The ability to catch my breath and ease my accelerated heartbeat proved harder to do than I had hoped. How could Isaac see me as the same girl after he saw all of the blood and found out about what we did? Would this destroy what we had?

Stiles flicked the engine off before he rubbed his hands over the steering wheel, fingers contracting around it, staring straight ahead through the windshield. He tapped his thumb against the top of the wheel twice. "Is Isaac on his way?"

Nervously licking my lips, I nodded my head, too scared to utter a decent reply.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, just as apprehensive as I was at the moment. Nothing could have prepared the two of us for what we were going through. This wasn't something two teenagers were supposed to experience in high school-- or in general.

I turned my head in his direction, pressing my lips together in a thin line. "We can trust him, Stiles." I reached over to his seat, lightly squeezing his hand when I captured it in mine. "I trust him with my life. He won't say anything."

While I knew Isaac would keep this a secret, I didn't tell Stiles how I was petrified of how Isaac may react to finding out we killed someone. Would he look at me differently? Or my worst fear-- he wouldn't love me anymore.

Stiles weakly squeezed my hand back before he whispered, "We need to get inside before someone sees us." His voice was scarily monotone and empty. He grabbed the door handle with his left hand and peered at me through the darkness enclosed in his jeep. "You can use my shower. I'll use my dad's and let you borrow some clothes."

Neither of us spoke another word as we walked up to the front porch, flinching when the motion light switched by the garage. Stiles' hands shook uncontrollably as he tried to unlock the front door with his keys. I forced myself to grab the key from his hands and unlock the door.

The house was dark inside, except one single lamp in the living room. Stiles dragged himself up the stairs, leaving me behind near the door, frozen in place. I reached to lock the door until I remembered Isaac was on his way here. The Stilinski household felt as if it was swallowing my entire being as I struggled to climb up the stairs to the bathroom, desperately needing to rid myself of the blood covering my skin.

The brightness of the bathroom startled me when I turned the light on after shutting the door behind me. The reality of everything that happened tonight was a punch to the face. My emotions were tugged in every direction and I didn't know whether I wanted to cry or scream. I froze in the middle of the plush rug on the tile floor, staring at the shower curtain instead of the mirror, scared of what I might see looking back at me. The broken girl in the mirror would not be the one I wanted to see. I needed the girl who was strong and confident in nearly everything she did, who was capable of holding her head high, especially when she had her bow in hand.

The girl in the mirror was nothing like the one I used to be.

My arms rested by my sides, too weak to peel the clothes off of my body and step into the shower. My chest rapidly heaved up and down from the straggled gasps I took to keep my heart from exploding. I swallowed against the tightness in my throat, feeling like I could vomit at any given moment.