VESTIGE ↬ D. HALE [3]

10 ; bloodline

10 ↬ BLOODLINE

"You guys realize that we can't leave that kid tied up in that bathroom forever, right?" Elise sighed as she pulled up Scott's desk chair and sat opposite of the two boys. She'd called Derek from the hospital and- after repeatedly reassuring him that she was alright and that she would explain her disappearance later- asked him to pick her up at the McCall house later in the night. Mare had disappeared somewhere in the chaos of getting Liam out of the hospital, but Elise had a feeling that it wouldn't be the last they saw of the mysterious girl.

"Yeah, I know," Scott frowned, running a hand through his hair.

"This isn't going to end up with us burying pieces of him in the middle of the desert, is it?" Stiles asked in a failed attempt to bring humor into the situation. A muffled shout sounded from the bathroom attached to Scott's room, prompting Stiles to roll his eyes. "This is why I always come with the plan. Your plans suck."

"That's why I called you," Scott frowned.

"Scott, no matter what happens, you've got to take responsibility for this. That kid, he's going to need you," Elise said.

Scott nodded slightly, then his expression shifted, the corners of his mouth twitching downward. "Derek's here," he announced, his accelerated senses alerting him to the presence of a car in the driveway. "You didn't tell him about-"

"You asked me not to," Elise replied. "All I told him was that I went to find Jen at the hospital, some kid went crazy, and I ran into you two." Elise didn't like lying to Derek. As a matter of fact, she absolutely hated it, but she knew that this was something Scott had to handle on his own, and with Kate still on the loose, Derek had enough to deal with already.

Scott's expression relaxed slightly as he nodded. Elise plucked her belongings from where they rested on the floor and made her way to the door. She turned back to flash the boys another uncertain look as she lingered in the doorway. "Just don't let him leave in the state that he's in. He's scared kid that just saw a lot of things he doesn't understand."

"We won't," Stiles assured her.

Elise nodded, then within seconds, she was gone. The chilled air bit at her cheeks as she closed the door to the McCall house behind her. It was unusually cold for a mid-August night in her hometown. Before she could even make her way down the front stoop of the house, Derek had hopped out of his car and was making his way toward her.

They didn't bother to exchange greetings before he reached forward, enveloping her in a tight embrace. For the first time that night, Elise felt like she could breathe.

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"So you have no idea who this guy is?" Derek asked as he pulled into the parking lot of the loft. It had taken the entire ride home for Elise to recount the events of the past day, including the discovery of some long-lost family members.

"Not a clue," Elise frowned, fidgeting with her fingers. "But with what happened to that family... what if people like us are being targetted? Like, some sort of freaky hunter cult or something?"

Derek nodded slightly, his brows furrowed in consideration. "It's possible, yeah, but until we can figure out who that guy is, we can't know for sure." Elise nodded, and he continued. "On the bright side, at least you know that there are more Kidwells out there."

"I might be a little more thrilled if my aunt didn't hate me," Elise frowned as the two of them exited the car.

Derek flashed her a sympathetic look as they entered the complex and began their ascent up the stairs. "I'm sure she'll come around."