Through the Dark // S.S. [Book One]

Chapter 41

I stand with Stiles at one end as Scott talks to the twins. As soon as he walks over, Stiles says, "So then she starts talking about the phosphors and the key having chemicals on it, right? And so that made me think of the chemistry closet and the fact that someone had to let Barrow in...it's gone. Okay, it doesn't matter though. It doesn't matter. I've still got the key." Stiles places his hand in his pockets and comes up empty. "What the hell? I had it. I had it here. I had it here this morning. I swear to God, I had it this morning."

I rub his shoulders. "Stiles, it's okay. I saw you holding it this morning. I believe you."

He turns and nods as Scott asks, "The key you were talking about last night?"

Stiles nods once again. "Yeah, I showed it to you, right? Didn't I show it to you? Meg saw it."

Scott shakes his head. "No, you just told me about it. I never actually saw it."

I can see Stiles getting more and more agitated as he goes into a panicked explanation. "I was here a couple of hours ago. And the message left to Barrow spelling Kira's name was right there and I had the key to the chemistry closet."

"So you unlocked the chemistry closet so Barrow could hide it from the cops and then you wrote that message to kill Kira?"

Stiles sighs. "I know how it sounds. But look at this. This is the news report that came out about Barrow when they caught him, okay? About the shrapnel bomb that he used. See this? See what he did? He put nuts, bolts, and screws. And then he hid the bomb and the detonator in a box that he wrapped as a birthday present. What does that sound like to you?"

Scott meets our eyes. "Coach."

Stiles nods. "The joke we played on Coach. That was my idea. You remember? That was my idea. That's no coincidence. It can't be."

Scott lets out a sigh. "I don't want to sound like I'm trying to tell you that you're wrong. But I don't think you're trying to kill people either."

Stiles looks around the room. "It was here. It was all here."

I zone in on Stiles. "Are you okay? You look exhausted."

He shies away from my gaze. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just haven't been sleeping."

"How about you go home? Take a sick day. I'm sure Coach wouldn't mind, and I can go with you."

"Did you tell him?" Stiles asks.

Scott shakes his head. "Meg's right. Go get some rest."

I hold out my hand, causing Stiles to frown. "Give me Roscoe's keys. It'll give you a chance to rest."

Stiles narrows his eyes. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not. And I think you can do with a little more help than I can give you."

He reluctantly gives me the keys to his Jeep and I drive to the hospital. "What's this?"

"More help than I can give you." I tell him. "I'll make sure Melissa helps, okay?"

He presses a kiss to my cheek. "Thanks, Meg."

Stiles takes my hand and we walk up to the front desk to see Melissa. She looks up at us. "Stiles? Megara? What are you two doing here? Young lady, you're supposed to be at school."

"Stiles needs someone to talk to. Do you know of a doctor who can spare a few minutes?"

Melissa glances at her computer. "Doctor Gardner's not back until next week. Do you want to try waiting at one of the urgent care doctors or...Stiles. Are you alright?"