"So tell me all you know," Natalie says as she cocks her head and looks down at Lydia.
With a deep breath, Lydia looks up at her mom for a moment, then sighs, rolling her eyes and leaning back against the chair.
"I know that-- his name is Stiles. I think he was-- is the Sheriff's something. I think he was his son. He told Scott that he and Claudia talked about naming their kid Stiles if they ever had one and--" She gets up and looks out the window of the office.
"He told me he found a bat, mom." Lydia turns and glances at Natalie. "In the garage. He accidentally kicked it and when he did, he yelled out Stiles' name."
"So he also remembers the name Stiles, or he was led to think about it because you kids made him go him again after so long," Natalie provides.
"But there's more. Scott has a picture we took with Stiles. He was sitting between the two of us. He remembers Stiles being in that picture too, in the same position I remember. Even if-- we don't remember his face, it was there." And he didn't want to take the picture. She remembers pulling him down and scooting closer to him once he sat next to her. But that's not objective. She knows it won't help convince her mom.
So although her eyes tear up, Lydia squares her shoulders and pushes it down as she forces herself to keep going.
"I know that I've seen two people at the Stilinski's now. And from banshee experience, this isn't a death warning. It is a warning about something, though. And I can't figure out what," she huffs in frustration. "He's the one who figures it out," she adds, then pauses, cocking her head.
"Lydia? What is it, sweetheart?"
"It's him, mom. Stiles. I think he helped me, with things like this. Figuring it out." Lydia looks down at her fingers, frowning a little. It's almost like she can feel something wrapped around them. A string. It tugs on her hand and she looks toward the window, glancing at the school parking lot for a moment, eyes narrowing.
"Sweetheart, you need to focus," Natalie says, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Lydia blinks and looks away, turning to face her mom as she nods. "Scott, Malia and I are all missing the same person. Someone from the pack."
"You've told me that. Now why don't you tell me everything you haven't said yet? Like why Malia had to grab you do stop you from walking in front of a moving car?"
She holds her breath and shakes her head. "You don't wanna hear those things, mom. They're not logical."
"I think you can give me a little more credit than that by now," she says, smiling a little as she guides Lydia back to the chair. "Tell me, honey."
She does sit back down, but as she looks at her mom, she hesitates for a moment longer. Eventually, though, she just sighs and looks away. "I walked into the school the other morning and I-- kept looking for him everywhere. The day I wasn't in class after the bell rang, I was waiting for him by my locker. I knew he'd show up, he always did before. But--" she sighs softly, glancing away.
"And later that day, I was hearing him. It was like I was having a vision. He said I was going to forget him, I promised him I wouldn't..." her voice cracks as her eyes tear up again. But she quickly wipes any trace of a tear. "He was right."
"Whoever this Stiles is," Natalie says quietly as she kneels down in front of Lydia. "You care a lot about him, don't you?"
Holding her breath, Lydia looks at her mom once again. This time, there's no hiding the tears. "I think I love him, mom."
"Oh, honey." Natalie sighs softly as she gets up. Then she leans closer and presses a kiss to Lydia's forehead before reaching for her purse. "C'mon, let's go."
"Where?" she asks, confused.
"To see Melissa. If Claudia had a son we don't know about, she's our best shot at finding out."
Lydia sniffs quietly as she smiles at her mom and nods, getting up and reaching for her purse as well. Because she knows he's real. She knows he exists and she's not giving up on finding him.
