i stumbled through the front door of my house, mind set on one thing and one thing only. i made my way through the house, straight for the basement stairs. i swung open the door, flicking on the basement light before descending the staircase.
my chest was heaving up and down as i breathed heavily. my heart was racing. i could barely breathe. i was sure i was having a panic attack, only i didn't bother to care. i needed to get downstairs.
"liv?" liam's voice rang through my ears, causing me to turn on the bottom step. he was stood at the top, looking down at me in confusion. "what're you doing?"
"i need- i need to remember." i gasped out. without another word, i made my way to the door in the back of the basement. i waved my hand, hearing the lock click. i pushed it open, my eyes darting around the room. suddenly, a gust of wind blew past me and i gripped onto the door frame for support.
my eyes squeezed shut. a memory flashed in my mind. it was back when melody had just crushed the crystal that was holding her magic. i was laid on the floor, unconscious. somebody had their arms around me, holding me in their lap. only i couldn't see who, it was too foggy. everything was a blur.
then, allison's face flashed in my mind. we were in the field, butterflies fluttering around us. i looked to the girl sat next to me, her smile sad as tears pooled in her eyes. this time when her mouth moved, i heard it. i heard her words, her voice.
"but he misses you more."
i inhaled sharply, pushing myself through the room. i grabbed the first book off the shelf, quickly flipping through it. i groaned, throwing the book to the floor. it landed with a thud. i grabbed the next, and the next. as i was flipping through the fourth one, my mom stepped into the room, liam following closely behind.
"liv, honey, what are you doing?" my mom asked, slowly making her way over.
"i have to remember him." i said quietly, my eyes locking themselves on the pages of the book again. i let out a frustrated groan, throwing the book to the floor beside the others.
"remember who?" liam asked.
"i don't know," i replied hesitantly. i flipped open another book, my eyes scanning over the multiple potion recipes. "there has to be something. a potion, a spell. something!"
the light above us blew out. glass shattered as it exploded, falling down around us. the noise caused me to jump in shock, the book slipping out of my grasp and falling to the floor with a thud.
"okay," my mom deadpanned, stepping over the books and stopping beside me. her hands gripped my arms and turned me to face her. "what is happening?"
"the ghost riders." liam blurted out.
i nodded eagerly, "yes! they took him."
my mom nodded slowly in understanding. we had told her about the ghost riders, about the wild hunt. she glanced at liam before looking back to me.
"who, honey?" she asked softly, her eyes filled with concern. "they took who?"
i let out a shaky sigh, my voice quiet as i replied, "i don't know."
it was honestly like a punch to the gut. i knew that someone was missing, i knew that i must have been in love with him. it was the only thing that made sense. it just angered me that i didn't know who he was. i couldn't even remember what he looked like. all i had were three things, the sound of his voice, the word mischief, and the word stiles. but i didn't know what it all meant.
"you need to sleep," my mom said quietly. i shook my head, tearing my arms away from her grasp.
"no, i need to remember." i bent down and picked up the book again, "there has to be something in here that can help."
my mom ripped the book from my hands, "there isn't anything in here that will help, olivia."
my eyes filled with tears and my stomach fell. my voice was quiet and shaky as i spoke, "there has to be."
"how about we look tomorrow?" liam offered, stepping closer. "let's go to sleep for now, and i'll help you look tomorrow, okay?"
"i need to remember him." i said quietly. my bottom lip quivered and i pulled it between my teeth, biting down.
"you need to sleep," my mom corrected, beginning to tug me out of the room. this time, i let her. my stomach churned and my ears rang. i was tired.
"mom, i think i was in love with him."
"you think?" my mom clarified, walking up the stairs behind me. i nodded. "that's not good enough, olivia. you have to know."
"i can't!" i cried, spinning to face her as she closed the basement door behind us. "they took him, they erased him."
my mom sighed, looking at liam behind me, "liam, help her to bed."
i let out a scoff, shaking my head lightly. liam wrapped his hand gently around my arm, but i stayed put in my spot. i stared at my mom in disbelief, "you don't believe me, do you?"
"honey-"
"i'm not crazy!" i cried. a tear slowly trickled down my cheek, but i wiped it away quickly. "i'm not crazy."
"i know." my mom assured, looking at me with soft eyes, "but i also know you need sleep."
"we can look tomorrow." liam repeated, tugging me. i sighed, tearing my eyes away from my mom and following liam to the stairs.
"you believe me, right?" i asked him quietly, walking up the flight of stairs a step in front of him.
"i do," liam replied. "i believe you, liv. we're going to get him back, okay?"
"i hope." i said quietly, making my way into my bedroom.
"goodnight, liv." liam said, standing in the doorway of my room. i slowly stepped towards my bed, eyeing it with hesitation. i didn't want to sleep, i wanted to remember.
"goodnight," i said, my voice barely above a whisper. liam shut the door softly as he left, making his way towards his bedroom.
i let out a shaky sigh and my eyes drifting around the room. i slowly made my way over to my desk, my eyes landed on the picture frame sat on top of it. i picked it up, eying the picture inside with confusion.
it was a picture of me. my yearbook photo. i was smiling into the lens, but the smile didn't quite reach my eyes. something about the photo was weird, different. it was off. i was leaning slightly back in my seat, my hands raised to my chest and gripping at the top of my shirt. it was like someone was supposed to be behind me. and i could have sworn the last time i looked at this photo, my smile was bright and genuine. this one seemed almost fake. the photo seemed fake, like it wasn't the real version. just like the one scott showed us earlier.
i shakily put the picture back down, letting it rest on the desk again. i shook my head lightly to myself, taking in a deep breath. i slowly made my way to my closet in search of a sweater, pulling open the door. my eyes immediately landed on a beacon hills lacrosse jersey hanging up. my eyebrows furrowed and i reach out, tugging it out of the closet. i excepted to see isaac's name and number on it, knowing i had his practice jersey from when we had dated during junior year. only it didn't hold the name lahey, nor was the number 14 on it.
my eyes wandered over it, hands feeling the fabric curiously. there was no name on it. my eyes travelled over the big, white number on it. i racked my brain trying to think of who it belonged to, but my mind was blank. the feeling of longing spread through my body once more and my stomach churned. i furrowed my eyebrows, staring at the number.
24.
i slowly backed up, sitting down at the foot of my bed. my eyes darted over the jersey, hoping that if i looked long enough the name would appear. only it never did. feeling the bed dip down beside me, my head snapped to the side. my eyes widened, and my stomach dropped at the sight. allison argent sat next to me, gazing down at the jersey.
"allison?" i whispered. allison looked up, smiling softly at me.
"he misses you," she said softly. "he's counting on you, liv."
"who?" i pried, my voice desperate. allison only smiled in response, her gaze returning to the fabric in my hands. i followed her actions, looking down at it sadly. my heart ached in my chest and my eyes welled with tears. i shook my head, speaking again, "allison, who is he?"
but when i looked back up, she was gone. i let out a dry laugh, shaking my head to myself. of course she wasn't actually here. i had to be imagining things. standing back up, i hung the jersey back up and closed my closet door slowly.
then, i changed out of my clothes and into something more comfortable. i climbed into bed, laying on my side. i squeezed my eyes shut, hoping to drown out the thoughts and feelings that were clouding around me. my heart ached in my chest, and i let out a quiet cry.
i needed to remember him. i had to. i was positive i was in love with him. he was a piece of me, he had to be. it only made sense. i needed him. i had to remember. it was the only thing that made sense. his voice was familiar, it made me feel safe. he made me feel safe.
•••
scott, lydia and i sat in the school library the next day. in front of was lydia's laptop, open to the dictionary. we had tried to look up 'stiles' but all we found was 'stile'. i rolled my eyes, leaning back in the chair and pulling out my phone, reading the texts from liam.
FROM: EVIL SPAWN
i am begging you pls send help
my physics teacher is crazy
and all the girls are obsessed with him
liv save me
FROM: WITCH BITCH
sooo you're mad because he's hot
and because your resurrected girlfriend is obviously in love with him
jealousy isn't a problem i can help you with liam sorry kid
FROM: EVIL SPAWN
i hate you so much
FROM: WITCH BITCH
oh please
shouldn't you be paying attention to your teacher and class?
"stile, an arrangement of steps that allows people, but not animals, to climb over a fence." scott read aloud, causing me to refocus on the two beside me. i locked my phone screen, placing it back down in my lap.
lydia shook her head, sighing as she spoke, "yeah, somehow i don't think these are the stiles we're looking for."
"obviously." i scoffed, reaching my hand up to fiddle with the necklace around my neck.
"maybe malia's found something." scott suggested, hope in his voice.
"nope." i replied, sitting up and looking between the two, "she's been taking a make-up test all morning. so unless she suddenly decided to skip that, and went out searching, she definitely has not found anything."
as we heard a coyote howl, the three of us glanced up towards the doors of the library. we each shared a look, letting out frustrated sighs.
lydia shrugged, eyes wide as she spoke, "i guess the test isn't going well."
without another word, we were rushing to our feet. we left our things behind, solely focused on malia. we ran out of the library, rushing off down the hallways to find the girl.
when we found malia, she was in the basement of the school. scott went in first, followed by me. behind me was lydia, natalie martin, and sheriff stilinski. scott edged closer, holding out a hand as he slowly approached the angry coyote.
"malia, it's okay," he said, his voice soft. "you're safe. i'm not gonna hurt you." all he earned in response was a growl from malia. her eyes were a bright blue, the coyote cowering in a corner as she snarled at us. lydia and i shared a look, eyes wide before looking back to scott. "i think she's calming down."
malia growled and i spoke up quietly, "you sure about that?"
"maybe you should growl back?" stilinski suggested. malia only growled, her teeth barred. "scott, you're the alpha. can't you just make her a little more docile?"
"she's not the problem." i snapped, shaking my head. "we are, we're the problem here. this is her territory."
"maybe we need to get out of here," lydia said quietly, her eyes glued on malia.
scott agreed, guiding the four of us back. once we were around the corner, we turned to face the others. i sighed, "i used to bring malia here to get her through the full moons."
"then we started using the lake house," lydia continued, her eyes flickering over to her mother.
"i thought you said a wild animal got into the lake house," miss martin said, eyes narrowing in confusion.
"just be happy about the all the things i don't tell you," lydia bit back, her voice rushed.
i heard a small growl from malia, and without thinking i was turning the corner again. scott grabbed my arm, but i was quick to rip away from his grasp.
"i got it," i muttered, glancing back at the others before looking back to malia. i slowly moved forward, putting my hand out in front of me as i crouched down before the growling coyote. calmly, i told her, "malia, you're okay. just focus on my voice, remember? we're going to be okay."
slowly, the coyote stepped closer to me. in response, i stepped back. she took a couple more steps, the growls ceasing as she slowly morphed back into her human self. i stood along with her, a soft smile on my lips. she smiled at me gratefully, nodding lightly.
malia looked past me and at the others, assuring, "it's all right. i'm okay."
natalie moved forward, malia's clothes that she had abandoned earlier in her hand. she gave them to the nude girl next to me before we both retreated to the others, allowing malia to get dressed.
"any idea what made her shift?" the sheriff asked.
scott sighed, glancing at lydia, "she's under a lot of pressure. school, her life after graduation."
"her mom trying to kill her." lydia added, as i came to a stop on the other side of scott.
scott glanced at lydia, shaking his head, "that shouldn't make her shift."
"could it be connected to stiles?" i asked, a frown on my lips as i looked between lydia and scott hopefully.
"hard to tell since we don't know what a 'stiles' is." lydia retorted, looking over at me.
"it's a 'he'." stilinski interrupted, causing us all to look over at him.
"who?"
"stiles." stilinski nodded firmly, his arms crossed over his chest. "it's a family nickname. i never used it but, uh, my father did."
scott, lydia and i looked between each other. small knowing smirks formed on our faces, the three of us sharing small nods. we had something.
later in the day, the three of us made our way to sheriff stilinski's house. he sat on the couch opposite of us. lydia sat in one chair, and i sat in the other. scott placed himself on the right arm of the chair, leaning toward me slightly. i glanced up at him with a soft smile, allowing him to get comfortable just as stilinski's wife, claudia, walked in, handing her husband a slim, rectangular box.
"he was an army engineer," he explained, pulling open the lid and taking out a photo. he leaned forward, handing it to scott. "ended the war one bridge at a time."
scott put a hand on the back of the chair, leaning forward and taking the photo in his other hand. he held it low, allowing me to lean over and get a glimpse of it. it was a black and white photo of his father. the word 'stiles' was written in the bottom of the photo.
"and he went by 'stiles'." scott concluded, nodding lightly. scott, lydia and i shared a small look. lydia and i held eye contact for a moment longer, the girl raising an eyebrow. i shrugged lightly, pursing my lips before turning back to stilinski.
"so, what's this got to do with the wild hunt?" stilinski asked, eyebrows furrowing together. scott looked down at me and i nodded reassuringly.
"we think that somebody was taken from us." he explained, looking back to stilinski.
"any idea who?" stilinski asked.
scott shook his head, "uh, the ghost riders would have erased our memories."
"well, that's convenient." sheriff muttered, sarcasm dripping from his tone.
i nodded in agreement before explaining, "but we found a clue. the world 'stiles'."
"and that's why you wanna talk with elias?" claudia assumed, nodding her head in understanding.
"yeah," scott confirmed, "maybe he can help us figure it out. maybe he knows who we're looking for."
stilinski took back the photo, "now this is someone you're age?"
"yeah, i..." scott began, trailing off, "i think he was my friend. maybe he was one of my best friends." i bit my tongue, keeping in the part of me thinking i was in love with him.
"i guarantee you, my father can't help you."
"couldn't we try?" scott pleaded.
"scott, he lives in a nursing home three towns over. hasn't had a visitor in years." stilinski told us, shrugging lightly.
that's when something caught my eye. my stomach dropped as i met eyes with an old woman. she turned her gaze away from me, looking in front of her as she passed behind the couch. i look over at lydia, my stomach churning as i noticed she had her attention on stilinski, as did scott. i sucked my bottom lip between my teeth, my eyes focusing bsck on her, stopping in front of the doorway that led to a hallway.
"the following stops have been cancelled." the lady spoke, "the following stops have been cancelled." my lips parted in shock as she turned around, walking down the hallway.
"can i use your bathroom?" i blurted, my eyes moving to claudia as a faint smile made its way to my lips.
"sure," claudia replied. i nodded in thanks, standing up and walking down the hallway the woman had retreated to.
the sound of metal clanking together made my heart pound, and i shot a glance over at lydia. her eyes were on me now, a small frown on her lips. she nodded discreetly, affirming she heard it, too. i let out a shaky breath, turning back around and moving down the hall. turning a corner, my eyes landed on the old lady who stood in front of a wall, staring blankly at it. i peered at the wall curiously, eyeing the thin table that was pressed against it.
"why are you here?" i asked, my voice quiet as i looked back at her again. "is there something you wanna tell me? what stop has been cancelled?"
"olivia?" claudia pulled me back to reality, causing me to spin around. "did you find it? the last door on the left." she called out, and i sighed as i noticed the woman was gone.
"found it." i replied, sighing softly and making my way towards the door.
after a minute, i retreated back to the living room. i stepped into the room, eyeing stilinski and scott as they argued. i shared a look with lydia, shaking my head lightly at her. she sighed, turning back to look at scott and stilinski.
"you're not hearing me. trust me, you don't wanna talk to him." stilinski assured, waving his hands around.
"we just need a few minutes." scott begged him.
"scott, my father can't help you." stilinski argued, scowling at the boy.
"just a few questions." scott pried, "five minutes."
"you know, what? you don't just 'talk' to this guy, okay?" stilinski snapped, raising his voice at scott. "find another way!" i slowly walked over to lydia, the girl rising to her feet.
"but what if this is the only way?" scott asked.
"scott, you have your answer." claudia said. i glanced at her, feeling my stomach churn uncomfortably as she looked back to me. i looked away, wrapping my arms around myself.
"sheriff, please."
"scott." claudia said firmly, rising to her feet next to sheriff stilinski.
"the answer's no."
i lightly placed my hand on scott's arm, whispering, "let's just go, scott."
when we got back to the school, scott and i had met with malia and liam. malia shoved a book in her locker, and liam stood next to her, leaning against the one beside her. he looked at me, his eyes pleading with me to stay and help.
"stilinski said no, didn't he?" malia asked.
"yeah." scott confirmed, rolling on the balls of his feet beside me.
"but we're going anyway?" she asked.
"yep." malia slammed her locker shut.
"or you could stay here and help me convince gwen she's in danger." liam suggested.
gwen was a girl in his grade, who had her sister ripped away from the ghost riders. nobody remembered her, but she did. liam told us that after a talk hayden with her, gwen had seen the ghost riders as well. those who see the wild hunt get taken. so to put it simply, gwen was about to be taken by the wild hunt and erased.
"it's not your job to convince her." scott explained to him, "it's your job to keep her safe."
"just kidnap her." malia said simply, shrugging,
"do not kidnap her," i immediately told liam, sending a look of disapproval to malia. we began down the hallway, liam and i following behind malia and scott.
"we'll be back tonight after we talk to stilinski's dad." scott added, glancing back at liam.
"do we really have to do this?" malia asked.
"he's our only lead." i replied. liam's hand wrapped around my arm, tugging me to a stop.
"okay, what if the ghost riders show up?" he asks, causing scott and malia to stop as well and turn to face him.
"then you'll handle it, liam." scott assured. "and look, you're not alone. you've got mason and corey and hayden. okay? just find a safe place for gwen and keep her there."
"any suggestions?" he asked, looking between scott and i.
"doesn't matter, as long as she's safe." scott replied. he then turned to the door, pulling it open and walking out first. i hung back, causing malia to stay as well.
i turned to liam, "our house, take her there. mom might be able to help, and there's a bunch of mountain ash there that might keep the ghost riders out, okay?"
"can't one of you stay?" liam asked, nervous to be left on his own for this.
"liam, you got this." i gave him a small smile, squeezing his shoulder. "if anything, call parrish."
"kidnap her." malia said, leaning closer to him before walking out the door after scott.
"do not kidnap her!" scott yelled. i sent liam one more reassuring smile before hurrying out of the doors.
•••
FROM: EVIL SPAWN
mom isn't home, she's at the hospital with argent and scotts mom
what do i do?
FROM: WITCH BITCH
figure it out liam
you got this
lydia, malia, scott and i made our way up the path that led to the front doors of the nursing home. i stood between malia and scott, the heels of my boots clicking against the cement below them. i stared at the door, reading over the name of the facility. goodwater assisted living facility.
scott looked up at the building, shaking his head lightly to himself, "i can't believe we're about to break into a nursing home."
"after the orderlies at eichen house, pretty sure we can handle some nurses." malia said, walking in through the front door.
we watched through the big open windows as she strutted to the front desk, grabbing the nurses shoulder and pulling his body forward. his face slammed against the surface of the desk, and he let out a groan, his hand flying to his nose. he then fell back on the ground, growing lightheaded and malia was quick to drag his body into the supply closet.
"she's crazy." i muttered, shaking my head as a soft laugh escaped my lips. "gotta love her."
scott chuckled, "come on."
scott placed his hand on my lower back, leading me into the building. lydia followed quickly, muttering something about malia. my phone vibrated in my pocket, and i pulled it out slowly, reading over the text from isaac. it read something about melody and his date, and i typed out a quick response before shoving my phone back into the back pocket of my jeans.
"everything okay with isaac?" scott asked, his hand pulling away from my back.
i nodded, "yeah, he was just telling me about his date with melody."
"how are they doing?" lydia asked, a hun escaping her lips. she still wasn't very keen on melody, and i could understand why. i mean, she did hold the power to push me over the edge and lead me to be consumed completely by darkness. which, almost happened.
"they're good." i replied, smiling softly. "i think isaac is going to ask her to be his girlfriend soon."
"my god, finally." lydia groaned. "it's only been months."
"are you guys done talking about isaac and melody, or do you want to keep chatting instead of going to find some answers?" malia asked, walking over to us.
"i would very much like it if we went to find some answers." i confirmed, sending a soft smile.
we needed to find something. i knew if we tried hard enough, we could bring him back. unless we had all finally reached the point of total insanity and this guy didn't even exist. i definitely wouldn't doubt that. us being crazy, insane, is not something i would hold past a person. if a psychiatrist would deem me mentally unstable right now and threw me in a mental asylum, i don't think i would fight them.
i soon found myself walking into one of the day rooms. to our luck, there was an old man sitting alone at a table. well, that's kind of sad. i assume this was elias stilinski. he turned his head to look at us, a surprised look falling over his face.
"yes? oh, is it time for my medicine?" he asked.
"we don't have your medicine," malia replied dryly.
"oh," he trailed off, disappointment in his voice.
"are you elias stilinski?" lydia asked, cutting to the point. the man turned to us, alarmed.
"i am." elias confirmed. i nodded softly, stepping forward slightly to stand next beside the table.
"i'm olivia dunbar," i spoke, giving him a smile. "do you know who i am?"
"should i?" he asked in response, confusion in his tone.
"hey, mr stilinski," scott spoke up, stepping up beside me before continuing, "we're looking for somebody who might be named stiles. you went by that name in the army, right?"
"yes." elias replied, his eyes wandering down to the table, "best years of my life."
"do you know any of us?" malia questioned.
"of course i do." he confirmed, his eyes moving back up to scott, "how could i forget my own son?"
"your son?" scott asked softly, his head cocking to the side. i glanced at him, the two of us sharing a look of confusion.
"mr stilinski, what year is it?" lydia asked, moving to my other side.
"1976." elias replied, and my stomach dropped. "it's my sons birthday next week."
i sighed, "he has dementia."
"is it time for my medicine?" he asked again.
it quickly grew dark and we found ourselves remaining still in the room with elias. scott had tried to tell him who he was, and that he wasn't his son, but elias wasn't believing him.
"scott mccall?" elias asked, looking up at scott. scott smiled softly, nodding in confirmation. elias shook his head, "no, no, no, no. you're my son."
"keep it down old guy." malia snapped, turning away from the window and at elias. her eyes narrowed at him as she spoke again, "you'll wake the other old people." her eyes landed on the plate on the table, holding elias' dinner. she shrugged, grabbing a pea and stuffing it into her mouth. before any of us could protest, she was eating pea after pea.
"i don't like her." elias whispered to me. i sighed, sitting down in the seat beside him.
"your son," i began, "he's the sheriff of beacon hills."
"sheriff?" i nodded in confirmation. "no, no, no, no. no. i- i- i was in the army."
"use your claws, scott." malia prompted, her eyes on the alpha.
"it could kill him," scott murmured.
"i get that, but we're running out of time." malia reminded.
"i can't." scott shook his head. malia sighed, flicking out her own claws instead. before anyone could protest, she was walking towards elias.
"malia," i warned, watching her with narrowed eyes.
"hey!" scott said, grabbing her wrist. "we're not hurting him."
elias looked at malia in disapproval, shaking his head as he advised, "young lady, you need to clip those nails." malia narrowed her eyes, lips parting as she prepared to retort. however, before she got the chance, elias was speaking up once more, "you shouldn't be here. if you don't leave, i'll have to report you."
scott looked at me and then lydia, "what's wrong with him?"
lydia glanced out the window, "the sun went down."
"so?" scott asked, confused.
"he's sundowning." i informed, leaning back in the chair. scott gave me a look of confusion, urging me to continue. "it's when dementia patients lose their faculties after the sun goes down."
"how do you know that?" scott asked, cocking his head to the side slightly.
i shrugged lightly, my voice lowering as i replied, "my grandma had it." scott frowned at me, and i quickly diverted my eyes, shrugging him off.
"i don't want to talk to you anymore!" elias yelled, looking over all of us.
"so what do we do?" malia asked.
"we wait till the sun comes back up." i answered, shrugging lightly.
"we can't wait that long!" malia said, a look of shock on her face.
"there's gotta be something we could do to keep him quiet." scott said.
"leave, leave, leave, leave," elias cried hysterically.
"i can calm him down," malia stepped forward again, causing me to sit up straight with wide eyes.
"no!" the three of us said simultaneously, and malia stopped.
"elias." lydia said, grabbing a paper and placing it on the table in front of him, "look at the equations. look. it's binomial probability. what's 'p'?"
he gazed at the sheet, "um, probability of success?"
"right." lydia nodded, "and that means n minus k is?"
"uh," he stuttered, tapping the paper in thought, "number of trials minus the number of successes."
"what's with the math?" malia asked, her disgust for math showing.
"it helps dementia patients to concentrate," i explained, rising from my seat and moving to stand beside scott as i watched lydia help elias.
"and this one?" lydia continued, pointing to the page.
"that's, um... conditional probability."
"let's find the moment of inertia." lydia said, flipping through the pages. elias stood, eyes narrowing at one of the papers. "elias."
"that's mr stilinski." elias snapped, looking from lydia and over to scott and i, "just who the hell do you think you are?"
we stayed quiet, and scott and i shared a look. i rose an eyebrow, and he shrugged lightly. i frowned, turning to lydia.
"you know scott isn't your son?" lydia questioned.
"of course i know that." elias replied, shaking his head in disapproval. "are brains getting smaller with the skirts?" malia growled in distaste, as she was wearing a skirt.
"malia, it's okay." scott told her softly.
"so you're that mccall kid." elias said, turning to scott.
"you know me?" scott asked, his eyes wide as he took a seat in the chair in front of me.
"i know your dad." elias replied, "couldn't hold his liquor and he certainly couldn't keep that wedding ring on his finger. pretty young thing would walk by and poof, that ring just disappeared like magic." malia growled, sensing the feeling that was coming from scott.
"do you know all of us?" lydia asked, her voice calm.
he smiled, pointing towards lydia, "you're natalie martin's girl. am i right?" lydia nodded firmly. "you look like her. she was pretty once, too."
"stop talking," malia snapped, her eyes glowing a bright blue.
scott jumped to his feet, "hey, malia."
"and she also liked to talk like she was the smartest person in the room." elias said, growing angry. malia growled, her claws flicking out. she rushed forward.
"malia!" scott and i yelled at her.
"enough!" we heard sheriff stilinski yell after, causing us to turn to face him. my eyes widened, my stomach churning in nervousness. stilinski stood by the table, the nurse malia knocked out earlier at his side.
"sheriff, we-"
"i explicitly told you not to come here," stilinski said angrily, cutting off scott, "and who attacked a staff member."
"that's her." the nurse said, gesturing to malia.
"what the hell were you thinking?" stilinski asked, his eyes narrowed.
elias turned to his son, his voice calm, "noah, we were just having a nice conversation."
stilinski glared at us, anger seeping off of him, "the four of you, out. now."
scott put his hand on the small of my back, leading me away. i sighed, falling into step beside lydia as scott removed his hand from my back, he and malia following shortly behind us. as we turned the corner, we each stopped upon hearing elias' voice.
"noah," elias began, only he earned no response. "that's right! act like i'm not even here!" he yelled, angrily. "go crawling back to your dead wife and your loser son!"
"what did you say?" stilinski asked.
"is it time for my medicine?"
an hour later, the four of us found ourselves stood in the sheriffs station, an empty cell behind us. natalie martin paced nervously in front of us. i chewed nervously on my thumb nail, my arm crossed over my chest. malia stood on my right, scott on my left.
"we know this looks bad," scott began, looking to natalie.
"it doesn't look bad, scott. it is bad." miss martin snapped in response, "you broke into a nursing home, you harassed a dementia patient, and you beat up a nurse! this could affect the rest of your lives! especially you, malia. they're talking felony assault."
"i didn't beat him up," malia defended, "i could have, but i chose not to."
"that's an improvement," lydia commented. something about her words sounded familiar, only i couldn't place why.
stilinski then walked into the room, the door shutting behind him. he stood beside natalie, informing us, "by some miracle, the nurse decided to drop the charges. they're free to go." he then left, the door shutting behind him.
"just because you're not going to jail, doesn't mean you're not grounded for eternity." miss martin said, glancing over at lydia.
•••
minutes later, i was walking through the front door of the mccall household. scott gently closed the door behind me, leading me into the living room. liam stood there with a sheepish expression, fiddling with his fingers nervously. i glanced around, taking in the damage that his party had caused to the mccall household. well, at least it wasn't ours.
"you said to find a safe place," liam shrugged. "my stepdad was home so i couldn't bring her there-"
"you didn't really have to have a party," i cut him off, moving to sit on the arm of the couch.
"at least we saved gwen," liam defended, his voice shaky.
"but you saw one of the ghost riders," scott said softly, stepping closer to liam.
"hey, you didn't tell me that!" i exclaimed, rising to my feet and moving to stand next to scott. "how come you told him and not me? you saw them?"
"it wasn't like that," liam said, shaking his head lightly. "corey made him visible so we could fight him."
"alright," scott shifted his weight from one foot to the other, growing nervous for liam, "but doesn't the book say that if you see the wild hunt you'll be taken, too?"
"everyone at the party saw him." liam explained, shrugging. i sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. scott and i shared a look as realization dawned on liam, the boy asking, "doesn't that mean that..."
"they're all gonna be taken." scott finished. a piece of glass crunched under his boot and he shook his head lightly, "i should have been here." i could feel the worry and regret radiating off his body.
"let's, uh, let's just clean this place up, okay?" i suggested, putting my hand gently on scott's arm. scott looked down at me, nodding lightly.
an hour later, liam had gone home and scott and i were in his bedroom. we each had garbage bags in our hands, picking up the empty red plastic cups that littered the ground, along with any other trash, and shoving them into the black bags. i shook my head lightly to myself, glancing around the messy room.
we had already abandoned the ground floor, giving up on cleaning it because there was just too much damage. the ghost riders really left their mark down there. i suppose the dozens of teenagers that littered the house hours prior had, too.
suddenly, a voice rang through my mind. it was the same voice from the other day, the one i assumed was the boy we had all forgotten. stiles.
i was picturing myself in the alley of the superstore, clutching a box of waffles to my side. my phone was in my hand, and i was texting somebody. i was so focused on it that i didn't even notice the boy coming from the other way. i couldn't see the person, but i could hear the boxes of waffles clattering to the floor.
"i'm so sorry."
a knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts. i looked over at the open door of scott's bedroom, eyes landing on sheriff stilinski. his hand dug into his pocket, eyes glancing around the room.
"looks like a hell of a party," he commented.
"yeah, uh..." scott shrugged, looking around, "hopefully we can get this cleaned before my mom comes home."
stilinski smiled, "i'll help." he moved into the room, grabbing a couple cups from the ground.
"hey, sheriff," scott began softly, "we're really sorry. we never should have gone there to see your father."
"no, no. it's okay." stilinski sighed before continuing, "i should have been clearer about who he is. and maybe a part of me just didn't want to have to, um, admit it." he then pulled down the collar of his shirt, revealing a scar. "this is my dad, you guys. he pushed me through a glass table going after my mom. there's still tiny pieces of glass in there. the doctor told my mother that they'd probably be in there for the rest of my life, workin' their way out." scott and i were silent, unsure of what to say. stilinski continued, "small price to pay to keep him away from her. that time."
"i'm sorry," i muttered, and stilinski shook his head. i turned away, picking up a couple of cups from the ground.
"you know," stilinski began, taking a seat at the foot of scotts bed, "something you said has been just bugging me all day. something about memories."
scott shared a look with me before stepping towards stilinski, asking, "what do you mean?"
"have you ever had a dream that's so real that you thought it was a memory?" sheriff asks. i nodded softly, the feeling all too familiar to me.
"okay, in this dream..." he trails off, beginning to explain, "i'm lying in bed with claudia. it's a couple of weeks before we graduate from college, and we're talking about the future and kids and what we'd call them. and i tell her, that if we have a son, i want to name him after her father. and she laughs at me and says, 'why would you want to saddle some poor kid with a name like that?' and i told her, 'because he's a great father, kind of father i wish i had. the kind i hope to be...'" his gaze fell to the floor, "at that point in the dream she smiles, kisses me, and says, 'okay, we'll name him that, but it won't matter.'" my eyebrows furrowed in confusion, waiting for him to continue. he looked up at scott and i, his gaze lingering between us as he finished, "'he'll just be called stiles anyway.'"
stiles.
-
Authors note
WOOOOO double edit LETS GFOGOGOGOGO
I feel the last chapter was short so here fine take it take it you heathens
can someone summarize to me what happened this chapter I'm not editing it and I wrote it so long ago I forgot thank you so much