( L. BLACK AND BLUE )
WHEN AMELIE OPENED HER EYES, she wasn't sure if she was actually awake or in another dream. Part of her hoped she was still dreaming so that she could see her dad and sister again. But, when her eyes fluttered open, she wasn't in a room or in her house.
Instead, she was sitting on a bench at the beach, one that she'd visited when she was younger with her family many years ago. She could see her younger self playing with her mother in the water, their laughs echoing in the air around her. Her hands tightened around the bench she sat on, looking around her in hopes to spot her dad sitting near the shore with Karly, but she gasped when she found his figure walking up to her, a soft smile on his face.
"Hey, Amelie," He said, sitting next to her and placing a hand on her hair. He chuckled at her shocked expression. His hair was the same as she remembered, and his beard sprinkled like salt and pepper, and the unforgettable twinkle in his eye. Everything about him was just how she remembered him.
"You can see me—?" Amelie managed to choke out.
"Of course I can see you," He smiled knowingly, "This is a memory... and you summoned me."
"How? I'm not even awake," Amelie shook her head, trying to blink away the tears.
"Sometimes, when your body is giving out, the Anchor side of you will call out to the dead. We keep you alive until your body gets better," He explained, grabbing her hand between his. Amelie couldn't speak, she just stared at him. If she looked away for a second, she was afraid he might disappear. "You summoned me before, you know."
She titled her head. "When?"
"When you killed Matthew," He said pointedly, like Matthew was a whole other topic he was about to get into, "You didn't see me, though. You couldn't handle summoning two people at once."
"You were standing behind Allison," She breathed shakily, "That was you."
"Yeah," he chuckled, "I'm so proud of you, Ams."
"Thanks, dad," She gave him a teary smile before leaning her head on his shoulder. "He deserved it."
"Yeah, he was a son of a bitch," He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, rubbing her arm. "But, you did it. You did what I wasn't even close to doing. You're stronger than you think."
They both knew what she was thinking. She couldn't stay strong anymore. Every time she thought nothing could faze her, something horrible cascaded down her life and broke everything down into a million unfixable pieces.
"I don't know if I can be strong anymore," She whispered.
She could feel her dad's chest rise and fall, like he was actually alive and breathing. "You didn't summon just me, Ams."
Furrowing her brows, she sat up straight, looking around her confused, when her breath caught in her throat. "Karly?"
Her sister stood just a few meters away from them, a bright smile on her face as she skipped towards them. Amelie jumped to her feet to meet her halfway, their bodies colliding in a hug. Sobs raked through her body as she held her sister tightly against her chest, placing a kiss at the crown of her hair.
"I'm okay, Ams," Karly sniffled, holding the back of her sister's sweater tightly.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so so sorry, Karly," Amelie couldn't stop crying. Once the tears started, they wouldn't stop. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't apologize, none of this is your fault," Karly stepped back, holding her sister's hands. "I'm fine, really."
"But you're dead—"
"Remember what I told you before? I have all of dad now," She smiled softly, glancing at her father who was still sitting on the bench, staring at them lovingly. Karly pulled Amelie back to the bench, making her sit between her and Fin. "Everything is how it should be, I've come to terms with that. You should, too."
"How are you wiser than me?" Amelie chuckled through the tears.
"I had to learn it from someone," She nudged her shoulder jokingly before quieting down, her eyes glazing as she stared at the beach. "... How's Liam?"
Amelie sighed, shaking her head. "I don't know... Last I heard, Hayden wasn't doing so well. I haven't really been around," She pursed her lips, glancing at her sister, who was fiddling with her fingers anxiously.
"Yeah, well, you have to go back right?" Karly furrowed her brows, looking at her dad for an answer. Amelie turned to look at him too. He had a knowing look on his face before nodding.
"Ams—"
"Do I have to?" She asked quietly.
"You can't give in, Amelie," Fin said shortly.
"Why?" Amelie looked up at the sky, "Mom is not going to come and get me."
"You're right, your mom isn't coming to get you," Fin sighed, "But someone else is."
Her head snapped to her father's. "What?"
He smiled.
🥰
Unbeknownst to Amelie, Stiles had a plan.
He had to admit, though, it wasn't a very good one. It was risky, and so incredibly dumb that he couldn't believe he was the one to think of it. But, he had to try. He couldn't stand another minute knowing Amelie was trapped in there with no help while he was out here, doing absolutely nothing about it.
So, he decided to visit Lydia, who was just as trapped in Eichen— except she was allowed visits. Amelie wasn't ( rehabilitating plus supernatural patients were not allowed visits ).
Lydia was in a dire state, Stiles hated to see it. He sat with her for a while to cover up his act, before he noticed something odd in her hair. Her skin was peeling and dried blood crusted in her strawberry blonde hair. He tried to tell Natalie, but she wasn't having it.
"No, no, no," Stiles argued, "That's not ECT—"
Just as Natalie was about to tell Stiles off, a nurse came in, her face telling Stiles everything he needed to know. They're going to hurt Lydia, too.
"Is everything all right in here?" The nurse asked.
Throwing a glare at Stiles, Lydia's mom answered, "It's fine. Our guest is just leaving."
Everything was not fine, Stiles wanted to say, but the look on Natalie's face shut him right up. "Stiles, go. Or you're not coming back."
Hesitantly, Stiles left the room, deciding that right now, Amelie was much higher on the priority list. In the hallway, Stiles walked out of the closed unit where Lydia, purposely bumping into two security guards on his way out, who threw him a glare at the impact.
Muttering a quiet apology, he clutched onto the key card he managed to pick out in his hand. He grinned victoriously as his pace quickened to the rehabilitation faculty part of the place.
🥰
"What do you mean someone else is coming?" Amelie furrowed her brows confused, glancing between her dad and sister. "Stiles is coming???"
"Yes, he is," Her dad nodded hurriedly, standing up to look around him, "Which is why you need to focus."
"What— What do I do?"
"Just focus on me, yeah?" Just as he said that, her vision began to go blurry, and everything around her was spinning. "Amelie? Amelie???"
"Amelie, come on, you got this," Karly's sweet voice came in.
"I don't want to go, I don't want to go," She whispered, her hands clasped tightly around her dad's. "Will you guys leave me again?"
"Honey, we never left," Fin answered.
"Please—"
"Honey, you need to focus, okay?" Fin said rushed. "Stiles is coming to get you, you need to be ready."
"But the sedative..."
"You can break free," Fin nodded, "Just focus on yourself, your surroundings... Think of Stiles, he's waiting for you out there..."
🥰
Stiles' heart was about to jump out of his chest. So far, he hadn't bumped into any security guards, but he was sure there had to be one near the rehabilitation facility. What he would do to distract him, he wasn't sure.
As he turned a corner into the facility, his feet halted before hiding behind the wall. A large man stood paced the corridor, his arms crossed over his beefy chest. Stiles needed a distraction. Now. His feet tapped anxiously on the floor as he scanned the hallway for anything, when his eyes landed on the alarms.
Glancing back at the man one last time, he rushed to the alarm and pressed it, the hallways immediately turning red and as the alarm sound echoed through the facility. The man's harsh footsteps began to quiet down and Stiles sighed with relief.
Taking one more careful look down the hallway, Stiles began to walk. His eyes scanned the windows in the doors, looking for his girlfriend until he stopped at the last one. A sigh of relief escaped him when he saw her sleeping on the bed. Quickly, he placed the card he stole on the monitor next to her door before slamming the door and kneeling next to her.
His shaking hands made their way to her cheek, hissing when he felt how cold she was. He could feel the tears burning the back of his eyes as he patted her hair softly and whispered her name to wake up. But she didn't.
"Amelie, come on," He whispered, his paranoia making him look back at the door every two seconds.
Why wasn't she waking up? His eyes scanned her pale face, as if staring at her would make her open her eyes... until his eyes landed on her neck. That's when the tears he had been trying to keep at bay began to fall. Her neck was bruised black and blue, and he could see the spots where they had injected her with something. A small shaky breath escaped him as he leaned his ear on her chest until he could hear her pulse. It was almost non-existent.
"Babe, you need to wake up, come on," He whispered, clasping her cold hand tightly and holding it to his chest.
"You need to wake up."
🥰
"— You need to wake up!"
"Is that Stiles?" She gasped, her eyes flashing purple, the deepest shade they'd ever been, the grasp she had on her dad's hands tightening. "I can hear him."
"He's here, Amelie, you have to hurry, otherwise he might not get another chance to come get you," Karly said cautiously. The beach was becoming more furious by the second, the sound of the waves were louder and louder, the wind swirling around them angrily.
"Will I see you guys again?"
"Yes, yes, you will!" Fin yelled across the wind. "You have to let us go for now."
"But—"
"No! You'll die if you don't. I'm not letting Sydney lose both her daughters. Amelie, you have to focus!"
Her vision was hazy. Her dad's face, who was smiling kindly at her, his eyes soft surrounded by the wrinkles he used to have, was beginning to diffuse away. She quickly turned to look at her sister, who was looking at her with the same smile as Fin. They had the same smile, and she never noticed. Karly nodded at her for reassurance.
"I love you."
🥰
Amelie awoke with a gasp. Eyes purple. Stiles stood up, eyes wide in shock, as he grabbed her head and placed a kiss into her hair. When she could finally catch her breath, she lunged into Stiles' arms, holding onto him for dear life. Like, if she let him go for a second, he'd disappear too.
"You came," She whispered, leaning back to hold his face in her hands and he nodded with a smile.
"We have to go," Stiles whispered, "Now."
With that, the boy helped up her up, placing an arm securely around her waist as they began to hurry to the exit. They looked around them at all times, hoping to reach the exit with no problems.
"Wait, wait, wait," Amelie whispered, tightening her hold around his shoulder, "We have to go through the back door. We can't just walk out like this."
"Yeah, yeah, you're right," He mumbled, turning around hastily before pausing. A small gasp escaped both of them at the sight of the security guard awaiting them. The same one who was standing in front of Amelie's room.
"Oh, fuck," Amelie mumbled.
The man smirked at them before running up to them, making Stiles scramble away but Amelie stayed put. She was going to leave this place knowing she hurt this man's ego.
"Amelie, come on—"
Eyes flashing purple, Amelie slammed her hands onto the ground, feeling the energy inside flow like water on the edge of a waterfall. The floor began to shake and the man fell backwards, hitting his head on the harsh concrete, knocking him out, and hopefully anyone who was coming for them.
Standing up, she turned to Stiles who was staring at her in awe, before grabbing his hand and running to the ground floor.
"I think that's the hottest thing I've ever seen you do," Stiles yelled as they ran and Amelie rolled her eyes jokingly.
"I can't tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing."
"Good, definitely good, because I thought nothing would top when you—"
"Stiles, I don't think this is the time to have this conversation!"
"Right."
When they had finally reached the backdoors, Stiles used his card one last time. A sigh of relief escaped her as the doors opened and she was met with the dark skies above them. She was free. Finally. Grabbing her hand again, Stiles guided her to his car so they could finally leave.
As soon as she was in the passenger seat and they had driven off, she watched Eichen House just a point on the horizon. She turned to Stiles with a teary smile and grabbed his hand softly. He returned the smile before eventually pulling into Scott's driveway. The car halted into a stop but neither of made any motion to step out.
Amelie stared at her fingers, noticing how bony they'd become. "How long was I in there?"
The brunette next to her sighed, shuffling uncomfortably, "About a week. I went to your house the day after... Saw your mom..."
"What did she say?"
"That you had a few things to deal with and you wouldn't be coming back home anytime soon," Stiles muttered.
Amelie chuckled dryly. "Pretty sure she's the one with issues, not me. Anyway, it doesn't matter—"
"Ams, we can go home if you want—"
"No, no," she shook her head, "It's fine. We need to help Lydia. What they're going to do to her is far worse than what I've been through."
"You've been sedated for a week, Ams..."
"It doesn't matter," She shook her head. She hated talking about her feelings, but this was Stiles. Stiles, who knew every square inch of her, inside and out. Stiles, who always validated everything she said. But, now wasn't the time for validation.
When she turned her neck to the window, she hissed at the electric feeling flowing through her nerves. Raising her hand to touch the skin, she couldn't ignore how bumpy and sore it felt. She flipped the small mirror in front of her seat, a small gasp escaped her at the sight of black and blue and yellow cascading from her jaw all the way to her collarbones.
She hadn't realized she'd begun to cry until Stiles wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer.