13; Silent Girl Pt. 2
"Goldfish."
El looked up from her deck of cards, narrowing her eyes at the boy across from her suspiciously. Isaac flashed her a dazzling grin, urging her to call his words bluff. With a roll of her eyes, she threw her cards down, "you are such a cheater!"
Isaac chuckled. "What? I'd never."
"You always used to cheat when we were kids. That's how you always won."
The werewolf smirked, "I won because I was just that good."
"At goldfish?" El deadpanned. "Don't flatter yourself."
He shook his head with a laugh. He did cheat, but he wouldn't admit it. "So when are getting released from this party?" he asked motioning to the quiet and very white room. She sighed, she would prefer to stay in this hospital bed rather than go home. "Tonight. My mom is coming to pick me up."
"How'd she take it when she got the call?"
Another sigh. "She didn't even come see me last night. She sent my dad."
"She's just angry," he reassured. El scoffed pushing her hair out of her face. "Even Paul came to see me."
"Oh," Isaac responded awkwardly. He remembered Paul, vaguely. Whenever he would go over to El's house he was always there to pick on the both of them. The older brother, Joseph, usually came to their rescue.
Yeah oh, El thought, even the brother who hates me came to see if I was still alive.
"Will you be back to school soon?" he asked, trying to change the subject. She nodded with a small smile, "I've got a few days off to recover, but speaking of school... shouldn't you be there right now?"
His eyes glanced up at the clock hanging above the door, "Allison should be here to pick me up in a few. You're not going to go running off again if I leave, right?" he teased. She could sense the firmness underlying his tone meaning he was also being serious.
"You better go before you're late," she said, ushering him out the door. "I'll see you later?" he asked, picking up a few textbooks into his arms. "Just go." with a parting hug he slipped out the door leaving her to her thoughts.
Everything ached. Her arms, legs, and even feet as she laid down in bed and stared up at the white ceiling. How had it come to this? Everything was a mess. Her life was a complete and utter disaster.
If her mother didn't send her back to Eichen House then the hospital surely would. They knew of her time in the institution and if they thought she was harm to herself or others, they wouldn't hesitate to send her back.
It would be the end of her short-lived life in the outside world. She had really messed up this time and she wasn't even awake to realize it.
How she ended up in a coyote den with Stiles was a mystery to her. She had fallen asleep in her own bed and awoke in an ambulance. How? She couldn't say. The doctors said sleep walking, but never in her life had she slept walked before.
How she ended up in the same place as the sheriffs missing son was something else altogether. The doctors didn't have an answer for that.
It was starting again. The symptoms that got her admitted nine years ago. Soon enough she would be back in Eichen House sitting in her dull room. That thought alone petrified her.
She made a promise to live her life. She told her best friend she would do good and live for the both of them. She made that promise to Miranda, who would never have the chance to do it herself. What were the odds of keeping that promise if she was stuck back into Eichen House?
The man who had found her, Scott's father it seemed, looked oddly familiar. She couldn't place him in any specific memory, but she knew she'd seen him before. If only she could focus for a moment, maybe she could remember.
El sighed trying to focus on one thought at a time. It was impossible. She sat up with a loud groan and pulled at the roots of her hair in an attempt to keep herself focused on the pain, if anything.
El was so caught up in her own head, she hadn't even noticed the door open and the boy slip in, trying to be unnoticed by nurses and other staff. He watched for a moment as she mumbled to herself, frantically moving her position every few seconds or so.
"Hey," he finally spoke up, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
She gasped, pulling away. Her heart stopped for half a second as she caught her breath. "Stiles," she breathed "what are you doing in here?
He took a step back, removing his hand from her shoulder. The boys eyes trailed around the room and awkwardly regained eye contact with El. Surprisingly he blushed, once seeing she was only wearing a hospital gown similar to his.
Subconsciously she pulled the white blanket from the bed up to her chin, feeling vulnerable under his stare. "Stiles," she started again "why are you in my room?"
He coughed. "I came to talk to you about last night... they- Scott told me you were there. I don't remember being with you last night. No one knew where I was, but you somehow found me."
"I don't know anything, Stiles. I don't even know how I got out of my house without setting off the alarm. I'm not sure what you were expecting."
They looked away from each other. Stiles rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest defensively. There was always more to know. There had to be. "Look, I read your files and I
know-"
Appalled, she felt the involuntary blush creep up her neck. "You did what?"
He opened and closed his mouth several times unable to come up with a reason or excuse to cover up what he'd just said.
"You looked through my files?" she repeated, voice getting louder as she spoke.
"I-"
"You looked at my confidential files! What gave you the right to do that?" she all but screamed feeling her blood begin to boil with anger. "I-I-" she sputtered another to find the words to tell him how angry she was. "I said your name was cool!"
He raised an eyebrow as she continued to rant and yell at him. Stiles peered at the door behind him, hoping nobody was hearing this. "I was just-"
"Just what?"
There was really no reason for what he'd done. It was the outcome of him being overly curious and needing to know everything about everyone. It was how he was able to sleep at night, knowing no murders were walking into town. But lately, not even that was helping his insomnia.
"It's hard to explain," he grumbled. It would be a lot easier if she knew about the supernatural, but that's not exactly a conversation opener. "But I am sorry. I didn't mean to-"
"Sorry?" she repeated in disbelief. "You're sorry?" El scoffed, completely baffled. "Well if you're sorry then I guess it's alright then."
Stiles' eyebrows rose in surprise. "Really?"
She scowled and he immediately knew the answer. "No, not really! You invaded my privacy! I blamed it on Isaac but it was you and- and you- Why would you do this?"
"You hear voices. That's... that's cool. It's not a big deal." He winced as he nearly felt pain from the daggers she was glaring at him.
El buried her face in her palms. This was her worst nightmare coming true. "If anyone else finds out..."
His eyes widened as the realization set in. Someone else did find out about her being admitted into Eichen House, actually the entirety of Beacon Hills high school.
"It was you..." she gasped. "You're the reason everyone found out. You're the reason everyone thinks I'm a freak."
"Well actually that's a call of their own better judgment." he shot back.
"Who did you tell about the... the voices?" she asked, whispering the last part.
Stiles' eyes went wide. "I didn't. I didn't tell anyone." He gulped. "Okay so maybe I told one person."
Her jaw clenched. "Who?"
He hesitated, thinking of the pros and cons of speaking the name of the top of his tongue. Stiles sighed, he owed it to her. "Scott. I told Scott."
And that was all she needed to hear as she angrily pointed to the door. "Get out."
"But-"
El got to her feet opening the door for him herself. "Get out."
"We have to talk-"
"I said get out!" This time, it came out as a full-fledged scream that caught the attention of people passing by. Some nurses and doctors stopped and peered in their direction and Stiles hurriedly left the room without saying another word.
El let out a shaky breath as she slammed the door, pressing her back against it. Everything was falling apart.
Two days passed in a whirlwind.
El spent most of the time at Beacon Memorial sitting beside her best friend who was in a coma. It was a freak accident or so Allison had described it. A lot had happened in the span of 48 hours, most of which she couldn't explain.
There were few things she did know for sure. One, Isaac wasn't waking up anytime soon. Two, Stiles was missing and three, the voices in her head were getting louder.
When she was alone she sat in her room, occupied by her thoughts and the sound of the voices in her head talking. They had been going off non-stop about Scott and something called a nemeton.
She couldn't make sense of any of their cryptic messages. Why couldn't they just tell her what they wanted? It would make things a whole lot easier. It seemed she was doomed to live the hard life.
She was already awake and ready to go by the time her alarm rang. For some reason, she was having trouble sleeping. She had gotten less sleep in the last 48 hours than she had in the past couple of months. It only confirmed her worries. Everything was slowly building up to the mental breakdown that drove her mother into sending her away nine years ago. It wasn't a matter of why it was a matter of when.
It was inevitable. It would happen like it always had before. She couldn't stop it, or her parents, not even the doctors with however many degrees in medicine under their belt. It was a waiting game.
El stopped in front of the mirror hanging on her wall, having caught her own gaze in the reflection. A week ago she saw a girl with a fresh start just about to start her first day of high school. It seemed so long ago, but it was only last week. Now, she saw the little girl who was sent away from home to be confined in a place of isolation and fear.
There was a soft knock on her door and she forced a smile as her father peeked in. "Ready to go?" she nodded as she moved away from the mirror stealing one last glance at herself.
The door to Paul's room was closed as usual as she passed by. She hadn't seen him since the night she was brought into the hospital a few days ago. Since then he had made himself scarce.
"How are you feeling?" her father asked once she entered the kitchen. He busied himself by making a bowl of oatmeal to try and seem casual, but she could see right through him. It was the same question he asked almost every time he saw her.
He was just trying to look after her in fear she'd get sent away again, but there were so many things wrong with her that he couldn't even begin to comprehend.
"I'm fine, dad," El assured him, managing to keep the smile on her face. It got a little exhausting to pretend after so long.
His eyes narrowed at her suspiciously. "Are you sure?"
She sighed. "Yes, I'm sure. If I have a psychotic break anytime soon I'll be sure to let you know."
He frowned at her attempt at humor. "Alright then. Let's go before I'm late for work."
The car ride was ever so silent. Neither of them spoke. Neither of them knew what to say.
"Joey should be here to pick you up in an hour or two. If you need anything just call," he said as he pulled up in front the hospital. El was about to remind him about her lack of a cell phone until he placed the sleek rectangle in the palm of her hand.
Her eyes widened slightly as she looked to him. "My phone? Are you giving it to me? But I'm still grounded..."
"I think we've established that your punishment has been lifted. As for your phone, I'd like you to have it just in case anything happens again." Her eyes dropped to her lap at the mention of the other night.
Nobody had spoken about it. There wasn't anything to be said. "Does mom know?"
He rolled eyes. "I do not need your mother's permission or guidance on how to do my job as a father." El's eyebrows lifted as she gave him a pointed look and her dad huffed. "No, she doesn't know. When she finds out I will deal with her."
This time, it was genuine as El laughed and leaned over to give her father a hug. He chuckled as he returned her embrace, "I mean it El, if you need anything I'm just a phone call away."
She nodded stepping out of the car. "I will. See you later."
He waved goodbye as he drove out of the parking lot and after a few moments the smile faded from her face. El turned to the hospital doors and frowned, this place was becoming much too familiar for her liking.
The nurses and doctors smiled and said hello as she passed. She was becoming a regular here and she wasn't sure how to feel about that.
After the short elevator ride up to Isaac's floor El was slightly embarrassed to come face to face with Melissa McCall. This was the kind of interaction she'd been trying to avoid.
"Oh, hey El."
The teenage girl ducked her head nervously. "Hi, Ms. McCall- I mean Melissa."
"Are you here to see Isaac?"
El nodded looking in the direction of her friend's room. "Well, they moved him up to the ICU." Melissa motioned for El to follow her and obligingly she trailed behind her. "He isn't doing too well," she added softly answering El's unspoken question.
As they neared the lock doors to the ICU, Melissa swiped her card and the doors opened automatically. El continued past Melissa towards the new room Isaac was currently in. Just as she was about to open the door Allison was leaving. She smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. "Good morning El."
"Hey Allison," she replied offering the best smile she could manage. "Have you been here all night?"
The girl huffed looking down at her slightly wrinkled clothes she'd been wearing since yesterday. "Yeah, they didn't let me see him until Melissa let me in this morning. Family only apparently."
She scoffed at the idiocy of that. "Didn't bother to check to see that he doesn't have any."
El looked at her hands. Poor Isaac. "We're as close to family as he has."
Allison glanced over her shoulder. "I'm going home to wash up and rest a bit. Will you stay here with him?"
"I will."
The huntress wrapped her arms around El, in a hug that lasted no more than four seconds. They had gotten much closer in the last couple of days. They were both there grieving over their friend and suddenly they were talking and offering moral support. El had never really been close to a girl other than Mandy and it felt nice to have another friend.
"I'll see you later. Let me know if anything happens?" El nodded again as Allison squeezed her hand once more and walked off to the elevator.
She sighed as she looked back to the doors separating her from Isaac. Gently she pushed them open and stopped mid stride once seeing that she wasn't the only one visiting.
Scott looked up and she dropped her gaze to the ground. "I'm sorry. I can come back later if you want to be alone with him."
He chuckled. "No, it's fine. I have to leave soon anyways."
He would stay if he could but his future also depended on him going to school. El stepped forward and gently held Isaac's hand. She swore it had moved slightly which brought a genuine smile to her face.
"When do you think he'll wake up?" she asked, trying to break the awkward silence.
Scott shrugged. "Soon. He's been through a lot. He's strong. He'll make it through this."
"He has to," El responded looking down at her friend. It pained her to see him this way and she could only imagine the real pain he was in.
"El..." Scott began unable to find the proper words to express what he wanted to say. "About the other night..."
"I saw Stiles the day he went missing." She cut in diverting the conversation from her. Scott's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "You saw him? Here in the hospital."
"He came to my room. He told me he read my files..."
The tension grew in the room. Scott gaped. He had to say something, anything that would make her feel better about what his friend had done. But what could he say? Nothing would take it back.
"I know he told you about me." she let out a shaky breath. "I know it's because of him that everyone knows about Eichen House."
"It's okay. We don't- I don't- We're your friends."
Her heart fluttered but she pushed the feelings away. "I told him to get out. I yelled at him. I think it's my fault he's gone."
The weight on her chest seemed to lessen as she revealed this to him. No matter how angry she was at Stiles she still felt responsible for his disappearance. It couldn't be a coincidence that he went missing after they talked.
Scott took her hand in his, taking them both by surprise. Little jolts of electricity passed through her, taking her breath away. "No one blames you. I don't blame you. We're going to find him."
A few seconds passed of them looking into each other's eyes and he pulled away. The hand he had been holding clenched, trying to maintain the warmth that had spread through it.
A lopsided smile appeared on his face as he adjusted his backpack strap on his shoulder. "I have to go. I'll be back later to check up on him."
All she could manage was a slow nod as he backed out of the room. "Oh Isaac," she breathed. "I really hope you wake up soon."
She pulled a chair beside his bed and sat down. El still held his hand in hers as she drifted off into much-needed sleep.
"It's beautiful isn't, Rosie?" The young girl looked up from her place in the balcony and smiled at her grandfather. "I wish I could stay here with you forever papa."
With a bit of struggle, he lowered himself down onto the blanket beside his only granddaughter. "I wish the same thing."
The full moon in its bright glory shown down on them giving light to seek out the darkness. A howl sounded in the distance, strong and powerful. "Did you hear that?" the six-year-old gasped looking to the man beside her.
His features became knowing. "The wolves have come out for the night. They own these woods, they protect it."
"It's their home?" she asked with big eyes. He nodded. "For many, many years."
"One day you will help protect them, just like I do."
The little girl frowned, unable to comprehend his words. "I don't get it."
"In the years to come you will understand El. You will have a pack and an alpha by your side to lead you."
"But for now," he began "It is time to wake up."
"Granddad, what do you mean? I am awake."
His eyes glazed over. "Wake up El."
Wake up!
El's eyes shot open as she was suddenly enveloped in the erratic beeping of machines. She jerked up from the chair beside Isaac's bed and frantically hovered over his writhing body. Tears sprung to her eyes watching helplessly as he gasped for air.
Her voice was strained as she ran into the hallway, "help! Help! I need help!"
She dashed back into the room once having caught the attention of the staff.
Doctors and nurses pushed through the doors seconds later and pushed her out of the way to get to Isaac. "You can't be in here!" one of them shouted angrily.
She froze and the nurse pushed her out of the room, preventing her from seeing what was going on. Her heart stopped and then began again at an unhealthy speed. She felt herself fidgeting again unable to control her constant movement.
Then she heard him scream from beyond the doors, one of anguish and agony combined.
Her breathing became harsh as she rushed down the hallway, pushing herself into an empty room.
El took a seat at the foot of the bed, trying to focus on one thing at a time. Her hands subconsciously rubbed up and down her trembling limbs unable to stay still. A tear threatened to fall and she hurriedly brushed it away. Her breathing was short and ragged and her lungs felt restricted of air. All too familiar symptoms of the panic attacks she used to have when she was a kid.
Staring down at her hands she willed them to stop shaking, but they continued. Her chest burned as she took a deep breath letting the oxygen fill her lungs. The room began to spin and her eyes squeezed shut, trying to slow her mind to a pace her body could cope with.
It's all your fault
The voice rose above all the noise clouding her mind, searing it into her brain. All your fault, it repeated. El slid down to the floor holding her head in her hands, "why can't you just leave me alone?" she shouted back feeling the pressure on her chest grow to the point where she couldn't breathe.
Silly girl, they chimed in unison, you are alone.
Then they laughed, cackling in her ears. Taunting El to scream at them and prove to everyone what they already believed. That all she was, was a broken girl with a few loose screws.
It's all in your head
We can't leave
We are you
We need him
He can help us
Fix us, El, fix us
We need an alpha
Before it's too late
"Stop it!" El's voice vibrated through the room, silencing all the voices. Her body felt beaten and drained as she slumped to the ground, unable to call for help. She knew that it would only make things worse if someone found her like this. It would be the last straw. That would be it. That was how it would end for her. In Eichen House, she didn't have a life, her existence was a waste of space, with no meaning.
She might as well be dead.
The door to the room swung open just as her eyes closed, letting her body heal from the mental abuse she'd just taken. She was in and out of consciousness, only catching glimpses of the man now holding her in his arms telling her to stay awake. But why? She asked, unable to voice the thought out loud. What was the point? Why not just sleep and let all the pain and suffering slip away?
"Her heart's beating really fast. We need to get her out of here." the man said to someone else who she couldn't see. "Shouldn't we get help? We're in a hospital. They can help her!" the other person protested when El should have.
"They can't help her. This isn't something science can fix, Argent. Now help me get her to the car."
There was a pause. A few exchanged grunts of disapproval and then she was moving. Am I being kidnapped? She wondered in her half-unconscious state. The shock nor alarm had set in yet as she willingly let the two men carry her away, out of the hospital.
"Stay awake, El." he murmured, meant for her to hear only. So my kidnapper knows my name, she mused, amidst a migraine beginning to form in her temples. Lovely.
Her entire skull throbbed, a pounding sensation right between her eyes. It was always the same, a crushing pain that would start above her eyebrows and then spread to the back of her neck like a wildfire. It was the aftermath of her panic attacks or her fits as her mother would put it. You can't cure a headache. They come and go as they please leaving pain in their wake. She would just have to wait it out.
"This is a bad idea," the other one stated. What was his name? Argent? Is that a name? "What are you going to do huh? Keep her in your loft? Once they realize she's gone, they're going to come looking for her."
There was a momentary lapse of relief as she was put inside a vehicle, the cold leather like an ice pack to her burning forehead. Just as quick as it had come it was gone again, the headache firing up again even stronger.
"I haven't gotten that far in my plan yet-"
"That's because you don't have one! It's what you do, Hale. It's how everyone around you has somehow ended up dead. You spring into action without thinking it out first!"
Heavy breaths could be heard. Loud and strained. "You were in there. You heard her yelling at someone to stop, but there was no one there. If they send her back to the institution, I can't help her anymore. I'm just trying to buy us some time."
The door shut. Muffled arguing continued on and in her sleep like state she drifted off only to awake in a different place altogether. Little by little her body regained its function allowing a small twitch of her fingers and finally the power to open her eyes. El shot up in the bed, groaning at the head rush brought upon her by that.
Her eyes scanned the room, clearly belonging to a girl. Just to her right was a little frame and in it a Polaroid with three people. A man, a woman with red hair, and a girl. Straight away she recognized one of the three, Allison.
"You're awake." A jolt of surprise shot through her as she all but fell off the bed. Slowly El's eyes trailed to the person sitting beside the bed. How she didn't notice him before was unsettling.
"Who are you and what am I doing in Allison's room?" she quickly said creating as much space between them as she could.
His head cocked to the side, watching to see what she would do next. El gulped, fear rising into her gut.
"Scott sent me to protect you."
Her ears perked up at the name. "Scott?"
He nodded and then the silence returned. They stared at each other for a good minute until the realization dawned into the teenage girl. Her eyes squinted, trying to see something that would prove her theory wrong.
"You're him," she whispered. "You're the guy in the picture."
He quirked an eyebrow, "Derek."
"Your name, it's Derek?" The werewolf nodded. She faintly remembered Isaac mentioning him at the party.
Isaac.
"How is he? I should have stayed but I panicked. Isaac, is he okay?"
Derek nodded. "He's fine. He's in stable condition."
A wave of relief washed over her. "What were you doing in one of my family pictures, Derek?"
"You'll have to be more specific," he replied flatly, very Derek Hale like despite the circumstances. "It was a family vacation to San Diego. We're at the beach, and you... you're in the background."
Derek leaned back into the cushioned chair. He remembered that day very well. It was the first time his mother had entrusted him to do something for the pack. She never got to tell him if he'd done a good job protecting the Paxtons'. Shortly after returning from the trip the fire happened and she was gone.
"My family has had close ties with yours for generations. We've been close to the Paxtons' for a very long time, not so much your parents, but we knew your grandfather very well. He was a good friend. He trusted us to protect his family whenever it was needed. You can trust me. I won't hurt you."
El let out a breath. She wasn't relieved in the slightest. He could have easily made up this story about her granddad. Maybe he was a stalker and that's why he was in the picture. Isn't it called something when you trust your kidnapper? Stockholm disease? Could they send you to a mental institution for that? If so, she needed to get the hell out of there. "Right, you want to help me because the doctors can't?"
His eyebrows raised. "So, you heard that?"
Slowly, El nodded. "Among other things."
"Look, I know strange things have been happening to you. I can help you."
She scoffed. "You can't help me. I have a mental disease, you hear that? I have a disability. There isn't anything else to it. Unless you have some magical healing wand to fix my chemical imbalance, there is nothing you can do to 'help' me."
"Do you know anyone named Laura?" he asked causing her irritation to grow at the sudden subject change. What did it matter if she knew anyone named Laura?
El pressed her back against the nearest wall, sliding down to the floor. "I've been locked up for nine years. I don't have many friends." she shot back.
"Just think." he pushed.
"I- I don't know," she replied in exasperation.
"What about before Eichen House?"
Absently, she began to twist the small charm bracelet around her wrist. It was given to her on her seventh birthday by none other than her granddad himself. The charms were small and intricate, hanging from a silver band. A sun, crescent, and yin and yang symbol.
"I had a babysitter." El shrugged. "Her name was Laura- I think. God, it was a long time ago."
"Can you tell me about her?"
Another sigh. "She would come over every Saturday night when my parents went out. We would watch movies together, play board games with my brothers, or play hide n' seek. She would help me brush my doll's hair and change their outfits before I went to sleep." She rambled as the memories came back to her.
"What else?" Derek urged as the girl began to open up to him.
Her eyes narrowed, was he stalking Laura too? Derek mimicked her expression and slowly she continued. "She would give me candy. My mother didn't allow sweets around the house. She told me it would be out little secret."
"That's why I trusted her not to tell when I told her about the voices..." Before she could catch herself the words had slipped out of her mouth. El's eyes widened as she looked up to see Derek's reaction, but it hadn't changed.
He seemed pleasantly unsurprised by her revelation. "Laura was my sister."
El fell speechless. Derek had completely ignored the bit about the voices in her head. More than that she slowly began to see the resemblance between her childhood babysitter and the man in front of her.
"I told you. My family has known yours for a very long time. If you trusted Laura then you can trust me."
Her hands formed into fists at her sides. "I was five. I trusted anyone who gave me lollipops."
"I can tell you about the voices. I can help you control them."
"You're the insane one!" she yelled, jumping to her feet. "What are you trying to do? Huh? Why did you take me from the hospital?"
Derek came to his feet, towering a good few inches above her. Her head tilted up slightly to meet him in this eyes, so maybe more than a few inches. "Neither of us are insane. We're just different."
"Perfect," she grumbled. "Really, that's great, but here's the thing. I don't want to be different. I want to be normal."
He scoffed, looking away. "Don't we all," he muttered bitterly thinking she hadn't heard. "It's time you see it for how it is, you need help. I can help you. The alternative is you get sent back to Eichen house for another nine years or who knows how long."
It was the truth and it hurt a lot, but it was the truth nonetheless. He knew it and so did she. It was about time El heard it too; not sugar coated or nicely put out for her, but blunt and straightforward. Derek just so happened to be the person to do just that.
"You can't expect me to just put all my trust in you. I don't even know if one word you've said is true." He nodded in understanding, "I know. I'll just have to earn it."
"What about Laura?" she offered. "If she is your sister. Where is she? I'll talk to her."
This entire conversation El hadn't managed to pull a reaction out of him until now. His expression, once clear of emotion, had washed over with grief. His eyebrows furrowed, and his lips pressed together. After a moment, he looked back up at El with dark eyes, "She's dead."
Her mouth had opened and closed several times, unsure of what to say. The sullen look on his face said he didn't want to talk about it either way. Laura wasn't family to her, but in some way it still hurt to know she was gone.
"Oh. I didn't-"
Before she could finish her apology he had placed his hand over her mouth, silencing her. Derek placed a finger to his lips while he listened to the commotion on the other side of the door. He let out an annoyed breath, Scott's father. He was here under the suspicion that they were the assailants behind Silver Fingers murder. As it seemed, he had already arrested Argent. If Derek didn't reveal himself now, he would come in here and find El.
Agent McCall's suspicions weren't enough to convict them of murder, but finding a missing girl in his presence was hard enough evidence to charge him with kidnapping. Right now wasn't the time to become a fugitive. Again.
"Someone's here," he whispered to El, who watched him with wide eyes. "I need to go out there."
His hand dropped from her mouth and she inhaled before speaking hurriedly as he twisted the door knob. "What about me? You're just going to leave me here?"
"I don't have a choice. Those men out there are police officers and they are going to arrest me."
Somehow her eyes grew wider. "For what?!"
Derek's hand clenched and unclenched. "Murder," he responded fluidly and her jaw dropped. If he wanted her to trust him, this wasn't looking too good for him. You usually don't trust people who are being accused of killing someone.
"I didn't do it," he stated firmly. "I know you don't believe me, but just try and trust me. I know Scott is involved with the voices you hear. I can help you find out why." Again he rendered her speechless. She never told anyone about the unknown connection between the voices in her head and Scott. How could he know about that? "Just stay here." he paused for a moment and when she didn't move he opened the door and walked out.
El watched through the crack in the door as the deputies immediately took custody of Derek. They slapped the handcuffs onto his wrists and moved him through the apartment with unnecessary force. The other man, Argent was his name, was being led out behind him. Agent McCall took one last glance at the home until his eyes went to Allison's door.
She held her breath as she moved away from the opening. The silence was long and daunting until finally she heard his receding footsteps. For good measure, El waited a few more minutes to ensure the coast was clear before she hesitantly stepped out of the room.
Everyone was gone. She could go home now. El would have to explain why she wasn't at the hospital and where she had gone. Then again, Derek knew things about her she has never told anyone. She had to find out how and why. He owed that to her after kidnapping her, right?
It was just the matter of deciding which was worse. Going home to her infuriated mother or risking being arrested for helping two people escape. Both would most likely end up with her dealing with her mother's wrath, so the choice was clear. Sheriff Station it is.
Really it wasn't much of a choice, more like an obligation. El sighed heavily as she walked out of Allison's home, unsure of which direction to go in. After walking down a few streets and ending up in front of an Animal Clinic rather than the Sheriff Station it was official, she was lost.
Hesitantly she walked up to the nearest bystander who happened to be unloading things from his car. "Excuse me, sir?"
The man looked up and smiled fondly. "Yes?"
"Could you uh- point me in which direction the Sheriff Station is?"
"It's right down that way," he said pointing in the opposite direction from which she'd been coming from. "Walk about 10 blocks down and make a left on Main Street and there it is."
She nodded and muttered a shy thank you before turning on her heel. "You wouldn't like a ride, would you?" the man called after her motioning to his car.
El quickly shook her head. There was only so much trust she could hand out in one day. If it was one piece of advice she would take from her mother, it was to never get into a strangers car. "No, thank you. I'll be alright."
The man nodded and waved goodbye politely before locking his car and heading into the animal clinic. The bell jingled as it opened and closed behind him. With a sigh, her head looked into the direction he had pointed her to.
Ten blocks. If she walked really fast she would be there in 20 minutes. She sighed, sweeping her hair into a ponytail with the hair tie around her wrist.
As El neared the Sheriff Station, people were frantically running around. Inside was complete chaos as she pushed through deputies and other people to get through the front door. By the time she had made it to the front desk the place was just about empty.
After a moment of hesitation she entered the room filled with desks and immediately spotted Derek and Argent handcuffed to the bench. She ran over as soon as the coast was clear, causing them both to gap in shock.
"What are you doing here?" Derek hissed as she rummaged through the desks for a key to the handcuffs. Finally, she found a ring of silver little keys and held them up in awe. Jackpot. She sank to her knees fitting each of the keys into the little lock but none of them worked. "El, you can't be here."
She fumbled with the ring trying each one, one by one. "Well, you said you would help me and I don't see how you could possibly do that while in jail."
"Derek..." Argent's voice trailed off as another deputy approached them. El looked up, frightened that she had been caught. Instead, the deputy completely ignored her as he pulled a key out from his pocket and hurriedly unlocked the handcuff around Argent's wrist.
"What's happening?" Argent asked above the loud noise of people running around. The deputy didn't respond and El backed away as he went on to unlock Derek's handcuff.
"Derek," she called out as his eyes drifted to the room behind him. She followed his gaze and they locked on a wrapped box placed on top of the Sheriffs desk. "Derek," she repeated and his eyes snapped to her with wide eyes.
It all went in slow motion from there as he shouted "Get down!" and his arms went protectively over her small body. Her eardrums burst from the blast as they were knocked to the ground by an unseen force.
The pain began in her temple, like her headaches, but this was a thousand times worse. The wound was small, barely visible behind her head. It was where a piece of glass had hit her on impact, and remained lodged in her skull. First, it was her hearing to go along with her sense of smell and little by little her sight faded into oblivion.