Carmen tiredly retrieved her items from the front desk. She had gotten no sleep the previous night, and it obviously showed. Her hair was a nest atop her head, her eyes were bloodshot from crying, the bags under her eyes deep and purple toned.
The same receptionist from before watched as she slowly slipped out of her assigned house shoes, handing them back over. The woman slides Carmen back her possessions from her check-in; Phone, belt, keys, and shoes. Carmen takes them silently and slips back into her regular shoes, placing her other possessions within the deep pockets of the gray facility sweatpants that she had decided to keep (Along with the t-shirt, of course).
"If there's no other concerns you have, you're welcome to officially check yourself out now." The lady smiles. "Do you have a ride?"
"I'll figure it out." Carmen replies monotonically for the first time all morning. The rough tone of her voice catches the woman off guard and she just nods, her face in awe of her rudeness.
"I hope you enjoyed your stay at Eichen house." The woman calls, but Carmen was already out the huge wooden doors.
Carmen trotted down the cracked stairs, glad to finally have some fresh air. Though, she showed no emotion other than the lasting blank frown etched into her face. She fished her phone from her pocket and found Casey's number, dialing it quickly.
"Yeah?" Casey's voice comes through.
"Pick me up." She ordered, plopping down on one of the bottom steps. "I'm waiting outside."
"I wasn't supposed to pick you up until later-"
"Casey, come pick me up." Carmen repeats through gritted teeth, "Now."
▲▼
The ride back home was completely silent. Casey kept his eyes on the road and Carmen kept hers glued to the passing scenery outside. As soon as Carmen stepped foot in his car, he could immediately tell that something was wrong with her; Aside from the obvious fact that she had just spent 2 days in a mental facility.
The car seemed to drive on for years and years, or at least it would have, if Carmen had been paying attention to time. Instead, she sifted through the same questions over and over again, as she did the previous night, all the way into the morning.
She tried her hardest to push the events of last night out of her brain, but it was simply impossible. She still didn't fully understand what had happened. All she remembered was the Nogitsune, giving Stiles his ultimatum; Let the Nogitsune in and free Carmen of her own, or don't and let her die. She remembered his cold stare as he exited the room casually, but not before sending her that signature smirk of his. She remembered staying put in the basement for several hours after that until the sun began to shine through the small window above her, signaling that it was time for her to leave. And even then, as she emerged from the basement and walked back to the bathroom to clean up, her legs trembled in fear and her breaths came out short, her mind still not being able to grasp what had happened.
The humming of Casey's engine is all that's audible. It usually wasn't like this. On any other occasion, Casey would be spewing some sarcastic bullshit on their way back and she'd roll her eyes at his terrible jokes, even though he always noticed the small lift of the corners of her mouth when he told them, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.
Carmen noticed as they turned into a street that she had never been before. It was well populated with trees, the road underneath them turning into gravel. There were a few houses spread on each side, but most looked run-down and abandoned. The house that they pulled up to was no exception.
When the car came to a halt, Carmen perks up in her seat and looks around while Casey gets out of the car, slamming the door shut behind him.
"Come on," Casey nods for her to follow, ignoring her question.
Carmen pockets her hands in the baggy grey sweatpants and wearily gets out of the car, not enjoying the vibe of the small, isolated neighborhood. She joins Casey at the front porch and watches as he fishes around in his pocket for his keys, pulling them out and opening the door.
"So you live here . .?" Carmen asks obviously as they walk into the dark space.
Casey doesn't reply as he turns a ceiling lamp on, revealing the extremely messy one-floor home. He steps over empty beer bottles on the ground and ignores her once again as he leads her to a room at the back of the small house. Although it was impossible to get drunk for him, it seemed like he had been trying relatively hard as the trail of them never ceased when they reached the room. On the back wall were tall, silver file cabinets and a desk hosting a laptop, along with a dim lamp. A single green suitcase was in the corner of the room.
Casey reaches over on the wall and flicks a switch on, bringing more light to the room.
"What is this?" Carmen inquires as he saunters over to a file cabinet, sifting through it before pulling out a single manilla folder. He stares at it in his hands for a few seconds as Carmen walks up to face him, concern written over her face.
"Casey . ." She speaks lowly, placing a hand on his arm. "What's all this about?"
"First, you. Tell me everything that happened at Eichen," He demands, setting the folder on the desk and turning back to her with hopeful eyes. "You've been acting weird the entire ride here."
"I don't think you're one to talk," She retorts, rubbing her arm awkwardly. "Besides, I'm sure I haven't been exactly acting like myself for a while now."
"Carmen." Casey states seriously.
Carmen frowns at the thought of the previous night and sighs, taking a seat in the swivel desk chair. She then began to spill about everything that had happened at the facility, not skipping over a single detail. His frown seemed to deepen at every word that left her mouth, and his eyes went wide as she explained what happened the previous night with Oliver, Stiles, and the Nogitsune.
"So . . The Nogitsune isn't in you anymore?" Casey inquires timidly, rocking back and forth on his heels like a child. "Stiles gave in to it so that you wouldn't be killed?"
Carmen presses her lips and hums in confirmation, clearing her throat. It's silent between them for a while before a sniff catches Casey's attention and he whips his head up to see Carmen wiping away a tear and biting down harshly on her lip.
"I-It should've been me," She cries, looking up at him with glazed eyes. "Stiles doesn't deserve this. He didn't know that I used him and now he has to deal with the Nogitsune on his own, all because he tried to save me. God, I'm such a piece of shit."
Casey didn't know what to do as the girl before him burst into tears. He wished he could say that he was surprised, but he wasn't in the slightest. He knew her. He knew that no matter how hard she tried to play the villain, she was golden deep down, and that gold underneath somehow always found a way to shine through no matter the circumstance. He knew that she would crack some day, and thank god it was today.
She deserved to know the truth.
He kneels down in front of Carmen in the seat, grabbing hold of her hands and staring at her intensely.
"Car, you trust me, don't you?" He asks seriously, his gaze never shifting from hers.
She can only furrow her eyebrows and nod, curious as to where this was headed.
"I know that I joke around with you a lot, but in all seriousness you're like a sister to me and I never want to be in a world without you-"
"Casey, get to the point," Carmen shakes her head, taking her hands from his and wiping her eyes again.
"This isn't a joke," Casey sighs and stands up, grabbing hold of the manilla folder he previously set down. "I need you to understand that after today, we can never see the pack again."
"What?!" Carmen perks up, confusion and anger rising within her belly. "What are you telling me?"
"Please, promise you won't be mad at me," He almost cries, biting down on his lip to fight the oncoming tears, "Please promise you won't see me any differently. I've wanted to tell you this for so long, but I knew that they'd come after us if I-I did."
"The pack would come after us?" Carmen questions, beyond confused. Casey's grip on the folder tightens and he averts his gaze. "Casey, just tell me what's happening . ."
He doesn't say anything, but merely hands over the folder, looking up to her timidly as her hand pulled out the dreaded piece of paper and her face scrunched into a mean grimace.
"Is this some kind of joke?" Carmen snarls angrily as her eyes scanned over the words "Death Certificate" written at the top of the sheet, her parents' names inked into it, all in an elegant font.
"Read it." Is all he gives her, beginning to pace around the room.
Carmen had never seen her parents' death certificate. She never wanted to. Why would she want to be reminded of the event that ruined her life forever? Still, she complied to Casey's order, inhaling deeply before she began to read some of the information out loud.
"Isabel and Norman Taylor." She begins, "Ages . . Approximated time of death . . Occupation . . Relationship . . Cause of death."
It didn't take a genius to know that something was wrong here. As her eyes scanned over the sheet, she caught on to some key words in the Cause of Death section.
"Isabel and Norman were found dead in their car on Saturday, June 27th, 2012." She read aloud nervously, "An investigation revealed that the car had been derailed due to a suspected tampered brake. The bodies of Isabel and Norman Taylor were mutilated with scratch and bite marks from the shoulders down, possible animal attack."
Carmen's eyes begin to water again as she glares up at Casey, who held a guilty expression.
"Piers told me they died from a car crash," Carmen shakes her head furiously, reading over the passage again, "He's always told me they died from a car crash. Why would he lie to me? What actually happened to them?"
"They happened." Casey states sadly but bluntly. "It was all Piers, Nina, and Luke."
"Why?" Is all that Carmen can ask through the ugly sob erupting from her throat. Of course there were a million other questions on the tip of her tongue, but she could only find it in herself to ask why.
"In order to get you to do what they wanted, they needed to turn you into a machine." Casey begins to explain, "They took away your parents because they thought that'd do the job. Their plan this whole time has been to turn you into their personal puppet, shield, and slave. And now, you gave them exactly what they wanted."
Carmen was at a loss for words, her breath caught in her throat.
"Oh, god, I'm such a terrible person," She whispers, her head throbbing. "I-I killed innocent people for them and I hurt everyone I loved, it should've been me-"
"You didn't know, Carmen," Casey pulls her into a hug, allowing her to cry into him.
"It doesn't matter!" She insists in a loud sob, "I willingly killed people! I ruined my own life, and now I have nobody!"
"You have me," Casey says seriously, motioning for her to look at him. "We'll figure this out, okay? I promise, we'll fix all of this. We'll fix Stiles and everything will be back to normal."
Carmen lets out a bitter chuckle, shaking her head. "Normal? You call that normal? Is never being able to see your family again because they want to kill you normal? Is never seeing your friends again because you wanted to kill them normal?"
Casey stays silent and allows her to cool down for a minute, words merely caught in his throat.
"So what do we do now?" She eventually asks, voice no higher than a weak whisper.
"I think they had their suspicions that I'd tell you." Casey sighs, rubbing her back soothingly, "We have to hide. They'll try to kill us like they did to the other guy. I already went by your house and packed some of your clothes and laptop."
"So we're staying here?"
"No, we need to go somewhere they'd least expect me to go."
▲▼
Derek stared at Carmen with an extremely confused expression as his eyes wandered over her lounge clothes and the suitcase in her left hand. After a few seconds of their intense staring, he begins to slide the door closed in her face but she jams her foot into the crack of the large metal door, forcing him to hear her out.
"Derek, please," She pleads sadly, suddenly missing his presence more than ever. "Can we just talk?"
"I know you and Stiles are possessed," Derek growls, "And after what you pulled, do you really think I'd ever even want to see you again?"
Carmen's heart drops into her stomach at his words, a deep frown etching into her face. She didn't want to believe that he really thought that about her, but after all that she'd done to him and everyone else, he was justified.
"The Nogitsune told Stiles that he had a choice of either giving in to it and freeing me of my own, or not giving in and letting me die," Carmen explains, tears welling in her eyes. "The Nogitsune isn't in me anymore, I swear. And if I could go back in time and take back everything I said and did, I would, I'd do it over and over again if it meant I got you all's forgiveness."
Derek doesn't say anything, but she knows that he's still there, as she could see his arm holding the door through the crack. Carmen licks her lips and looks down, guilt overcoming her once again. Her mind racked with her options as she tried to think of what she could possibly say to get him to change his mind. Eventually, she decided to just be blunt with him.
"I uh- I just found out that my pack, and my brother . . They actually killed my parents," Carmen sniffs, looking down at her foot wedged into the door. "And now that I know, they might try to kill me. I know that I haven't been myself lately, but I promise, I'm me again. I'm the same Carmen I was before. And if I'm going to be killed, I at least want to go out protecting the people I love."
A few seconds later, the door begins to slowly slide open, revealing Derek holding his common, neutral expression on his face. Carmen sighs in relief as he steps closer and pulls her into a hug that she easily returns.
"You're not going to die." Derek mumbles against her, "I'm glad to have this version of you back."
Carmen smiles and looks up at him. "Thank you for forgiving me . ."
"You know I can't speak on behalf of everyone else, though." Derek continues, pulling away from her and looking to her seriously. Carmen bites her lip and nods understandingly.
"By the way, you can stay here, but he can't."
"What are you-"
"I know you brought Casey with you," Derek states, "I can smell him."
"Guilty as charged," Casey snickers and walks into view to stand on Carmen's side with his hands up.
"Derek-" Carmen starts, but Casey shakes his head.
"Car, it's fine. I know there's no way to change this guy's mind when it comes to me," He sighs, giving her a small smile. "I'll find somewhere else to stay. Don't worry about me."
Casey squeezes her arm gently before walking off, leaving Derek and Carmen standing there awkwardly.
"You can use the guest room," Derek insists, leading her up the familiar spiral staircase. He stops in front of a small, standard looking room, flicking a light on.
"I'll wake you up in the morning and we can meet up with everyone else." Derek says, "Goodnight, Carmen."
"Goodnight, Derek." Carmen whispers, unable to hold in her cheesy grin. He gives her a weird look in return and shuts the door behind him when he exits. She hadn't meant to make that look so creepy, she just couldn't contain herself. Derek actually forgave her.
Carmen throws her suitcase up onto the bed and climbs up with it, beginning to unzip it. As promised, Casey fit all of the clothes he could into the suitcase and sat her laptop atop of everything. Carmen reaches to take her laptop out and notices something underneath it, making her furrow her eyebrows. She reaches back into the suitcase and pulls out a framed picture of her family.
It was the same picture that she had shown Isaac- The one where her parents, Piers, and her were all posed in the front yard.
Instead of being saddened by the picture, she found happiness. As she turned the light off and laid back down tiredly, holding the picture against her chest, maybe she could allow herself to relish in this one good memory instead of the millions of bad.
Just this once.