Chapter 16:
A few days had passed since Emily's departure from Beacon Hills and Stiles was so tempted to call her to come back. Things had gotten a lot worse since she left.
Boyd was dead.
And now Derek had gone MIA.
Although he had a slight idea as to where he was after hearing the story how he first fell in love from Peter. It was shocking to hear how sourwolf had fallen in love with a human girl only to lose her due to the bite not taking to her.
It all made sense as to why he was so closed off from everyone. First he lost the first girl he loved and not long after he lost his entire family in a house fire. He honestly couldn't blame the guy for being such a bitter man, he'd probably be the same if he ever lost his dad and Emily.
He looked down at his phone, his finger hovering over Emily's name and sighed. He put his phone away with reluctance.
He didn't want to bother with something they could do alone even if a huge part of him just wanted to selfishly call her and hear her voice. Just to know that she was okay.
Stiles pressed his lips into a thin line, fighting himself to not call her and fell back onto his bed letting out a groan of frustration.
He idly wondered what she was doing.
oOo
New York
The music was so loud that the drinks on the table moved. People were either dancing on the dance floor or drinking.
A dark gaze followed the young woman dancing alone, surrounded by bounds of people dancing around her. He kept watching her dance, her body moving along to the beat of the music.
After a few songs passed, he watched her start to leave the bodies of people on the dancefloor and she headed outside. He stood up from the bar stool he was on and quickly followed after her.
He made sure to keep his footsteps light as they stepped outside where it led to a dark alleyway. He watched her stumbling over herself and quickly caught up to her. He slammed her against the wall, seeing the passing look of fear in her eyes. "Hi there." He slurred.
"Please, don't." She pleaded, her eyes shining as she leaned as far back into the wall as she could.
He scoffed, letting out chuckle that smelled like alcohol as he touched her cheek.
"It's okay." He assured her, licking his lips as he eyed her up and down. "You're really beautiful you know. I just thought that we could have a little fun." He suggested, trailing his hand down her neck and before he could even touch her inappropriately, his neck was snapped.
"Why'd you do that?" Emily snapped at Eli, glancing at the dead body on the floor. "I had that handled."
"Yeah, well I wasn't too comfortable watching you play the innocent maiden." He muttered, eyeing the dead body with irritation. "Besides, it wasn't like you weren't going to kill."
"I wasn't going to kill him." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I was going to feed off of him and then compel him to not be a creep."
Eli deadpanned as he looked at her. "You actually got softer on me." He sighed, "You know, I would have thought with your father gone you would be more fun but nope. You're actually becoming a goody two shoes."
"Sorry if I'm not interested in killing every pervert that talks to me." She mused, crouching down beside the body. "So, are we just going to leave him here?"
"Yeah, I mean, whose going to miss this drunken creep?" He retorted as she stood back up. The two began walking out of the alleyway and onto the streets of New York. "You wanna head to Times Square next?"
She pursed her lips, they had been traveling city to city getting drunk and partying it up while also playing around with the local drunks.
On occasion Eli would kill one and as annoyed as she was, she let it be.
They had also been visiting local taverns that were places that vampires owned just for free blood since they were places that she owned. They were places for vampires who didn't feel comfortable feeding on the locals to come inside and get their fill from blood bags or from humans who were compelled to let them drink from them.
This had been the primary business for her making money over the years. She could compel things for herself but that got boring over the years and it did make a tiny bit guilty when she took things without paying.
Her eyes flickered up to the night sky that she could barely see from the tall buildings and the bright lights that overshadowed the stars.
She looked back down at the bracelet wrapped around her wrist, a fond look in her eyes. It had been almost a week now since she left Beacon Hills and in that time, she had gotten used to using her father's gift.
She thought back on that night.
~
It was as if her body was on autopilot as she finished setting down her suitcase by the door. She didn't really know where she was going, but she couldn't be here any longer. She lifted the suitcase up and locked the door behind her as she made her way towards her car.
Unlocking the trunk, she placed her suitcase inside and let out a heavy sigh when she heard tires screeching behind her.
"Em?"
The brunette hesitated for a moment before turning around to look at him. It felt strange staring at him now. There stood Stiles, staring at her with the same if not larger affection in his gaze as he looked at her with those caramel orbs of his and his cheeks flushed from obviously rushing here.
But, now that the threat of her father being gone, she no longer had to hide her love for this human. Except, she wasn't sure how to go about it, just like the rest of her life.
She didn't have revenge dwelling in her mind anymore. In fact, she felt a bit empty without the need of always planning ahead. She felt lost.
Because what did she have to do now? She had only stayed in Beacon Hills to get revenge. Now that reason was gone.
"What are you doing here, Stiles?" She questioned him, even though she already knew the answer.
She also couldn't stop the rush of guilt she felt for causing him so much trouble with pushing him away and sleeping with Derek which she knew would hurt him, but at the time it had seemed like the only way to push him away.
It had worked.
For a little while at least.
Stiles felt his stomach dropping when he saw the suitcase, his brown eyes staring into her hazel eyes that seemed almost brighter, but there was this lostness in there as well.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay." He breathed out, his heart racing as he stared at her. "Why do you have that suitcase?"
"I'm leaving."
His heart stopped. "Why?" He choked out, feeling almost frozen in his spot. Was she leaving forever? He didn't think he could handle that. He didn't want her to leave.
She pursed her lips thoughtfully, exhaling. "Because.... Because I don't know what to do." She told him truthfully. "I've spent the last century focused on one thing and never really took the time to actually get to notice things around me. And now that I don't have to look over my shoulders anymore, I just want to at least take a break."
"But, do you have to leave?" He asked her, seeing now why she looked so lost.
"Gonna miss me?" She teased.
He stared at her softly. "I'm pretty sure you already know the answer to that." He told her gently, his eyes filled with tenderness.
Emily stepped towards him. "I'm not going to be gone forever." She told him honestly, she didn't think she could handle being so far away from him but she needed to do this."I just need some time to think and process everything that's happened tonight, but I'll come back."
His brows furrowed slightly as he stared at her. "You promise?"
She smiled genuinely which surprised him since he'd never really had a chance to see it in awhile. It wasn't the half-smiles or smirks she tended to give but a real one. With a look in her eyes that he never really thought he'd get to see. It had been a while since he saw that look on her face.
He felt her reach down and grab his pinky, twisting it with her own as he felt a flutter. "I promise." She murmured softly, before pulling away as she stepped back, giving him one last glance. "If you need me to come back, I'm just a call away."
With that she began to walk towards her car and he felt this sudden need to grab her and kiss her.
He reached into his pocket, clenching the item tightly as he watched her at her car door. It was now or never.
"Fuck it." He said under his breath as he took long strides towards her and grabbed her arm, turning her around and kissed her passionately on the lips as he slipped the item into her hand. This had been the moment he had longed for. Her lips were just as soft as he imagined and now he really didn't want her to go. He pulled away only briefly, their lips only inches apart. He stared at her softly. "Come back soon." He breathed out quietly before kissing her once more.
"I will." She muttered, her hazel eyes staring up at him as she hid her smile and he stepped back. "What is this?" She looked at the brown woven bracelet that resembled his own except it was thinner and had a charm of a pinky promise.
He helped her put it on her wrist. "Late birthday present." He told her, a faint blush on his cheeks as was still reeling from the kiss and his heart nearly bursting out of his chest. Where had that sudden confidence come from?
She looked down, hiding her smile and slightly shook her head as she got in her car. Starting the car, glancing in the rearview mirror to look at him before she drove off.
She stared at the bracelet the charm glistening in the moonlight and she smiled to herself.
Stiles watched her car getting farther away and he let out a breathy chuckle, still feeling the softness of her lips against his own. He went back to his jeep, feeling sad that she was gone but happy about how things were left off.
~
It was honestly difficult for her to grasp when Stiles had kissed her and memories that were at the front of his mind came crashing into her mind in waves. There was moments from when he'd watch her in class or when she was with Lydia, memories of how he used to watch her from afar before they'd had an actual conversation.
But, with Eli's help it had gotten easier for her to use. He had shown her how her aunt had helped that night when she was busy killing her father and had been meaning to thank her.
After her father had died, she recalled the brief moment of when she had been hit by all the memories of everything he had been through his life all leading to the moment he killed her mother. There had been things she learned about her mom that she had never known. Like how she had been having an affair.
It was a shock that she had needed to get over since it seemed that her mother had betrayed her father by falling in love with a human.
Now she understood William's comments about her being like her mother. Her mind was still reeling from all that information. Her mother hadn't been as honest as she believed. But, what had surprised her the most was that her father had truly loved her mom despite everything. It just seemed that the betrayal had been the breaking point for him.
Despite knowing all that, she couldn't find it in her heart to forgive him. She'd probably always hate him for everything he ever did to her. He had long stopped being the father she once cared for. Just like her older twin sister stopped meaning anything to her the moment she stabbed her in the back.
She really did have one screwed up family. No wonder she was just as screwed up. Her mother was kind and loving but also a cheater. Then her sister who was manipulative, arrogant, and cold hearted. Lastly, her father who was once a doting father turned into a bitter, callous, and murderous man.
And there was her, who was once upon a time naive, innocent, and selfless became sadistic and selfish. She took what she wanted and did what she wanted over the years, not caring who it affected.
But, now as she was in this moment, she definitely wasn't as cruel as she had been over the last century. It had definitely lessened from the moment she let Stiles crawl his way into her heart and the friendships she's built.
She could never go back to being the girl she was all those years ago but also couldn't play the uncaring vampire she had been. It was more in the middle now. Or at least that's how she saw it. She was in the grey area of light and dark. While Stiles was more in the light and she definitely needed that in her life after everything she had done.
It still astounded her that she was in love with Stiles Stilinski. If you had ever asked her if she could ever fall in love with him over a year ago, she would have scoffed at the notion. Her falling in love with a human.
She held back a smile at the thought.
The feeling of her phone buzzing in her pocket took her attention from her inner musings. She hadn't gotten any calls or texts from Beacon Hills. Unless the one from Lydia counted. Her best friend had been beyond angry and hurt that she had left without so much as a goodbye. It had been amusing to hear her best friend trying to yell at her through angry tears and she did her best to sooth the girl. After having told her about everything, her best friend understood her time away from the town that brought back too many bad memories.
So, it was a bit surprising to know she was getting a message. "Come on, it better be important." Eli huffed, noticing that the buzz of her phone.
Emily gave him a look, shaking her head lightly before checking her message. Her expression quickly turned into one of dread as she read the long message sent from Lydia. She swallowed thickly, blankly staring at her phone as her grip on it tightened before she looked at her friend.
"We need to go back to Beacon Hills."