The school day had passed without incident. It had been a quiet day, save for Allison wondering why Scott hadn't apologized and Lydia who insisted she should give up on him. Somehow, Hollis had become the mediator for the two.
Gathering her books, Hollis shoved them into her bag before she closed her locker. She started down the busy hallway, nerves fluttering about in her stomach at the thought of the conversation awaiting her and her dad. As she passed by a classroom, a hand reached out and pulled her inside. Before she could react, the door to the room closed, and she stood face to face with Carter.
"Let me out," Hollis demanded. She reached for the handle but Carter was faster. He placed his hand on the door, refraining her from opening it. "I'm serious, Carter." She turned to face him and crossed her arms over her chest.
"So am I," he said, taking a step towards her. "Just hear me out, Hollis."
Rolling her eyes, she took a deep breath and let it out. "What do you want?" She questioned, although she had an idea of what it was.
He took a few steps back, holding his hands up. "I just want to talk. To apologize and explain everything."
"I'm not ready to talk. I told you that this morning."
"Then don't talk," Carter said. "Just listen."
Hollis knew that he wouldn't give up, so she nodded. "Fine," she paused. "But I don't think it'll make a difference. You can't just undo everything by saying you're sorry."
"No, I know. But..." He stayed quiet for a few seconds as if contemplating what to say. "I never wanted to hurt you, Hollis. That's the last thing I wanted to do. I know it seems as if I haven't been there for you these past few months but I was. I..." He trailed off. "I wanted you to stop hurting, and I didn't know what to do."
"You could have just been there," Hollis said. "That's all that I wanted from you, Carter. For you to be there when I needed you the most." She looked up at him. "I've been by your side through everything. No matter what it was, I never complained. I was there for you but when I needed you, you were burdened by it all."
"I was there for you. It didn't seem like it though, I know, but you're right. I just didn't know that would be enough." Raking a hand through his hair, he sighed. "Look, I wanted you to move on and stop hurting, Hollis. I just thought that if I could ignore it, if I could get you to go out and have fun and be surrounded by your friends, that you would be okay." Pausing, Carter looked at her. "In my own messed up way, I thought I was helping you but turns out I acted like a jerk."
Hollis took in his words, the distrust on her face fading slowly. "I guess that makes sense," she admitted. But, upon seeing a smile take place on his face, she continued. "But it doesn't excuse what you said on Friday." She shook her head, incredulous. "I understand that you were trying to help me but those words hurt. If everything you just said was true then how could you have said that I was a burden you put up with? That my parents death was inconvenient for you? I mean, it contradicts everything you just said."
Carter's smile faltered and he hung his head. "I know," he said quietly, a frustrated sigh escaping his lips. "I want to blame all of that on the alcohol." He held up his hand to keep her from interrupting. "I wish I could but I won't...I can't. I guess part of me meant what I said. I was pissed off because the help I thought I was giving you wasn't working but that's no excuse. I screwed up."
She stayed quiet. His words floated around in her head, and she didn't know what to make of them. She wanted to believe him, to trust him but how? "I get it, Carter, but..." Trailing off, she shrugged helplessly.
Stepping forward, he placed his hands on her arms. "Just give me a second chance. I promise to be there for you like I should've been."
"I-I don't know, Carter," she told him.
"Hollis, I-." He dropped his arms by his side. "I'm sorry..."
"I know you are," she interrupted. Shaking her head, she sighed. "But I don't know how we can move on from this. After everything you've said and done....It's not something I can just forgive and forget."
"What are you trying to say, Hollis?" Carter asked.
She remained silent, gathering her thoughts as multiple emotions filled her. Her heart felt heavy. Conflicted. After a few silent minutes, she looked up at him. "I just don't think this, us, is working."
Carter laughed humorlessly, fixing a look of disbelief at her. "Are you serious? I apologized, and you're, what, breaking up with me?"
Hollis struggled for words, not sure how to say the words that would end their relationship. Deep down, she knew they needed to be said but it was just one more thing she would be saying 'goodbye' to. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly. "Yeah, I guess I am. I'm sorry."
"You've got to be kidding me," he muttered, fixing her with a cold stare. "This is because of whats-his-name, isn't it? The sheriff's kid. I know you two left the party together and now, all of sudden, you're ending things with us."
Wide eyed, Hollis shook her head. "What? No, of course not! I don't know what you've heard but Carter, I - Nothing happened between me and Stiles. After our fight, he found me outside, and we just talked. Then Scott and Allison left separately so we went to check on them because we were worried. But that's it. I spent the rest of the weekend with Allison and Lydia."
"Right," he said slowly though the skepticism on his face remained. "You actually expect me to believe all that? You talk to the guy for a few days and then decide we need a break. Something just doesn't add up."
Hollis sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "The fact that you even think I would cheat on you just proves my entire point, Carter. We're not okay. We haven't been for a while. And maybe I did push you away after the accident but we're both at fault here. So don't blame Stiles for being a good friend after you acted like a jerk." She stared at Carter as he processed her words but the look on his face was enough incentive into what he was thinking. "Look, I'm sorry but I think we both knew we wouldn't last much longer. Especially after Friday's fight."
"I think the only person thinking that was you, Hollis," Carter whispered. His expression softened and he looked at her. "You're not even going to try to give us another chance? Come on, Hollis. We've been together for over a year."
"I know," she said quietly. "But... I can't. I'm sorry."
Before he could react and pull her back into the conversation, she slipped out of the classroom.
The bright afternoon sun greeted Hollis when she stepped through the double doors. Her head was still whirling with the previous conversation she had with Carter. A flurry of emotions stirred inside her from sadness to relief to emptiness and more. It was the right move but it didn't make it hurt any less as Hollis ended the one sure thing in her life. Taking a deep breath, she glanced towards the parking lot in hopes of finding her dad's car but seeing that he wasn't there, she sighed. More than ever, she was ready to go home.
Readjusting the strap of her bag, Hollis tore her eyes away from the parking lot in time to see Scott approach Allison. Though her relationship ended, she was happy for her friends. It's about time, she thought, watching the scene unfold before her in silence.
Sensing someone, she turned to see Stiles casually standing beside her. "Oh, hey, Stiles."
He jumped back at her voice before grinning. "Hollis, uh, hey!"
"Seriously?" She raised her eyebrows. "You practically sneak up on me but you get scared?" She asked, unable to hide her amusement at his reaction. "Only you, Stiles."
His eyes wide, he shook his head. "I didn't sneak up on you. I mean, I just walked up and then, well, I didn't say...." He shrugged. "Uh, I guess I did. Yeah, sorry."
Narrowing her eyes, Hollis nodded slowly. "Right. Well, now I have no idea what we just said."
He laughed, nodding towards Scott and Allison. "So, they're finally talking. That's good, r-right? I mean, Allison's smiling, which has to be a good sign."
Rolling her eyes, she looked in their direction. "Yeah, it's definitely good. I think they're going to be okay."
Stiles let out a big sigh of relief. "Alright, good! Now I won't have to hear Scott talking about whether Allison will forgive him or not."
"I know what you mean," she agreed, recalling the multiple times Allison had mentioned Scott throughout the last few days. "But you do realize that now they'll just talk about how awesome the other person is, right? I mean, now that they're back together, this is only the beginning."
Groaning, he shook his head. "Great just...great," he muttered but a smile rested on his face.
"Oh, come on. Those two are good together," Hollis stated.
"Yeah, they are," Stiles agreed with a single nod.
Hollis smiled, happy that her two friends were working things out.
Carter's voice reached her just then, and she prayed that he wouldn't approach her. Despite her feelings, Hollis couldn't help but glance over her shoulder at him. He threw a quick look her way, disappointment and hurt etched on his face as he saw her with Stiles. Carter shook his head, a cold look covering up the feelings that had shown just moments before. He walked past them without a word but jostled Stiles with his shoulder.
"Jerk," Hollis muttered under her breath while throwing Stiles a sympathetic look.
Stiles recovered quickly then glanced from her to Carter. "So, uh, you two still aren't talking?" He asked casually, ignoring his behavior.
"We actually broke up a few minutes ago. I ended it, actually," Hollis answered. She expected to feel some sort of pain at saying those words aloud but none came. All the emotions she had felt after the breakup vanished as Carter started to show his true colors.
"That's good. I mean not good... bad, very bad," Stiles stammered. "Are you okay?
"I think so. To be honest, I'm kind of...relieved. I know it sounds terrible since I've been with him for so long but we had our share of problems. After Friday, I'm just so over all this fighting, you know? Lately, I feel like I've been fighting with everyone so I'm just glad one battle is over."
"We never fought so it's not everyone," Stiles pointed out. "But I get it," he said with a nod.
Hollis smiled her reply but, after a few seconds, her smile faltered.
"You sure you're ok? Are you worried about the talk with your dad?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Surprise had shown on her face because he added, "You told me. This morning. I, uh, remembered."
"Yeah, I am." Hollis nodded, still surprised that he remembered. "I'm kind of scared of what I'll find out. I mean, what if it's something that I actually don't want to know?"
Stiles moved in front of her. "It'll be fine," he said, looking down at her. "Trust me, Hollis, you can handle it." He gave her a confident smile. "And I'm only a text message away, you know, if you need to talk. If you want to talk."
"Thanks, Stiles." She returned the smile then looked in the direction of the parking lot for any sign of her dad.
He followed her line of sight. "Want me to wait until he gets here?"
"Thanks but don't you have lacrosse practice that starts like now?" Hollis asked, tilting her head.
"Yeah, but," he shrugged, grinning, "the bench will still be there. It's not like it'll just get up and walk away. I mean, it has legs but it won't walk. Because it's a bench. They don't...walk. And I doubt Coach will notice."
"You seriously need to stop being so negative," Hollis told him with a resigned sigh. "And sarcastic," she added the last park jokingly.
"It's not possible," he said with a shake of his head. "Negativity and sarcasm are the only things I have going for me."
Rolling her eyes, Hollis ignored his comment.
The sound of a horn beeping directed her attention towards the noise. Her dad's car idled in the parking lot and, through the open window, he waved at her.
She waved back before saying, "Well, Mr. Sarcasm, thanks for the offer but my dad's here. Now you won't have to be late for lacrosse." She took a few steps forward and turned to look at him. "But, thanks again."
Hollis got into the passenger side seat and placed her bag down by her feet.
"Sorry for being late." Grant pulled out of the spot as soon as she was situated. "Some faculty members and a few students kept stopping me to chat. People have horrible timing."
"It's okay, dad, don't worry about it." She leaned back against the seat and watched the school get smaller.
"How was your day?"
Hollis thought back to the day with a shrug. "It was okay. I broke up with Carter."
Grant looked at her with concern. "I'm sorry. You okay?"
"Yeah, I will be. But how did your first day go?" She asked, changing the subject.
"Good. It was good. A bit overwhelming to be honest. Your mom definitely left some big shoes to fill," he told her, giving her a mixed smile of happiness and sadness. "But I'm determined to make it a great semester. Keep Addison's dream alive. It's the least I can do."
Hollis smiled at his words. "That's great. And I meant what I said before. She would love this."
"Yeah, she would." Clearing his throat, he fixed his eyes on the road. "So, who was that you were talking to? When I pulled up," he questioned.
"Oh, that was Stiles," she answered with a nod. "He's the-"
"The sheriff's kid, right?" Grant asked, finishing her sentence. "I thought he looked familiar. I bumped into his dad a couple days ago. They're still investigating that murder, you know, the one where the body was found in the woods."
"I remember. Do they have any new information? Like suspects or something?"
Grant shook his head. "No, nothing yet. Nothing that he told me, anyway. But he did mention that it might just be an animal attack. A mountain lion or something like that."
Hollis raised her eyebrow, looking surprised. "Do you believe that? I mean, really? A mountain lion?"
"Yeah, I do," he said, throwing a look her way. "Beacon Hills has had animal attacks in the past, Hollis. When you were young, there were several of them. So it's not impossible."
"I don't remember that at all." Hollis said, wide eyed.
"How could you?" Grant asked with a chuckle. "You were a kid. Eight or nine years old. But they did happen. Remember when your mom and I wouldn't let you go over to the park that one summer?" Hollis nodded. "Well, there had been a couple animal attacks prior and a lot of parents didn't want their kids going out. They were worried their kids would get hurt. You were so mad," he said with a shake of his head. "You stomped up to your room and wouldn't come out for at least an hour."
Hollis rolled her eyes at the faint memory. "Yeah, well, I wanted to go out and have fun. Of course I was mad," she said but laughed. "I guess I was too young to remember. But I don't know if I believe the whole mountain lion thing," Hollis said, shaking her head. "I think there's more to the story. I just...I don't know. Forget it."
"Well, whatever it is, Sheriff Stilinski and the department are working on it."
They drove on in silence before Grant spoke up. "Did you know that I grew up in Beacon Hills?" He glanced over at her once they reached a red light and, when she shook her head, he continued. "They've happened before, the animal attacks, when I was growing up."
"Was it actually a mountain lion?" Hollis asked.
"Yeah but some people thought it was something else," he told her, a mischievous look taking place on his face.
"Like what?" She asked, raising her eyebrow.
"I don't know but there's a myth that says that this town is...different. That there's something off about it." He looked at her with a grin. "It goes on to say that there are supernatural forces here. People claim that they see and hear things they can't explain like glowing eyes, weird noises at night." He shrugged.
"Yeah, ok." With a doubtful look, she rolled her eyes at what her dad was saying. "And let me guess, there a ghosts, vampires and werewolves roaming Beacon Hills, right?"
Grant shrugged with a laugh. "Hey, each town has it's own myth but..." he paused dramatically, "who knows, right? Anything is possible."
"That's definitely not possible. Anyway, I'm more of a 'believe it when I see it' type of person."
"Don't kill the messenger," he said and laughed. "I'm just giving you some good old Beacon Hills history here."
Hollis tilted her head to the side, a laugh escaping her lips. "That's not history. That's myth."
AN: Thanks so much for reading! I really hope you guys liked this chapter :) If you did, it would be awesome if you could vote and leave a comment. I want to know your thoughts, suggestions, etc.