I jump awake as my alarm blares next to me. I squint at the clock and see I must have already hit snooze once or twice. It's already 9:30, might as well just miss the entire school day at this point.
I let a sigh leave my lips and fall back to the bed before letting my eyes fall shut. I feel my brow come close together in confusion when I hear the sound of someone moving around downstairs.
Immediately my heart goes into a pounding frenzy at the thought of whoâor whatâit could be. I jump up from my bed and grab the switch blade from my nightstand before I make my way to the stairs. I slowly move down them as I keep my eyes transfixed on the kitchen where the noise is coming from.
A sound of relief leaves me as I see my mom standing in the kitchen alone. I open my mouth to greet her, but she quickly turns around. I stop in my tracks and my eyes fall to her arm, which is currently covered in blood.
I race forward and grip her arm in my hands, "Oh, my god. Mom, what happened?"
Instead of expressing any form of pain, she looks to me with a hint of annoyance, "Why aren't you in school?"
I double take, alarmed at her lack of emotion, "I couldn't sleep last night. Are you okay? You're going to need stitches."
As if a switch was flipped, she sends me a pained smile, "I'm fine, honey. I'm going to take myself to the hospital. Would you mind just picking up the mess for me?"
I nod my head quickly, agreeing to her request, "Yeah, of course. Are you sure you don't want me to take you?"
Her eyes widen just the slightest, but I notice the small movement, "No, it's fine. It was just a cooking mishap. I'll see you when I get back."
She side steps me and moves to the front door before I can get in another word. I watch the scene around me, still slightly confused. I shake my head and move forward, but whats on the counter, or a lack of, stops me.
I look down at the few drops of blood, a large kitchen knife, and, well, that's it.
No food or anything that she could have been cutting to cause the incident. I slowly clean up the mess and move to leave the kitchen, the confusion still playing on my mind.
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I pull on my clean pajamas, but keep my wet hair wrapped in the towel on my head. I pick up my phone when I hear the signature sound of my ringtone, but when I see Scott's contact name flashing on the screen, I hit ignore and place it back down on the table.
I run my hands over my face tiredly and let out a deep sigh. I hate ignoring those who really don't deserve it, but the idea of talking to anyone today seems like too much work. I move over to my body length mirror and slowly raise the thin cotton shirt I'm wearing.
I let out a breath when the bruises I received last night where just about nearly gone and the pain was basically nonexistent. How can my body be healing at this rate?
I let the shirt drop and I try to ignore the rush of panic I feel as I fall back onto my bed. This isn't real, it can't be. If I'm not a werewolf, there shouldn't be any way for me to be healing, hearing, or having any of these abilities. I lay my head against my pillow and let my eyes fall closed again, but this time I actually manage to get some sleep.
I watch as the lizard-looking creature circles around me. My back is against the dirt and leaves currently covering the ground. I let out a shaky breath as it continues to move, but never comes any closer.
"What do you want?"
I hold my breath as it lets out a light hissing sound and I move back away from it. It watches me move with calculated eyes, but I continue to back away slowly without getting to my feet.
"Please, just leave me alone."
I'm forced to stop moving when my back meets the rough bark of a tree. I look behind me to see a familiar, and large, stump of a tree. Lacking better judgment, I move my gaze from the creature in front of me completely, and turn to face the tree. I let my hand fall against the top where the wood is now dead, but smooth. I gasp lightly when I see a name carved into the wood, but this time, it's not my own.
"Stiles?" As the name leaves my mouth in a hushed tone, I hear a loud hiss come from behind me and a pain like I've never felt before burst in my back.
I scream and jump from my sleeping state as the dream, or nightmare, comes to an end. As if on auto pilot, I rip the comforter off of my body and jump up from my bed before grabbing my car keys from the nightstand.
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I put my car in park as I pull up to an auto body repair shop.
Why am I here?
I don't have a clue.
I hold in my breath as I step out from my car and start to move to the front of the building. A shiver tears through my body as a gust of wind billows around me. I stop in my tracks when I see a familiar blue Jeep inside the shop.
"Stiles?" I call his name quietly, still unsure of my surroundings. I have no idea why I drove here, or how I even got here in the first place. It's as if the entire drive was a blur and my mind didn't clear until I reached the destination.
I continue to walk past the Jeep and to the door leading to what looks like an office. I slowly reach forward and grab the handle of the door, but my hand retracts at the feeling of a something gooey on my hand.
I look down and see a clear substance on the handle, and now my hand. I feel my breath catch as I recognize it. I start to back away, but I hear something move on the other side of the door. I slowly push it open until I see a human hand lying against the floor. I move in faster now and let out a puff of air when I see Stiles lying on the floor.
"Stiles?!" I drop down to the floor and flip over his body. "Oh, my god, what the hell happened?"
His eyes meet mine and they hold a fear I wish I could make go away, "This thing-", he slowly starts to move as if he's unsure of himself. I help him stand and place my hand on his back to make sure he doesn't fall to the floor. "I don't know what it was.."
"It's okay. I know exactly how you feel." I look back to the front of the shop as I hear police sirens pull up. Mulitple squad cars and an ambulance make themselves present and I begin to walk with Stiles to the front again. I notice his eyes watch the area where his Jeep is and I wonder what happened before I came here.
Mr. Stilinski rushes forward and pulls Stiles a little to the side before talking to him in a hushed tone. I can't imagine the panic that must come along with being the parent of Stiles Stilinksi.
An EMT comes over and places a hand on my shoulder, "Are you alright?" She begins to check me over for any injuries, but I refuse her help kindly before making my way back over to Stiles.
"I told you, I justâI walked in and I saw the jeep on top of the guy, that's all."
The Sheriff gives him a look before looking down to Stiles's shaking hand, "What's wrong with your hand?" I watch it too, before he moves it behind his back and out of sight.
"Nothing," His eyes meet mine and I try to give him a supportive smile, but it probably came out as more of a grimace. "Can I just get out of here now?"
"Look, if there's something you don't think you can tell me-", Before he can finish Stiles cuts him off, "You think I'm lying?"
Mr. Stilinkski shakes his head quickly, "No, of course not," He watches his son silently for a moment before speaking quieter, "I'm just worried about you. Now, if you saw someone do this, if you're afraid that maybe they're gonna come back and make sure you don't say anything about it,"
Stiles shakes his head feverously, "I didn't see anything. At all," He reaches over and pulls me forward to stand next to him. I wince as now the Sheriff's attention is on me. "Neither of us did. Can we go now please?"
He watches me silently before nodding his head reluctantly, "Sure, but not in your Jeep. We're gonna have to impound it. Sorry kid, evidence. I'll see you at home."
"All right, well, at least make sure they wash it." Stiles mutters as he moves towards my car in the distance.
I go after him, but a hand on my arm stops me. I turn back to see the Sheriff watching me, "Thank you for coming when Stiles called you. I don't know how you got here so fast, but I'm glad someone was here with him."
I force a smile at his words and nod as a silent you're welcome before continuing to my car. I quickly pull open door and sit before slmming it shut again. The silence that wraps around us is so thick I could cut it with a knife. I wanted to ask a million questions, ignore all of his, and see if it really was the same thing that attacked me last night. Stiles clears his throat and I wince at how forced the sound is.
"Why did you come here?" His voice is heavy and I can hear the tiredness in it, but when I go to start the car he grabs my arm lightly. "Abby, seriously what the hell is happening with you? Why weren't you in school today? How did you know to come here?"
I slowly let my hand fall back into my lap and let out a deep breath, "Honestly, Stiles, I have no idea. I don't know what's wrong with me. I woke up and something just told me to come here. I didn't even know where here was until I was walking in and I saw your Jeep. As for not being in school, well, I'm pretty sure that thing that you just saw, paid me a visit last night."
He looks at me with his eyebrows drawn together and a slight frown on his face, "What?! Why didn't you call me or Scott?"
I lean back into the seat and slowly shake my head, "It was okay. I wasn't seriously hurt and...that's it." I grimace at my lack of explanation. I am almost sure that Stiles is suspicious of me and Derek, but I didn't want to openly say he was the one who came to my rescue last night.
"Yeah, I'm sure you were fine," I ignore his sarcasm as he continues to talk, "Have you been sleeping, Abby? You have huge bags under your eyes, so I would guess not."
I roll my eyes at him and let out a light laugh, "Wow, thanks Stiles. You really know how to charm a girl," He gives me a bland look and I let the forced smile fall from my face. Talking to Stiles seems like the easiest thing in the world. It's like you know he's actually listening to your words and not judging you. "No, I couldn't tell you the last time I had a full night's sleep."
The silence returns and I don't blame him because I'm not sure how I would respond to that either. I finally start the car and start off to Stiles's house. Just as I'm about to pull up to his house, Stiles speaks. "Derek turned Boyd. I just...I wasn't sure if Scott told you and I don't want you to feel like we're keeping you out of the loop."
I pull into his drive way and let out a puff of air, "Well, that's definitely news. Um, but no, thank you for keeping me updated. And thanks for telling your dad you called me before. I don't know how I would have explained me showing up there."
He gives me one last smile before climbing out of the car. I watch to make sure he makes it inside his home, before pulling away.