Alone • Liam Dunbar

Seventeen

"Do you think I should backhand Garrett or pistol-whip him if I see him?"

Scott sighs at my question as he places books into his locker. I was leaning on the wall next to him, waiting for his answer as if he would actually choose one of the options, even though we both knew he wouldn't. It was still fun to give him some gray hairs.

Everyone was out of school today, Malia helping Derek find Satomi's pack, Stiles and Lydia working on the last part of the Dead Pool with Parrish, and Kira making sure her mom was prepared now that her name was on the list too. This left only Scott and I in school today to deal with the outcome of Garrett and Violet being revealed as assassins.

They were mentioned in hushed tones, no one wanting to openly say their names as if it would cause the two of them to suddenly appear. Garrett still hadn't been found, and Violet was still in custody keeping her mouth shut which didn't help with any leads on the Benefactor.

"You should call the sheriff."

I make a disagreeable hum and tilt my head defiantly. "I'll do that after."

Scott closes his locker and moves to say something, definitely a lecture, but Mason's sudden appearance saves me. He walked up behind us, awkwardly kneading his hands together as he waited for our attention.

"Uh, hey guys, can I talk to you for a second?"

"You okay, Mason?" Scott let his hand hover over the younger boy's shoulder, waiting to give him comfort if necessary.

Mason shook his head, glancing to his feet. "Have you guys seen Liam? We went for a run this morning but I haven't seen him since and he's not answering any of my calls or texts."

I stepped away from the wall to stand in front of Mason now too, alert at the mention of Liam being missing, especially with a certain blond assassin still on the loose.

"I haven't seen him since last night," I replied, recalling dropping Liam off at his house.

"Same." Scott agreed.

Those clearly weren't the answers Mason was hoping for and he deflated, face conveying how anxious he was. Scott squeezed Mason's shoulder and offered him a supportive smile but I could see the worry in his eyes that he tried to suppress for Mason's sake.

"Why don't we go ask Coach? Liam was supposed to have his class this morning." Mason looked more hopeful after Scotts suggestion.

"Yeah, okay." He allowed Scott to pull him down the hall in the direction of Coach's office. I trailed behind them, my eyes scanning the halls as we passed other students on the off chance any of them would be Liam.

I was worried about Liam but hoped this was him ignoring Mason so he didn't have to tell him the truth about Garrett and Violet. Of course, him lying and ignoring Mason wasn't good either, but there were worse possibilities.

The office door was wide open and when we peered inside we all shared a communal judgmental look as Coach sipped at a bottle of cough syrup like it was tea. He was clammy and pale, obviously sick with some kind of virus.

"Coach," Scott knocked on the doorframe. "You seen Liam today?"

Coach didn't even flinch at our presence as he downed the liquid without hesitation. He stared at the wall in front of him blankly. 

"Sorry guys, Liam skipped my class." He sighed tiredly. "Maybe he's sick like me."

Coach turned, his glazed-over eyes landing on me. "Knight, be a gem and shut the door. These degenerates would kill to see me weak." He glares out into the hall at the steady flow of students passing by.