Instinct || Derek Hale.

one.

Warnings: Strong language.

***

Alex

"Alex, when you get this, please call me back. Scott's in trouble. Well, I mean, he's okay, but we need you to come home. There's a lot of stuff going on that we need to talk about. So, just call me or at least text me so I know you're okay. I love you, honey."

Alex cut off the voicemail and sighed. It had been two days since she'd received the message from her mother. She'd called back straight away, but her mother wouldn't tell her anything useful over the phone. So, Alex hopped on a bus and travelled hundreds of miles to return to her hometown of Beacon Hills. Alex hadn't been back there for at least three years. A week after she'd graduated, Alex left for college and never looked back. She didn't even visit for the holidays. But, her brother needed her. And Scott was one person Alex would never turn her back on.

She let her head drop back against the seat and looked out the window as the scenery raced past her. The man in the seat beside her kept attempting to strike up a conversation with her. But Alex was too consumed in her own thoughts to listen to the ramblings of a blind man. Every so often, she'd hum or respond with a sentence no longer than three words, just so she didn't appear to be rude. But other than that, she didn't pay much attention at all. The man asked her why she was coming to Beacon Hills, and Alex simply replied that she was visiting an old friend. Alex wasn't one of those people that could just tell strangers about her personal life. She had a hard time trusting people. She was wary of everyone, even people she knew. Luckily for her, the blind man stopped talking to her when there was just an hour left of their journey. 

When the bus pulled up to the Beacon Hills bus station, Alex had to swallow the bile rising in her throat. So far, everything looked the same as when she'd left three years ago. This only triggered the memory of why she'd left in the first place. She took a deep breath and grabbed the handles of her duffel bag from between her feet. Once all the passengers had filed off the bus, including the blind man, Alex finally got up from her seat and moved down the aisle. She thanked the driver as she passed him and exited the bus.

Looking around, Alex pulled her phone out of her pocket. Before she could dial any numbers though, she heard her name being called from across the parking lot. Alex turned to her left to see her mother waving at her with a bright grin. Seeing her mom's face brought a surge of guilt to Alex. She should have come home sooner.

"Oh my baby, I've missed you so much." Melissa grinned as she enveloped Alex in a rib crushing hug.

"I missed you too, Mom." Alex whispered, holding onto her mom.

"I'm so pleased you're home." Melissa said, pulling away from Alex. She tucked some loose hair behind Alex's ear and smiled fondly at her.

"Someone needs to kick Scott's ass into gear." Alex grinned. "Where is he anyway?"

"He's still at school. He's gonna be so happy to see you." Melissa said, linking her arm in Alex's. "Come on, my car's over here."

Alex nodded and allowed her mother to escort her to the car. She dumped her bag in the trunk before sliding into the passenger seat. As they drove through town, Alex noticed that hardly anything had changed. There were a couple of new stores and restaurants, but everything else was the same. She shared small talk with Melissa as they drove home, just enough to fill the silence. But Melissa still gave no hints about why Alex had to return home so soon. Finally, they pulled up to the McCall house.

"Home sweet home." Melissa smiled, turning off the car.

Alex nodded again, but she couldn't bring herself to return Melissa's smile.  They got out of the car, and Alex grabbed her bags from the trunk before following Melissa into the house. Again, nothing had changed since she'd last set foot in her childhood home. The same photos still lined the walls, only there were more of Scott now. Another pang of sadness hit Alex as she realised how much of her brothers life she'd missed.