ASHES ASHES | teen wolf

TWELVE. everything goes to shit. again.

Cadmus and Nova finally left the hospital at three twenty-six in the morning, his cousin barely awake as he practically carried her out to the car. The doctors all reassured them that Veronica would make a full recovery and that the injuries seemed not to be as bad as they should have been, considering the blood loss she'd suffered. Cadmus told them that his mom had always bled a lot, even from the smallest cuts, and they seemed satisfied enough with the answer.

They weren't allowed to go to the house, considering the fact that it was a crime scene, so Cadmus had been about to book a room in a hotel when Mrs. McCall kiboshed that and declared that they'd be staying at her house until theirs was okay for them to live in again. Cadmus had tried to argue with her, but she was insistent, and Cadmus was pretty sure that he'd rather fist-fight a bear than make that woman angry.

So after he got Nova buckled into the passenger seat, Cadmus begrudgingly made his way to the McCall house, trying to keep his palms from sweating at the idea of spending the night under the same roof as Scott McCall, of all people. He was sure he'd rather grovel at Stiles's feet and beg for a place to stay.

Scott was waiting on the porch when Cadmus pulled into the driveway, and he started making his way toward the car before Cadmus even had it properly parked.

"How is she?" Scott asked softly as he carefully opened the passenger side door, waiting for Cadmus to unbuckle Nova's seatbelt before scooping her into his arms with a gentleness that made Cadmus's throat tighten for some reason.

"Shaken," Cadmus replied as he got out of the car and followed Scott toward the house, noting how he kept making sure to support Nova's head with his shoulder and smiling despite himself at the concern that Scott was showing. "But that's to be expected."

"Yeah," Scott agreed, nudging the door to the house open with his foot and gesturing with his head for Cadmus to go in first. "How about you?"

Cadmus paused for a moment, not sure how to answer. Somehow, he doubted 'I'm alright! Nothing like a good old revenge murder spree to lighten the spirits!" would go very well. So instead, he gave a simple shrug. "Not as bad as I could be."

Scott seemed to be appeased by the answer, telling him to make himself at home while he got Nova settled into the spare room. Cadmus stood awkwardly in the living room, careful not to touch anything. He'd changed clothes and burned what he'd been wearing before to destroy any incriminating forensic evidence and washed his hands at the hospital while waiting for answers about his mom's condition, but he was still covered in dirt and blood. He didn't want to ruin any furniture.

Scott came back downstairs about five minutes later, talking softly on the phone and hung up with a small smile aimed at Cadmus. "Kira and Lydia are going to stop by tomorrow morning and bring Nova some of their old clothes since your house is going to be on lockdown for a little while. I figured you could just wear something of mine unless you'd rather steal something from Stiles. I can ask if you'd like."

"No," Cadmus said quickly, raising his hand and giving a small awkward smile. "Yours are okay if you're sure it's alright with you."

"Of course I am," Scott assured him. "Anything you need, and I mean that."

Cadmus nodded, not really sure how much of that he meant, but appreciating it all the same. "Thank you, really."

Scott nodded back and looked at Cadmus with such an intensity that it made heat threaten to rise up in his cheeks. "You're allowed not to be okay, you know that, right? What just happened is absolutely insane. First, Nova almost gets killed in the locker room, and then your mom? No one is going to be completely okay after experiences like that."