Tethered // Teen Wolf // Isaac Lahey

THIRTY-TWO

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KOREY

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"It's not the first time," I mumbled quietly, staring up at the ceiling of the living room as I laid back on the couch. "It's been happening even since Archie died."

"That's understandable," Chris murmured, "it was a huge trauma. You lost a person you loved dearly and under extreme circumstances, too. No one could blame you for struggling to deal with certain emotions."

I eyed the lines in the ceiling, following the patterns, "Rage."

Chris's heart jumped slightly, and he nodded, "Yes, anger. It's one of the grieving processes. Would you say you've grieved, Korey?"

"I cried," I blurted out, "and we buried him."

"Right," Chris rose from the armchair slowly, "we did, and I know, but... grieving is more than that. When I lost my wife, I went away for some time to process things. I gave myself time to accept what had happened, and that helped me move on."

I didn't want to tell him that I didn't want to move on. Where I was in my mind, Archie was still alive and happy, dancing around in the kitchen as soon as the sun rose. In my mind, Blake was still lecturing me on the ridiculous concept of baggy clothes, and Aaron was still throwing random nicknames in my face. In my mind, Paisley and I were still going to the mall every weekend. In my mind, nothing had changed, and even if I was happy with my new friends and Chris as my guardian, I missed what I had.

I missed it when I had nightmares, and I had to wake myself out of a panicked daze. I missed it when I was running through the forest alone. I missed it when the apartment went quiet, Chris out, and Allison busy. I missed not having to explain myself when the world began to feel too big.

"Have you..." Chris cleared his throat, "have you been back at the gravesite since we buried him? Maybe you could talk to him."

"We have enough people talking to dead people as it is," I snorted bitterly, jerking to sit up, "I'll pass."

"Korey, there's only so much a person can hold back before things start to slip between the cracks." Chris moved around the coffee table, hovering beside my head, "If you don't let yourself move forward and process, you won't be able to keep going."

"I'm not a car," I threw my legs over the couch, "I won't just break down."

Chris offered me a small, sympathetic smile, "Just be careful. Look after yourself, take a second to breathe."

"Cool," I shot up, smoothing my jeans out, "yeah, I can do that. Just breathe," I shrugged casually, "I like breathing. It's very productive."

Chris snorted softly, shaking his head at me, "Alright, Korey. Do you want to talk about anything else?"

"Nah, I'm good," I forced a smile, walking backwards towards the living room door, "you'll talk to Deaton, right?"

"Absolutely," Chris confirmed, "but Korey, I really don't think the anger is anything to do with you being a werewolf—"

"Just ask him," I groaned, opening the door, "please?"

Chris sighed heavily, nodding twice, "I'll ask him."

I slipped out of the living room into the corridor, closing the door after me as a touch of relief bloomed in my chest. Contrary to what Chris believed, my aggression always came with my enhancements. It was like my mind would get overwhelmed by going overboard. It had to be a werewolf thing. It had to be.