Eye of the Hurricane ▸ Scott McCall (2)

xxxii. LETHARIA VULPINA

xxxii. LETHARIA VULPINA

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The events of the other night relayed in Foster's head like a slide show. The way they rolled Isaac into the hospital on a stretcher, burn marks coating half of his face and running down his neck. They ran along the side of his body and down his arms, his former pale skin charred black.

After that, Foster just shut down. Because on top of this, it became known that Stiles was the one who was possessed by the Nogitsune that the Oni were in search for, and then he went missing. It had been two days since he just vanished from the hospital, and for both days, Foster had completely ditched school and avoided all human interaction at all costs.

Which was why rather than sleeping in her own room, Foster was snuggled up in the sheets of Isaac Lahey's bed, tangled up in them as she struggled to fall asleep. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to, and when she was, she was plagued with more nightmares.

The worst part about it all was that Isaac was the one who brought her back to reality from them, and he wasn't here to do that anymore.

The door to Isaac's room was shut, Foster inhaling the scent of him from his pillow as she longed for her best friend to be okay.

He was now in the same state as her mother, signs of comatose and not waking up. What was even worse about it was that he got this way saving her. She was the reason that Isaac was where he was.

Her chest ached at the thought of this, trying to keep from crying again.

She was the very reason that Isaac was hurt, and nothing would ever be able to shake her of that guilt.

Breaking her out of her thoughts, a soft knock echoed on the door of Isaac's room, Foster peaking up as her father finally came in. He looked like a wreck, the same as Foster, knowing that the boy who had grown to be like a son to him was in such pain.

"Hey," he spoke softly, Foster struggling to smile faintly. She couldn't believe how her life had gotten to this point, how her and all of her friends got put in the situation that they're in. Everything was so different from when they were sophomores. Sophomore year, as threatening as the Kanima was, it was almost like a warm up to this. It paled in comparison to what they're dealing with now. "I think you need to go to school today."

Foster shook her head softly, releasing a groan. "I really don't want to. Please don't make me go."

Eric sighed, knowing that his daughter going to school was only going to put her through more misery. To sit through classes and pretend everything was okay while her best friend was in the hospital, and Stiles was still missing in mid possession. "You can't skip everyday."

"Not until Isaac's okay," she whispered, clamping her eyes shut to keep herself from breaking down. "Not until Isaac's okay," she echoed, the words hitting her like a sack of bricks.

The pain her words created was visible on Eric's face, the man running a hand through his blonde, almost white hair, offering, "What if we went to go visit Isaac first?"

Her head perked up slightly at this, Foster nodding her head softly. "I want to see Isaac, but they won't let us see him. We're not immediate family, they said that yesterday."

He smirked, grabbing something out of his jacket pocket and holding it up. "What they say doesn't matter when Melissa gives us a key card."

This made a more visible smile twitch onto Foster's lips, her face brightening slightly. Her father smiled in response, glad to see that this sparked her interest.