Becoming The Shadows (Shadow Series #4)

14 - Arrows

"Don't you have friends?"

I scoff, "Wow, thanks for making me sound like a loner." I kick my legs back and forth in the air while sitting on part of Parrish's desk at the sheriff's station. My hands grip the desk on either side of my legs. "My friends..." I trail off. 

Can I really call them my friends? Clara could easily call them friends, but Claire is different in their eyes. They don't see me the same. Lydia and I are friends. Everyone else is just confused as to why I feel the need to protect them. I don't think they really believed my lie about Jackson telling me to keep an eye on them. 

I shake my head. "They're busy tonight." I decide to say instead.

Parrish shakes his head and continues to work on the report. I had decided to show up to his work after school when all of my friends left school together. Lydia hadn't told me what they were up to and I didn't ask. I'm not fully part of their group again. I have to earn their trust all over again. 

"And I'm not?" Parrish motions to all of the papers on his desk.

I crack a smile. "Oh, please. We both know that you love my company." 

The sheriff's station is oddly calm. Most officers are working at their desks in silence or walking around with coffee mugs in their hands. I scoop up the coffee mug with coffee halfway filled in it to my lips. The deputies here were growing used to see me here to visit Parrish. They didn't complain about me drinking their coffee anymore.

"I kind of like hanging out here." I admit, earnestly.

"No, you just liking knowing everyone's business." Parrish corrects me. His hand moves across the paper, writing out what had happened yesterday at the Walcott house. 

I shrug my shoulders. "Well, you're not wrong." I giggle. 

Parrish chuckles. He gathers the papers together in his hands and glimpses over his shoulder at Sheriff Stilinski's office. The door to his office opens and Derek wanders through the station. Derek walks through the station with an odd machine in his hand that resembles a computer's keyboard. I suck in a breath at the sight of him

Derek must have heard my breath intake because his head snaps in my direction. Our eyes meet in a questioning staredown. He keeps moving towards Stilinski's office, yet his eyes never leave mine. I hold my breath, silently hoping that he is able to recognize me. All hope in me drains away as he turns his back to me and walks into the office. The door shuts behind them. 

"Are you okay?" Parrish notices me slump down in defeat. 

I clear my throat, nodding. "Yeah, I just remembered that I forgot to add the caramel macchiato creamer to my coffee." I fake a smile. I show him my half filled coffee cup. "I used the vanilla one instead." 

Parrish grabs the coffee out of my hand. He takes a sip out of it without saying a word.

"Hey!" I laugh and gently punch his shoulder. "That's mine."

He sets it down between us. "Should have used the other creamer."

I point with my head towards Stilinski's office. "Why is Derek Hale here?"

Parrish peeks over his shoulder. The wrinkles in his foreheard crinkle together in confusion. He swivels back around. "No clue." His fingers type away on his computer. 

Derek and Mr. Stilinski are talking to each other, while examining the odd device with a black glove attached to it. I had hoped that Derek would be able to know that it was me. Shouldn't the guy you love be able to recognize you even when you aren't really you? They are supposed to know you better than anyone else. Derek doesn't even recognize anything about me. He just thinks I'm some random girl that knows Scott.