Voices T.W. UNDER REVISION

2.04- Revised

Dad invites us in. Subtle notes of citrus and flowers lingers in the air. Since Mom passed, Dad occasionally sprays her perfume. I think it comforts him, as that was the only perfume she ever used. I always loved hearing the story of how my parents met and he fell in love with the scent of her perfume. Till the year she died, he would buy a bottle for her. The smell would be more endearing, had Mom not started visiting me from the afterlife.

There's a lot of memories from this house besides Moms perfume. I haven't been gone that long, yet, it feels nostalgic to be back. These four walls were my home my entire life.

The lime green paint stain engrained into the floor stands out the most. That was a fun day. Stiles and I must've been about four or five at the time, Ms. McCall came over to babysit us. We wanted to paint, she let us, next thing she knew, Stiles and I were throwing paint at each other! Luckily, most of the paint landed on an old area rug Dad had, but the rest landed on the hardwood floors and nestled into the wood grain.

Speaking of Stiles, it's unusually quiet in here. Normally Stiles is rambling about how gorgeous Lydia is or how Coach won't let Stiles play- for good reason I might add. Stiles has two left feet and Coach knows it. Hell, half of Beacon Hills knows it!

"Is Stiles here?" I ask, looking around at the quiet house.

"Nope, the Jeep broke down... again. He's with Scott, trying to fix it."

Stiles has been working on that Jeep for years. It's held together with hopes, prayers, and a shit ton of duct tape. I don't know why he doesn't just sell it to some scrap company so they can use it for the little bit of good parts it has left, and Stiles can save to buy a new car. Or at least a new-to-him car.

"So, how was camping with Argent and Issac? 

Camping... right. That's what I told him! He wouldn't have let me go with Josh by myself without having spies check in on me. So my cover was that I was going camping with Argent and Issac. Meanwhile, Argent and Issac aren't even in this country anymore.

"Well, the trip wasn't long enough but it was fun. We met up with Josh along the way. He's in town visiting family." I explain, smiling Josh's way.

"My mother worries about me, Sir."

"That's understandable."

Josh and I follow Dad into the living room. Dad hands me the remote and sighs.

"I don't watch much television anymore, I don't have time to with work. Put on whatever you want." Dad states.

He leaves us alone in the living room. I'm sure it's been rough on him, with the anniversary of Mom's death coming up. Plus the fact, Stiles was possessed by a dark spirit and almost died, I almost died, and Dad himself nearly died. I can imagine that would take a heavy toll on someone who wants to do anything in his power to help, but supernatural fights are ones he can't really do much about.

I look to Josh, as he sits on the couch. He motions me to join him. I sit on the couch and sigh.

"Are you okay?" Josh asks, scanning my face.

"Yeah, just tired."

"Rest your eyes for a while. I can't imagine something interesting will happen if you take a nap." Josh offers. "I promise I'll wake you if something does."

I'm so lucky to have a supportive friend. I can't call him anything other than that. We occasionally fuck, but that doesn't make us boyfriend and girlfriend. If anything, that makes us friends with benefits, but I don't like that title for him. It seems too childish to describe him.

I take Josh's advice and rest my eyes. After a few minutes with my eyes closed, a warm blanket is laid on top of me. I cuddle into the blanket and roll over to face the back of the couch.

"Carrie, get up! You have to get up!" Allison's voice echoes.

I look around to a scene of total darkness. Where am I? Where is Josh and Dad? Where's the house?

Allison stands before me.

"What the hell?" I whisper.

"You have to wake up, right now." Allison urges.

"Why? What's going on?"

Allison rolls her eyes and firmly places her hands on my shoulders.

"It's Liam. He is attacking Josh, you have to stop him."

Why would Liam attack Josh? I thought we settled this, I don't want to be with Liam anymore. I also have no intention of dating Josh.

I quickly wake and look around. A sigh escapes my lips as I am relieved to be back home. I also never want to go to that place with Allison again. I don't know where we even were or if it was real, but it was empty and dark.

"Dad, I'm heading out for a while!" I yell into the quiet room.

With no answer from Dad, I walk into the kitchen to look for him. A note peacefully sits on the counter.

'Shift change. Be back tonight. Love you. -Dad.'

Okay, there's no sign of Josh, so I pray that Liam hasn't done anything to him. I'd hate to have to kill him over someone I'll never love.