human // teen wolf

15. vet clinic

"Me and Boyd are going to study more tonight, but since he has work tonight, I'll be joining him! Do you want to come as well?" Olivia asked Riley the next day over the phone. Riley had fully recovered from being scared by that lizard thing the night before, and she was aching the get out of the house because of it. She did not feel safe in her own house anymore, even if it had mountain ash surrounding it. The one thing that annoyed her was that mountain ash is supposed to keep all of the supernatural from coming in, so how did that lizard thing get in? The window was open, yes, but who opened it? Her parents are never home, let alone up in the attic. Riley didn't think they even knew they had an attic. This whole thing was bugging her and she couldn't stop thinking about it. "Hello? Riley, are you still with me?"

"Oh, right, yeah. Sure, I'll come, even though I don't need tutoring. Are you sure there isn't more to this 'studying' thing?" Riley asked, poking fun at Olivia. 

"Oh shut up. You know my eyes are set on Jackson." She laughed, Riley letting out a smile. She really missed her best friend.

"Yeah, whatever. You're not the only one who has her eyes on him." Riley replied, rolling over on her bed to pet her cat. She was being extra nice to her cat because she seemed to be very jumpy lately. Well, makes sense. She has been meaning to take her to the vet but she hasn't been sleeping at night, too afraid to close her eyes only to see those glowing, reptile eyes staring at her.

"Word has it that Lydia and him broke up. So that's a good sign, isn't it? She has been acting a bit weird lately, don't you think?" Olivia asked, and Riley frowned. She never really payed attention to Lydia, since she was a bit scared to look at her in case Lydia caught her.

"Not really. I'm not friends with her, so how would I know?"

They both talked on the phone for two hours, until they finally deemed it fit to hang up and get ready for the study session at the rink. Olivia could do it at anytime, why would she distract Boyd of his job? She must be pretty desperate.

Riley showered and got dressed, seeing that she still had quite a lot of time before she had to leave. She thought it would be a good time to finally take her cat to the vet. So she checked all of the windows and doors to make sure they were locked, then took her cat's bed and the cat (obviously) to her car where she started the engine and drove to the vet. It was not that far so it wouldn't take much time.

She parked in the parking lot, picked up her cat and walked into the clinic, the little bell ringing on the door as she opened it. She walked up to the counter, looking around the small waiting room before ringing the bell on the counter.

"Hello?" She called out, and a man came out of the doorway behind the counter and looked at her.

"Oh, hello, I wasn't expecting any clients today." He said uneasily, as he held a bloody rag in his stained hands. Riley looked down at them, then back up to his face.

"Are you sure? Because you look like you've got pretty bad one at the moment." She replied, and immediately regretted. Wow, she sounded like a bitch. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. You're probably doing a good job, I should have called... I just wanted to get my cat a checkup."

She kept rambling, which brought a smile to the doctor's face.

"It's alright love. Look, how about I clean up a bit, and I'll take a quick look at your cat. Won't be five minutes." He replied, and Riley thanked him. He went back into the room from where he came from and shut the door. She sat down on one of the waiting chairs, where she waited with her fluffy cat for their checkup.

Doctor Deaton invited Riley and her pet into the examination room. It was a rectangular room with slim windows across the top of the far wall with the blinds slightly open, giving the space an eerie and cold vibe. On the opposite wall were shelves full of mason jars that contained weird plants and powders and there was a small wheeled table that had vet tools laying on it. Some were covered in blood. Riley regretted interrupting this surgery, if it was a surgery at all.

She placed her cat onto the stainless steel table and the man petted her.

"Now, what's this lovely animal's name?" He asked, as the cat purred into his hand.

"Luna." Riley replied, her hand gently stroking the cat's tail.

"Beautiful name. I'm going to perform a physical examination and just check on her vital signs. That okay?" He asked, and Riley nodded. While he checked on Luna, Riley looked around the room with her arms crossed. There was a door on the far wall, near the one in which she entered. She looked through the blurred glass from a distance, and saw a shadow move across it. She looked down at the bottom of the door, where more shadows could be seen. Two individual shadows that looked like legs were moving around in there. Who's in there?

"Has there been in changes in her diet or or eating habits? When was her last checkup?" Deaton asked, and Riley snapped back to his gaze which was focused on the cat's neck.

"Um, she hasn't been eating that much today, and she seems pretty jumpy. Her last checkup was ages ago, like I can't remember." She replied, flashing back to last night. She looked closer at the back of Luna's neck, where there was a distinct line across it. Doctor Deaton seemed to notice as well, as he had a firm look on his face. Riley's hand unconsciously went up to her own neck, where she felt the thin line on the back of it as well. Deaton looked up at her, and she widened her eyes. She quickly moved her hand to her hair, where she nervously played with it. He looked at her suspiciously, then went back to feeling the cut on Luna. The one thing that ate at Riley was why Luna got paralyzed and she didn't. That creature must have done it, so why didn't it happen to Riley as well? Maybe it ran out of the special venom that cuts off movement. Maybe it didn't hit her in the exact spot it needed. She couldn't figure it out.

"What happened here?" He asked, and Riley tried to think of something to say. Of course he wouldn't believe what she would say. He was a vet, an animal expert, so of course he would not believe her made up tale of some overgrown lizard.

"Um, i think she was outside and this... um, she must have ran into something. I don't really know, maybe it was a... loose screw or fence, maybe." She mumbled, avoiding his gaze. It was obvious that she was lying. She hoped that he didn't think that she did that. She would never hurt her beloved Luna.

Deaton was quiet for a minute, before finally nodding.

"Right, well, it doesn't seem too serious. She seems to be in good shape. As for the jumpiness that you said she had, maybe keep her close and don't let her outside for the time being." He informed, taking off his gloves and smiling at Riley.

"Okay, of course. Thank you." She said, smiling back. She picked up her purring cat and walked to the door, turning back to him. "Um, how much?"

He looked at her with a frown. "How much?"

"How much money? For this checkup." Riley replied, and Deaton formed an understanding expression.

"No, that's okay. Free of charge. Consider it a gift for your cat. She seems like she could use a new toy with what she's been through." He said, and Riley nodded. But what did he mean by 'what she's been through'? She told him that she just cut herself, that's not really a cause of jumpiness. Maybe it is, Riley wasn't the vet.

She heard movement behind the door next to her, as she looked at it with a concerned expression. Deaton cleared his throat, and smiled at her.

"If you don't mind, I've got a sick patient to attend back to. Have a nice night." He said, and Riley nodded. She walked out of the clinic and to her car, locking herself in.

She definitely thought that he was a strange doctor.