Back to Basics (completed)

Thank you

She sat their staring at Stiles, waiting for him to shout or walk away. He sat there not moving for about 5 minutes, looking down at the sand below his feet.

"Stiles, please say something. Yell at me if you want but please at least say something." she whispered to him. His head snapped up at her words.

"Why would I yell at you?" he asked in confusion.

"I don't know, that's kind of just the reaction I would expect from someone..." she trailed off. His arms moved up so that his hands were resting on her shoulders.

"Lydia listen to me, it's not your fault. What that jackass did to you was absolutely, one-hundred percent not your fault. Do you understand?" he said to her carefully, making sure she heard every word. She nodded her head in response, her eyes filling with tears.

"Thank you" she whispered before burying her head in his chest and throwing her arms around his back. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, pulling her impossibly closer.

"I'll always be here for you Lyds, no matter what." he whispered into her ear, rubbing his hand in soothing circles across her back. They sat there holding onto each other for a long time, Lydia's mind replaying over everything she told him.

"I was a freshman, and I met a junior. He was one of the most popular guys at school and he noticed me. His name was Jackson and he was always so nice to me so when he finally asked me out, of course I said yes. About halfway through the school year, things started to change with Jackson. He was adopted and I think he always felt like he had to prove himself." Stiles had nodded his head, urging her to continue while still holding her hands gently in his.

"He was constantly stressed out, but he would never tell me why. He was captain of the football team and I think he was always worried that someone would take his place. He was distant for the rest of the school year. He asked me to go to the formal with him at the end of year, and of course I said yes, but I wasn't even really sure what our relationship was anymore. I hadn't realized that he had bought a flask to the dance with him and he was getting fairly drunk so I offered to have my mom come pick us up since I didn't have a license yet. We were outside, getting some air and he grabbed his pocket knife." she stopped there to take in a shaky breath.

"He held it against me and put his keys in my hand. He said 'do you really think I'm gonna let your stuck up mother drive me?' so I grabbed the keys and he started pushing me towards his car. We got in and I started driving towards my house. When I parked in my driveway I guess he finally realized where we were and he didn't like it. He dug the knife into my side and then opened the door and pushed me out of the car onto my driveway. Then he drove away. I couldn't move and my mom wasn't home because she was working late. My phone was still in Jackson's car, so I lay on my driveway bleeding out until my mom got home and called an ambulance. Apparently Jackson had gotten into an accident after he left my house. So he got charged with driving under the influence. Then once my mom made me tell the police what happened to me, he got arrested for attempted murder and assault." she finished her story and held her breath.

After awhile Stiles pulled back from her, looking into her eyes. "He's in jail right? And he's not getting out any time soon?" he wondered. She nodded her head.

"Ya, he got tried as an adult and sentenced for 25 to life." she told him. "I had to testify against him and he definitely wasn't happy to see me there." She pushed Stiles onto his back and lay down next to him, tucking her head into his shoulder. His arms wrapped around her and she snuggled in closer. "Thank you." she mumbled before her breathing evened out, letting him know that she had fallen asleep. He leaned his head down to place a light kiss on her forehead.