Never Let Me Go (Derek Hale Fanfiction Book #3)

Chapter Thirteen: The Ties That Bind

Over the next few weeks, my life settled back into the smooth rhythm that I was more accustomed to. I went to school, work, and hung out with my friends as I’d always done, but now I had new friends. After Cora and Monica’s deaths, Isaac had moved out of the apartment and went to stay with Scott. And even though Derek didn’t say it, I knew Isaac had left the pack. Left Derek. Scott, Stiles, Allison, and Lydia supported me in my grief, but even they were wary of my relationships with both Derek and Aiden.

 

“His brother killed Monica. He nearly killed you!” Stiles had yelled at me when I’d told him I was still friends with Aiden in the hallway after Pre-Calc.

 

“And Derek killed Ethan. So I’d say everybody’s lost enough people that we can stop pushing the blame around-”

 

“Derek did us a favor. Ethan wasn’t a good guy, Chris, and neither is Aiden. In fact, he’s worse!”

 

Needless to say, I was spending most of my time with Aiden now. Since his brother’s death, Aiden had lost some of his vigor and aggression. He was quieter, more thoughtful and considerate, and didn’t act on impulse when given the chance. An awkward moment had arisen last Thursday, when I’d been standing on the front steps outside of Beacon Hills High, chatting with Aiden, and Derek had pulled up in the Camaro to take me home. The old Aiden would’ve done something to piss off Derek, or maybe even walked right up to the open window and growled some kind of threat in his face, but now...now Aiden simply gave me a light hug and said goodbye without any fuss.

 

Tonight was the day before we were scheduled to go away on a class camping trip, up into the wilderness of northern California, and when I got home from work around eight-thirty, I immediately hopped into the shower. Need to savor this before it’s gone. I hated camping; hated the flimsy tents and the bumpy ground; hated the mosquitoes and the humidity; I hated everything about it, and I was dreading the trip with every fiber of my being. Washing off slowly and meticulously, I wrapped my body in a semi-clean light green towel and padded back into my bedroom, dripping water everywhere.

 

“I could write you a note you know,” Derek offered when I stepped out of the closet, dressed in comfy red sweats and a powder blue t-shirt and towelling my hair dry. I marched past him, into the bathroom to get my hairbrush as I thought this over. Not like it hadn’t occurred to me earlier.

 

“Hmm...thanks for the offer, but I’m gonna have to pass. I promised Aiden I wouldn’t bail on him. He hates camping, too.” I knew it was a risky move mentioning my closest guy friend to Derek, but I needed him to adjust to me being friends with Aiden before I could forgive him.

 

“Oh,” Derek croaked, his voice shooting up as his eyebrows did the same. Hastily, he rearranged his expression until he just looked mildly unhappy, and I suppressed a laugh. He was really trying. After running my brush through my hair several times, I followed Derek into the bedroom and sat criss-cross on the bed, facing him.

 

“Listen: Aiden and I are just friends. The sooner you accept that, the sooner I’ll forgive you. Got it?”

 

“Yeah, I got it. It’s just...it’s hard for me, Chris. Knowing that he kissed you-”

 

“That was a long time ago. Aiden doesn’t think of me like that anymore, I promise you.” As I turned on my side to fall asleep, I heard Derek grumble something behind my back.

“Sure he doesn’t.”