Slightly Reminiscent (Slightly Awkward Series / Book Six / Teen Wolf)

CHAPTER FOUR---relics

While Scott, Malia, Lydia and I were looking for clues on Stiles, Liam, Hayden, Mason and Cory were keeping an eye out for the people that were taking, especially Gwen at the moment. They had found a library card in the library and made it reappear.

Scott, Malia, Lydia and I were talking about it in the hallway at school.

Lydia was holding the library card. "It's a relic."

"What's a relic?" Malia asked.

"An object with a fixed association to the past," Lydia answered. "Jake's ID was left behind after he was taken. And Gwen found her sister's bracelet on her bedroom floor."

"How can someone be erased, and still leave something behind?" I asked.

"A conservation of mass," Lydia answered. "The total mass of any isolated system remains constant."

"So, even the ghost riders have a weakness," Scott told us.

I became more hopeful, taking the library card from Lydia. "A relic would be proof that Stiles existed, and maybe we can bring him back."

  ° 

I went to talk to Dad at the station, showing him the ID card.

"You want me to help you search the house?" Dad asked.

"People are leaving things behind," I told him. "So if Stiles left anything..."

"Why would it be there?" Dad asked.

"You can't just erase people," I told him. "They leave things behind. I know that you don't believe me, but I need to prove this myself."

Dad sighed. "I couldn't sleep last night. So, um, I got up, figured I'd do some paperwork. The files were in the back of my car. So, I--I go outside, and some junk fell out of the truck, and I--I stubbed my toe on an old baseball bat. Without thinking, I yelled a name."

I knew what name he yelled, knowing that some part of him did believe me, relieved. "Stiles."

 °

I was looking through the living room at home, seeing pictures of me, Mom and Dad above the fireplace.

Mom walked closer. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No," I answered. "But thank you, Mom."

"Well, good luck," Mom told me. "I'll leave you to it."

I watched her go, still thinking about what Grandpa had said about Dad's "dead wife and loser son".

I shook that off, walking into the hallway, walking toward my room. I stopped by the unbroken wall again, knowing that something should have been there, but I didn't know what. I reached out to touch the wall, starting to peel back the wallpaper.

Mom was suddenly next to me, gripping my wrist tightly to make me stop. "What are you doing?"

I looked at Mom nervously. "You're hurting me." I pulled my arm away from her. Mom smoothed the wallpaper back up. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that."

"It's time to let this go, Stacie," Mom told me. "Let it go."

I was uncomfortable and confused and upset as to why she didn't want to know if she had a son or not. "Listen, I have a lacrosse game tonight. I have to go. Uh, don't bother coming. It might end up getting dangerously deadly again."