Skin Deep (Are the Secrets I Keep)

CHAPTER 9

He spends several minutes puzzling over 'bedroom pool', which, what??  How would that even work?  He's never had one, his mom's never mentioned it, and yet his aunt inserts it into her letter like it's an everyday thing.  In the end, he writes down a vague I'd like to decide when I get there response and moves on.

It takes a dozen attempts before he's satisfied with his next letter, and even then, only barely.  This time, it's a whole other issue Stiles frets over.  Several issues actually.  And none of them nearly as easy to deal with as the 'bedroom pool' enquiry or even the question about his name.

-0-0-0-

Number one on the list: how to tell your relatives that your father will not be going with you because the man can barely look at his own son on a good day.  Stiles doesn't even have to ask to know that, but he's supposed to be (almost) an adult, and so he waits until his father gets back on a Tuesday evening and casually brings it up in conversation over dinner.  He even serves steak tonight.

"Did you ever want to go with Mom back to her home?"  Stiles blurts out, and the Sheriff freezes mid-chew.  He swallows hard and then doesn't take another bite, but he also doesn't look at Stiles.

"It never really came up," Dad finally says in a voice that sounds a little choked.  "Your mother's home was- was here.  She never wanted to go back."

"Oh," Stiles says lamely.  "That seems kind of... weird.  I mean, she was a selkie in a place where she had to hide what she was all the time.  Didn't that feel... I dunno, stifling to her?"

"No," The Sheriff denies, and this time, his voice is sharper, edged with something like warning and accusation both.  "She was happy with me.  She gave me her skin.  She wanted to stay."

Stiles bobs his head a few times.  "Right, I- yeah, I just wanted to... right."  He cuts himself off and fiddles with his fork, but then, because he's apparently masochistic enough, "So what about now?  Would you want to go now?"

His dad still doesn't look up from his plate but Stiles can hear the confusion in his words.  "Why would I want to go now?"

Stiles shrugs.  "I just mean... What if I found a way?  I could do some research, look some stuff up, and if I found a way and I wanted to go-"

This time, the Sheriff does look up, and Stiles catches a glimpse of a frown on his face.  "But why would you want to go?  You have a life here, and friends."

What friends?  Stiles wants to snap.  His dad is absent a lot but surely he's noticed Scott literally never comes over anymore, and Stiles never asks to go over to Scott's either.  And even if he and Scott still hung out, Stiles has never had more than one friend.

He doesn't say any of that.  Instead, "Well I don't mean go right now.  Just... maybe after I graduate or something.  I could look into it."

The Sheriff shakes his head.  "You have plans for college, don't you?  Your mom would've wanted you to study further."

Stiles' jaw tightens.  "But just- hypothetically, Dad.  If I wanted to go, would you come with me?  You could even come back afterwards if you really don't like it."

His dad chuckles and shakes his head.  "We both have lives here, Stiles.  Why would either of us ever go to some... distant fairy-tale land that you've never seen anyway?  Even your mom wanted to stay here.  This is our home."

"But-"

He's interrupted by the convenient ring of the Sheriff's phone, and his dad has it out in seconds.  "Stilinski speaking.  Yeah?"