The Absence of Truth | S. Stilinski

XXVIII. | champions

XXVIII. | champions

                      THE NEXT DAY, Matt's dead body was pulled out of a nearby river. Drowned, the police report said, but something about the death was fishy. I was too preoccupied at the hospital to investigate, but Stiles and Scott both called separately to say they would visit me later in the week to make sure everything was going alright.

Sarah was in intense recovering, only able to open her eyes for a few minutes every two or three hours before pain medication pulled her back under. I sat at her bedside, refusing to leave. I knew it was stupid, but every time I left her side it felt like she was out in the open. Like the kanima would somehow come find her and finish the job.

So, I sat with her, ate next to her, and made sure Presley was there whenever I couldn't be. Overall, this had happened twice - me not being by her side - and each time I was panicky and worried. I'd been forced to go home and shower after getting Sarah to the hospital, and this was due to my mother and the blood staining my limbs and dress. Stiles had taken me, and been given the herculean task of keeping me calm while I tried to ignore my racing heartbeat at the thought of Sarah being alone. The second time had been to eat, but I'd hated it so much that Presley promised to bring me my food instead.

Presley wasn't in the room, because he'd gotten called into the police station for questioning. Apparently the board of directors weren't too pleased that Matt had retrieved Sarah's gun from her without seemingly any trouble. It was idiotic to say the least, but I refused to go in for questioning, so Presley decided to do it himself.

"Hey, hon," I heard from the door.

I turned and smiled a weary smile at my mom. "Hey."

She was exhausted, though not working to keep things level at the house and station. Today, she was wearing a tee shirt and jeans - something so casual and so unlike the scrubs I was used to. Her hairy was frizzy and she wasn't wearing makeup. I silently wondered if I looked as bad as I felt.

"You should go home and get some rest. I can watch her for a little bit."

My heart thrummed in my chest. "You know I can't do that," I said softly.

She moved into the room and rested her hand on my cheek. I leaned into her like I always did, and rested there until she pulled a chair up and sat down next to me. We sat in silence for a few minutes before she reached over and grabbed my hand.

"I love you, you know that?" She pressed a kiss to the back of my hand. "And I know you want to make sure she'd okay. You just can't hurt yourself in the process."

"What does that mean?" I looked at her.

"It means that you need to go get some sleep. I'm serious. You're no help to Sarah if you're this tired."

I was quiet, contemplating what she said. In all honesty, I hadn't slept since the night before the party, which had been nearly thirty six hours ago. My eyes were heavy and weak, and maybe my mom was right. How could I be helpful if I was passing out from exhaustion?

"Fine," I groaned, leaning back in the uncomfortable hospital chair. "But you have to call me if she wakes up or if something happens, okay?"

She smiled at me. "I promise." We both stood from our chairs and moved to the door. Every few seconds, I glanced back at Sarah, just to be sure she was breathing and mending. Mom pulled me into a hug. "That boy can't hurt any of you again, you hear me? He's payed for his mistakes. I'm just glad you weren't hurt."

Although I was worried about Sarah and her recovery, one thing that wouldn't leave my mind were thoughts of the kanima. Sure its master was dead, but would it be so crazy to assume it had found another one? Maybe one without as many flaws. Matt's reign of terror had ended, but I had a feeling deep down in my gut that the final battle was fast approaching, with a much bigger villain.