The Beginning of The End {Stiles Stilinski}[2]

Dread and Despair

Chapter 4: Shape Shifted

So, this was not at all supposed to be an entire Isaac chapter, but that is definitely what it turned into. Apologies for the shortness. Enjoy. 

Angel_Winchester_03 this was the favorite

~SiriusCatBennett

~Isaac's POV~ 

"So. How are your grades looking?" My father asked, taking a bite of his food. 

Picking apart a piece of bread, I tossed it into my mouth as I tried to stall from giving him a straight answer. Glancing wearily at his face as I chewed, I looked down at my plate to avoid his reaction as I spoke. "Umm..." I started shakily, "so far it's an A in French and a..B minus in Econ." 

"Mmm." He responded, using his utensils to cut up his steak as I stared at the sharp knife in apprehension, a stab of dread entering my heart. "What about Chemistry?" 

I internally winced at the question, hoping he wouldn't have caught the neglect to mention my worst subject. I should've known; he always noticed. "I'm not sure." I told him, looking at my fingers as I fiddled with the last of my bread anxiously. "Uh..midterms are in a few days so it could go up."

"Well, what's it at now?" The casual way he asked the questions had a chill resting in the bottom of my spine. Whenever he got like this, the night could go off without a hitch, or I could end up in the hospital. 

"The grade?" I asked dumbly, trying desperately to keep from having to say the letter. 

"Uh, yeah." He responded; as if it was that simple. 

"Uhh, I'm not sure."

"Well, you just said it could go up." 

Noticing the calculated tone of his voice as he pretended to ask a seemingly innocent question sent my hand flying to my head as I pushed my hair back in fear. Trying tirelessly to think of a way out of this, my mind came up blank as I stuttered out a half-witted response. "I just-uh..I meant generally." 

Trying to appear completely nonchalant as my heart began to race in my chest, my palms grew increasingly moist. "You wouldn't be lyin' to me, would you Isaac?" 

His deep tone of voice struck a chord in me as I looked up slowly while he cut up his food once more. Staring, I shook my head as a light 'no' fell from my lips in barely concealed terror. 

"Then tell me the grade." I kept my gaze on his face despite everything inside of me screaming to watch the utensils gripped in his hands.

"I just told you, I do-I don't know." 

"You wanna take this little conversation..downstairs?" Fear seized my heart and I held my breath as I looked up at the man, shaking my head. "No? Then tell me the grade, son." 

I hid the small flinch that my hand made at the word, looking down at the table as I clenched my jaw. While it was true that I was his son, he hadn't acted like my dad in a long time. "Dad, the semester's only half over-" 

"Isaac.."

"-there's plenty of time for it to go-" 

"Isaac!" He exclaimed, holding his hands in front of him in exasperation. 

"It's a-it's a D." I told him quietly, glancing up wearily after a moment of staring at my hands.

My father nodded once in acceptance, setting down his knife and fork. I felt the slightest bit of relief as the sharp object left his hand. "Alright. It's a D. I-I'm not angry." A big part of me wanted desperately to believe him, the hope almost crushing on top of the panic in my chest. The other part could see the dark calculation hidden in his eyes, knowing that by the end of the night I would be in some kind of pain. "You know I'm gonna have to find a way to punish you though. You know, I-I have my..responsibility as a parent. So, we'll start with somethin' simple. Like, uh..tell you what, you do the dishes and you clean up the kitchen, okay?"