𝐃𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐤 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬

I need you

"Stop fighting me!" I shout, pushing the rag down on Derek's fingers. The white material stains in dried blood as I wipe down harshly. "Just let me help you." I add with a sigh as his hands fight to push me away.

"I don't need your help!" He shouts back, grabbing my hands and yanking them away from his chest. "I don't want your help." He ends, ripping himself away from me and getting up from the bed, the action causing me to fall back to the ground as he storms off.

I sigh as I regain my balance, throwing the rag to the other side of the room with a groan. My legs collapse from under me as refocus my gaze onto the bed in front of me. The room feeling smaller by the minute as I feel a rush of tears stinging at my eyes.

"I can't keep doing this." I mumble through a sigh, my breath hitching in my throat as I turn my body to see him. "We're just going around in circles. You love me, you love me not. You want me, you want me not." I shakily push myself up to be standing and Derek looks away from the window briefly as I do. "I don't know what you want from me." I admit, my eyes getting glossy as I look at him and his brow tilts as he sees this.

"I don't know either." He says softly, his lip twitches. "I'm just tired of having this conversation. It's exhausting." He explains and I shake my head carefully, slow tears flowing onto my cheeks as I look to the empty floor behind him. The water from earlier dried completely and took the memory of the scene with it. But the sight of Boyd's dead body spins around my head like a record, reminding me every time I think I've forgotten.

"Do you want me to go?" I ask, folding my arms over my chest as our eyes meet. He hovers in silence, his lips starting to move only for air to leave them instead of words. I nod, too tired to push anymore. "Okay." I say, my voice trembling as I swallow down the remaining tears. "I'll go." I whisper, the oxygen in my lungs giving in as I look around the loft for my bag.

"Y/n." His voice begs and I ignore the sound completely.

"I'll get my shit later. I can't be in here anymore." I say in a hurry, rushing past him and out of the door. My heart sinks when I reach the parking lot without him putting up any effort to stop me.

I look around the empty street, kicking myself when it settles in that I don't have my phone or my car keys with me. I look up at the window of the loft, Derek's figure shining through despite the darkness and I instantly look away. I'm not going up again. I'll walk to the gas station and use the phone to call Lydia for a ride. At least I can have some time to clear my head in the meantime.

My feet lead me without instruction, the wind rushing against my back making my hair fly in all directions. I pull my arms tighter around my chest, the cold air burning my skin. The moon hangs low, working in unison with the streetlights to guide me. The streets pass in a daze, my mind losing control over my destination as I take turns and shifts, I'd usually avoid, but I can't seem to decide against them.

My body jerks to a stop as I look around, the leaves under my feet letting me know I'm no longer walking on concrete. My eyes scan through my surroundings, meeting with trees and rocks that I've never seen before. I'm in the woods; I determine with a frown. Confusion fills my head as I decide to move even deeper into the midst of trees.

I groan, covering my mouth to push down a gag as a disgusting stench fills the air around me and it gets stronger and stronger the further I go. Until I feel something new under my feet, not leaves, but something wet and warm. Like mud but thinner. I look down carefully, not seeing clearly in the newfound darkness. I follow the dark liquid from the ground, up the roots and finally stop at the tree. My body freezes. It's blood. And it's streaming down slowly in great mases from a body. A body.

"Stop right there!" An unfamiliar male voice shouts, a light suddenly blinding me. "Don't move!" The voice adds in a rush and I frown. "Put your hands in the air slowly and I won't shoot!" It commands and I look up to see a deputy stepping towards me. "You're under arrest." He explains and before my mind could catch up, he's forcing my hands behind my back as the cold metal of the handcuffs meets my flesh.