Of Fire And Shadow [completed]

Chapter 2

"No. No, no, nooo!" Parrish said as he gently retracted his claws and reached out for Lydia. She crumpled like a paper doll as she lost consciousness and he scooped her up into his arms. The wound on her throat was deep and he did his best to cover it to reduce the bleeding as he carried her out to the car.

"Lydia, it's gonna be okay," he said quietly, more to convince himself since she was still unconscious. He called Sheriff Stilinski and told him to meet them at the hospital with Scott and Stiles.

The rest of the ride passed in silence, and luckily Parrish's apartment was not far from the hospital. The sheriff was already there waiting, but when he saw Lydia he stopped in shock. The poor girl looked dead. Parrish lifted her gently out of the car, and rushed into the hospital where Scott's mom, Melissa, was waiting with a gourney. He placed Lydia on it and stepped back to let the doctors take over, watching helplessly as they wheeled her through the large double doors and into a hallway where he was not allowed to follow.

He staggered back on unsteady feet and collapsed on a chair in the waiting area. Placing his head in his hands, the events of the night began to sink in and tears formed in his eyes.

Sheriff Stilinski sat down slowly next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright, Parrish," he said, and Parrish shook his head. "It's all my fault," he replied sadly, shoulders shaking.

"What happened?" the sheriff asked gently, seeing the fragile condition Parrish seemed to be in. "Can you tell me?"

And so, Parrish told him everything, from seeing things in the shadows the past few days to seeing the figure tonight, and then to attacking Lydia and bringing her here. By the end of the story, Parrish was exhausted and slumped over, barely hearing the sheriff when he said, "It's okay, we'll figure it out."

At that point, Scott and Stiles barreled in through the main doors and rushed over. The sheriff got up and met them a little ways from Parrish to assure them Lydia was being taken care of and to tell them the story Parrish told him.

When he finished, Stiles looked like he was about to murder Parrish but Scott just looked concerned. Parrish lifted his head from his hands as Scott walked over and sat down across from him. "I'm so sorry, I swear I don't know what happened," Parrish said in desperation, his voice shaking slightly. "The shadows..."

"Let's not worry about that right now. Let's just focus on making sure Lydia is alright, and then we'll try and figure out what's going on with you, okay?" Scott said reasonably. "Okay," Parrish said, grateful Scott didn't push him to talk any further.

The four sat in silence, waiting for any news of what was happening behind those double doors. Eventually, Melissa came out and everyone looked up at her. "She's going to be okay," she said, and everyone visibly relaxed except Parrish. He was glad she was going to be fine, but now he wondered what this would mean for them. There was no way she would ever look at him the same, and he was always going to be ashamed of what he did. She would see him for the true monster he was, as someone dangerous, and he would never be able to forgive himself for what he did to her. This is what was running through his mind, consuming all his thoughts, until he noticed everyone looking at him expectantly.

"What?" Parrish asked, aware that he must've missed a question that was asked or something.

"Lydia's been asking for you, Parrish," Melissa said smiling. "You can go in and see her now. She's in room 240."

Parrish nodded and stood up slowly, walking through the double doors and down the hall to Lydia's room. He made it there okay, but when he reached for the handle, something held him back. What was he going to say to her?

He knew he couldn't stand outside the door forever, so he took a deep breath and slowly stepped into the room, keeping his head down and eyes averted shamefully so he wouldn't have to look at what he did.

"Jordan?" Lydia croaked from the bed. Her voice was hoarse but at least she could still talk, which was a good sign. She had lost a lot of blood so she was hooked up to an IV and blood transfusion thing, but besides that and the large bandage on her neck, she looked miraculously okay.

Parrish sat down in a chair next to her bed and reached out almost involuntarily for her hand, but pulled away at the last second and placed his hands in his lap where they couldn't hurt her. He lifted his eyes to meet hers for a second and then looked back down again.

"Jordan, it's okay," Lydia said. "Look at me." She lifted her hand to his cheek and his eyes flicked back up to hers. He started shaking his head.

"It's not okay. I hurt you," he said and paused to look back down. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"I know," Lydia said sadly, for it pained her to see her boyfriend torn up like this. She could tell he didn't want to talk, so they sat in silence, eventually holding hands and just enjoying being together.

After some time, Melissa opened the door. "I think it's time for Lydia to get some rest," she told Parrish.

"I can stay with her and make sure she rests," Parrish said but Melissa shook her head. "You need to go home and get some rest too," she said. "You've both had a long night."

Parrish looked like he wanted to protest but Melissa gave him a look and said, "doctor's orders."

Like a true gentleman, Parrish planted a small farewell kiss on the back of Lydia's hand and headed back out to the lobby. Scott and Stiles had left and only the Sheriff was still there. He was waiting for Lydia's mother to arrive since she had been further away when she heard the news.

"You want a ride home, Deputy?" the sheriff asked after seeing how shaky Parrish looked. "No, that's okay," Parrish responded, giving the sheriff a look that told him he just wanted to be alone.

"Alright but do me a favor and text when you get home, okay?" the sheriff called as Parrish walked out the door and disappeared into the black night.

A few minutes later Lydia's mother, Natalie, arrived and the sheriff told her what happened. They sat together and waited until Melissa came back and told Natalie she could go in to see her daughter, although she was sleeping. Natalie thanked the sheriff for waiting with her and headed through the double doors.

Once she left, the sheriff checked his phone once more before heading home. There was still no text from Parrish even though it had been over an hour since he left. Though something didn't feel right, the sheriff brushed the feeling away and headed home, assuming Parrish had just forgotten to text.

That was not the case.