Secrets in the Hunt (Book 2)

Moving Forward

I purse my lips as the "Welcome to Beacon Hills" sign comes into sight.
       "Why did we come here Sammy?" I ask, finally breaking the silence that we had been driving in all day.
       "We needed to get the rest of our stuff. The Argent's sold their house and put our stuff in a storage unit." He replies, and I frown.
       "Are they moving?" I ask, glancing at him. He shakes his head.
       "Uh, no. Chris said something about them spending the summer in France with their extended family." Sam explains and I nod slowly.
       "Where are we going next?" I ask, and Sam sighs.
       "Wherever we're needed. We'll keep hunting, and you could do some homeschooling if you want." Sam says, wincing slightly at the homeschooling part. I know Sam doesn't want me to have to be homeschooled. He loved going to regular school, and if it weren't for dad going missing two years ago, he would've finished college and continued having a "normal" life. I let out a shaky breath as I think of the time that it was just me and Dean. It's just me and Sam now, but it's so different. At least we knew Sammy was safe. I shake my head, trying to shake out the thoughts that threaten to suffocate me. I ignore the questioning look that Sam gives me, instead focusing on my hands.
       "Can I say bye to my friends?" I ask quietly, dreading either answer. If he says no, then I may never see them again. If he says yes, I'll have to explain why I haven't answered anyone for two months.
       "Sure." He says, and I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to prepare myself for the inevitable talks.
***
It doesn't take long to get the rest of our stuff. Chris had left the key to the storage unit under a fake rock thing.
       "Where to first?" Sam asks as he gets back in the car. I think for a minute.
       "Lydia. She'll be the easiest to talk to." I say and he nods before pulling out of the lot and heading towards Lydia's house. The car stops and I glance at Sam before clearing my throat.
      "I'll be right back." I say, and he nods, still gripping the steering wheel. I knock on the door, rocking back and forth on my heels as I wait for Lydia to come to the door. The door opens and I frown, realizing it's her mom.
       "Hello, Tori! I thought you were out of town." She says, a wide smile on her face. I try to smile back, but I'm sure it looks more like a grimace.
       "Hey, Mrs. Martin-" I start, but she cuts me off with a laugh.
       "I've told you, call me Natalie." She says, and I nod, glancing behind her.
       "Is Lydia home?" I ask, just wanting to get this over with. She frowns and shakes her head.
      "She's out with Jackson, I think. I'm not sure when she'll be back, do you want to wait here though? You're more than welcome." She offers, but I shake my head.
       "I was just stopping by to tell her that I'm moving. Today, actually, so I don't really have time to wait here." I explain, and her face drops.
       "I'm sorry sweetie. Lydia has your number, right? You're such a great friend to her, I'm sure she'll want to keep in touch." She says, and I just nod, knowing that chances of Lydia and I staying in touch are slim.
      "Yeah, um, I'm gonna go now. Sorry." I say, she tries to say something else but I rush to the car, getting in as quick as I can.
       "Lydia not here?" Sam asks, and I shake my head.
       "Can we go to Scott's next? I know Stiles is closer, but...." I trail off, my breath shaky as I try to think of saying bye to Stiles. Scott can be clueless sometimes. I doubt he'll ask questions about Dean. But Stiles....he's too curious for his own good. And I don't know how I'm going to talk about it. I bounce my leg up and down, ignoring the worried looks from Sam. I stare out the window, watching the familiar town pass slowly. I frown as we turn onto Scott's street. My eyes widen in shock when I see the familiar blue Jeep sitting outside of Scott's house.
       "Still want to stop?" Sam asks, slowing the Impala to a crawl. I nod, unable to speak as it feels like my throat closes up. The door opens and Scott and Stiles both run out. Damn Scott and his freaking werewolf hearing. I turn to Sam, my eyes wide as I feel the panic fill me.
       "I don't, I can't, I-" I rush out, stumbling over my words. Sam flips the car into park and turns to me, his face covered in worry.
       "Breathe, Tori. It's okay, they're your friends. It's okay." He says, and I let out a shaky breath, my hands shaking uncontrollably. I clench my hands into fists, before turning and glancing out at Scott and Stiles. Scott's frowning, but Stiles...he looks happy to see me .
      "I can do this." I mutter under my breath. I get out of the car slowly, nodding at the two. Stiles' face immediately breaks into a wide grin and he runs over to me, wrapping me in a big hug.
      "You haven't answered since you guys got pulled over! I thought you died or something." He rants, and I feel myself stiffen when he says 'died'. He pulls back and looks at me, frowning. "What's wrong?" He asks, and I clear my throat, taking a step back.
       "Can we talk inside?" I ask, knowing there's a good chance I'll start to cry and I really don't need Scott's neighbors seeing me cry. Scott nods and I sigh. The sound of a car door shutting makes me whirl around. I raise an eyebrow at Sam.
       "Could I use your bathroom?" He asks, and I groan.
       "You couldn't go to a gas station?" I ask with a huff. He shrugs and follows us into the house. I blink in surprise when we walk in and Melissa is sitting in the living room.
       "Tori?" She says, a wide smile growing on her face. I wave half heartedly and she jumps up from the couch, rushing over and wrapping me in a hug.
       "Hey Mrs. McCall." I say, hugging back. She pulls back and smiles at me, checking me up and down.
       "You've lost weight." She notes and I grimace.
       "Yeah, um, everything just kinda tastes like sand lately." I say quietly, and she frowns, squeezing my arm gently.
       "If you need me, I'm always here for you." She says, and I manage a small smile.
       "Thanks." I say, and she smiles back, going back to the couch. I sigh and turn back to Scott and Stiles, nodding towards the kitchen table. "Sit with me?" I ask, and both boys nod. I sit across from them, bouncing my knee up and down as I try to figure out what to say first. Scott frowns, and reaches across the table, jerking his hand back right after touching my arm.
       "You're hurt." He says, and Stiles' frown deepens. I gnaw on my bottom lip, shrugging.
      "Research shows that emotional pain activates the same regions of the brain as physical pain." I reply quietly.
       "Why-" Stiles starts and I immediately cut him off.
       "I'm leaving." I say, and both boys' eyes widen. "Like, for good. There's nothing for us to do here. Nowhere for us to stay." I add.
       "Why? You said you were gonna come back. Try and finish high school, what changed?" Stiles asks, pushing like I knew he would. I tug on my hair, letting out a breath slowly.
       "I can do home school classes." I counter and Stiles shakes his head.
       "Tori, what-" He starts, but Scott cuts him off.
       "Dean wasn't in the car." Scott says and I wince, immediately wrapping my arms around myself. The room suddenly feels smaller, like the walls are closing in on me. I feel the tears sting my eyes and my breath escape me. I take a minute to steady my breathing before I try to respond.
       "Oddly enough, I didn't think you would notice." I say, laughing bitterly as the tears threaten to fall. Stiles' face falls, and I know he's figured it out. "He um, he didn't, he didn't make it." I stammer, my heart pounding as I try not to panic. I stand up quickly, suddenly wanting nothing more than to run. Run and find somewhere that I can hide and be alone. Somewhere I don't have to think about this. I start for the door, but I'm stopped by Sam, basically blocking the door.
      "Tor-" He starts, but stops when he looks at me. He frowns and opens his arms, and I fall into them, breaking in front of Sam for the first time since the day we buried Dean.
       "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I keep repeating, sobs pushing their way out. I wince when I feel a hand on my head, knowing it's not Sam. I turn and see Melissa gently rubbing my hair. I let go of Sam and attach myself to her, longing to be comforted by a mom, even if she's not mine. I sob onto Melissa for almost ten minutes, nearly forgetting Scott and Stiles. I sniffle, slowly pushing away from her.
       "I'm so sorry honey." She says, and I attempt a smile, but I know it doesn't come out right. I shakily stand up, wincing at the look of pity on Scott's face. I glance at Stiles, slightly taken aback by the look on his face. Not pity, but understanding. It takes me a second, but then I remember. His mom. He knows how hard it is to lose someone you love.
       "I'm sorry. For crying, and that I have to leave." I finally say, looking between Scott and Stiles.
      "Well, you don't have to leave." Melissa says, and I whirl around, looking at her with confusion.
       "What do you mean?" I ask, confused.
       "We have an extra bedroom. It wouldn't bother me at all if you stayed here, Tori. I'd love to let you stay here so you could finish high school." She says and my eyes widen in surprise. I barely glance at Sam before I'm shaking my head rapidly.
       "I couldn't, I can't." I argue.
       "Tor, can I talk to you outside for a minute?" Sam asks. I turn and frown at him, but nod and walk out, ignoring the hopeful looks on both Stiles and Scott's faces.
       "Sam, I can't." I say as soon as the door is shut.
       "Do you remember the fight we had right after you and Dean picked me up from college?" Sam asks. I wince at the mention of Dean, but think back, nodding slowly as I remember it.
      "Vaguely. You said that you just wanted a normal life and I yelled at you because I've never had the chance for a normal life." I say, and he nods.
       "Exactly." He says, and I shake my head, quickly realizing where he's going with this.
       "No." I say, and he sighs.
       "Tori, I can't stop hunting. I can't. But you're only sixteen. You have a chance to try something else, a chance to live a semi-normal life. If you stay here with Scott and his mom, you can finish high school." He says and I stomp my foot in frustration.
       "Damn it, Sam! We only have each other now. And I'm not leaving you." I argue.
       "It'll be just like before." He says, and I frown.
       "What the hell are you talking about?" I ask, growing frustrated.
       "When we first came to Beacon Hills. You occasionally came on hunts, but most of the time it was just me and Dean. But we always came back. We never stayed gone for too long. It'll be just like that. I'm not leaving you and you're not leaving me. It'll be just like before." He promises, and I want to remind him that it can't be. It can never be like before again, because we're down to two Winchesters left. But I don't remind him of that. Instead, I take a minute and just think about that. The chance to finish high school. At a school. In a town where I have friends.
      "You promise you won't just forget about me? And if I say enough is enough and I'm coming back with you, you'll let me?" I ask, and Sam nods.
       "I promise, Tori." He says. I throw my arms around him, not wanting to let go.
      "Promise you won't get yourself killed, because then I'm gonna have to follow you and beat the hell out of you." I warn him, and I feel him shake a little as he chuckles.
       "I promise." He says, and I nod, relaxing more into the hug. I step back and clear my throat, nodding to the Impala.
       "Help me carry my stuff?" I ask with a small smile. He nods, and I try to ignore the lump in my throat as we carry my bags into the house that I'll be staying in without Sam.
       "You're staying?" Melissa asks as I walk in. I nod slowly.
       "If it's really okay." I say, and she rushes to me, wrapping me in a big hug.
       "Of course it's okay." She says, kissing the top of my head before stepping back and taking my bag. "Scott, take her stuff up to her room." She directs, and Scott grins before taking my stuff from Sam and rushing up the stairs.
       "Thank you, Mrs. McCall, for letting Tori stay here." Sam says, and Melissa grins.
       "It's no problem. She kinda grew on me. You're also welcome to stay, if you want. But I figured you had some supernatural stuff to do." Melissa says, and Sam nods.
       "Works never done." He says with a tight smile. He wraps me in another hug, and I try to ignore the finality of it. It feels wrong, separating after Dean died. But I want to go to high school. I want to do something to make Dean proud.
       "See ya later, asshole." I say, walking Sam to the porch. He grins and gives me a little salute before heading towards the Impala.
       "Later, jerk." He calls out, climbing in the car and speeding away. I instantly feel colder, the numbness threatening to take over again.
       "I was thinking, pizza and a movie with the boys. How does that sound?" Melissa asks, gently laying a hand on my shoulder. I turn to her and nod, managing a small smile.
       "Sounds great." I say, following her into the house. I make eye contact with Stiles and nod at him. A small smile creeps its way onto his face and he walks over to me, grabbing my hand and gently squeezing it before letting go.
       "What are the odds we convince Melissa to let us watch a Star Wars movie?" He asks, and I laugh in surprise, not at all expecting that. I shake my head, laughing again.
       "I'd say pretty slim. Especially since I'm not backing you up on it." I say and his jaw drops in shock.
       "You don't wanna watch Star Wars?" He asks, looking betrayed. I shake my head.
       "Not at all, Stilinski." I say.
       "Traitor." He huffs, and I smirk.
       "You know you love me." I say without thinking.
       "Yeah, I-" He freezes and I raise an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. "That's not fair. I'm pretty sure that was a setup." He says and I shrug.
       "To be fair, everyone loves me. I'm a loveable person." I say and he snorts.
       "Yeah, okay." He says, and I just roll my eyes as he starts arguing with Scott over who's more loveable. I'm not okay, and I know I won't be for a while. Losing my big brother wasn't easy, it wasn't something that should have happened. Not for a long time, anyway. But standing here, in a kitchen with three other people laughing and joking, I know that it can be better. I don't have to move on and forget Dean, or forget how important he still is to me. But I can move forward, I will move forward. Because Dean would want me to. 

End of Book Two

***
And Secrets in the Hunt is complete! The third book will be out in the coming weeks, but I'm probably going to take a small break until after the 4th of July because I have a ton of assignments due around that time. Also, I'm going to be entering this into the Watty's! It barely made the cutoff date for the new rules (for when it was started), but it made it so here we go! Thank you all for coming on this journey with me, I can't wait to continue Tori's story in.....Leaving The Hunt! Season 3A and 3B of Teen Wolf will be in that book, but on the Supernatural side of things, it will focus on the stretch of time between seasons 3 and 4. As always, please comment and vote, I love hearing from you guys!