Unspoken ▹ Teen Wolf [01]

01.

"Excuse me?" Were the only two words Rachel could manage to form as she stared at her brother in both shock & anger. She couldn't even begin to comprehend, let alone believe what he'd just revealed. "You're making me go to school? Public high school?"

Disgust was laced in her tone, and Rachel was surprised the words themselves hadn't caused her to instantaneously vomit. Whilst living far from the town of damnation, Laura had homeschooled Rachel to the best of her abilities, leaving the young Hale very unacquainted with the average teen lifestyle.

She'd easily mastered the art of laziness, but regular human interaction wasn't her strongest subject. While lacking the canine appearance, she made up for it in her personality. Short tempered, sarcastic, hostile & violent. An exact replica of her twin sister Cora, who'd perished within the fire alongside many other Hales.

"You're sixteen, Rachel." Derek answered casually, taking the magazine from her hands & tossing it on the smoke-stained coffee table. "You need an education."

"What will that get me? I don't need a job." Rachel laughed quietly, reaching for her magazine. Before she could get it, Derek flung it across the room, earning a growl from the lazy brunette.

"If you think you're living here forever, you're out of your mind."

"You see this?" Rachel sat up, waving her hands in front of her face. "It's a pretty face, and Der, you of all people should know that it'll get me everything I need."

"You're going, Rachel. I'll drag you there if I have to." The older Hale stated, taking the mug of coffee off the table & heading towards the door. "I'll be in the car."

Rachel took that as her cue to pull her lazy ass off the ash-coated couch & practically crawl up the creaky old stairs. Her single suitcase had been stored on the non-burned side of the house, in the room once shared between herself & Cora.

Stepping into the faded purple room sent a pang of sadness through her chest, one that was quickly forced to the darkest depths of her heart as Rachel blinked back tears. Her twin was dead & gone. Her other half, reduced to nothing but ash. Rachel wondered momentarily what it'd been like. She wasn't there to see it, but by the horrific recounts she'd picked up pretty fast that the death wasn't slow. The few partial witnesses had emphasized of the spine-chilling screams of her trapped family members as they slowly burned to death, unable to escape the fiery flames.

The young Hale shook faintly, her hands running over her bare arms as goosebumps began to appear. Before they could fully form, Rachel slung on a black leather jacket over her fitted grey t-shirt. Her outfit wasn't entirely suitable for a first day back, but it fit perfectly to her mood; careless. She left her brown hair down, the loose curls she'd done last night nearly gone. A golden half-moon charm hung around her neck, hidden underneath her t-shirt. Rachel never took it off, no matter what; it was a gift from her mother.

The brunette dug through various drawers & cabinets, attempting to salvage the supplies left from her elementary school days. Her black bucket bag had been turned into a backpack, replacing the pink flowery one that no longer fit on her shoulders. Out of all the aged & smoke damaged supplies, Rachel had ended up with a few folders, a package of paper, a possibly mouldy binder & a Hannah Montana pencil.

She was pretty sure that'd been Cora's.

With her supplies stocked up, Rachel hooked the bag over her shoulder & headed back downstairs. One last look at the old house & she was outside, the door remaining unlocked as always. Nobody would dare invade the home, especially not with the infamous Hale siblings back with vengeance.