Argentine | Stiles Stilinski (Book 1)

Chapter Fifty-One: Hell is Murky

My eyes fluttered open and I slowly started to sit up, struggling a little. After a moment, I realised that I was in a room, my room. The door opened and a pair of arms wrapped tightly around me. I winced a little and pushed them away.

'Thank God you're awake, it's been days,' Isaac grinned, still weary and strained despite his relief.

I looked at him, then at Chris. 'What happened?'

'You don't remember?'

I frowned, trying to think back to the last thing I remembered. 'He's gone, isn't he?'

Isaac nodded, 'Yeah, gone for good.'

'Where's Allison?'

There was silence.

'Uncle Chris, where is she? Is she okay?'

Both of them went pale. 'Um... Ariana,' Chris sat next to me and held my hands in his. 'S-she's gone.'

I tilted my head slightly in confusion, 'W-what do you mean "gone"? Where is she? Where's Allie?'

A memory suddenly forced its way into my mind:

I looked at Allison curiously, seeing her aim an arrow at one of the oni. It whistled through the air, striking it in the chest. Its sword clattered to the ground, a green light shining through the wound before it erupted in a cloud of black smoke. I gasped in shock, she actually managed to kill an oni. Her triumph wasn't long, though, as a sword was plunged through her.

I gasped, pulling away from them and curling up with my hands over my head as I began to sob uncontrollably. 'S-she's... dead. She's dead and I killed her.'

'You didn't kill her.' Chris desperately tried to hide the pain in his voice as he reached out to touch me.

I cowered away from him, 'But I watched. I watched and I left and I helped H...him. I helped him. It should have been me.'

Isaac shuffled closer to me with fear in his eyes, 'Don't say that. You're my best friend, if you died too... I don't think I'd be able to do any of this. I need you, I love you.' He wrapped his arms tightly around me and held me as I cried.

I looked up at Chris, 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.'

'Don't apologise, I'm just glad that you're back with us,' he smiled, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

After a while, I sat up and wiped my tears away. 'Is Stiles okay?'

Isaac nodded, 'Yeah. He, uh, actually visited you a couple of times. If you want, I can call and ask for him to come over-'

'No,' I noticed the confused look on his face, 'I... I think it's better if I don't see him. I'm not what he needs at the moment. I don't even know if I'm what this town needs at the moment.'

Chris nodded silently. 'If you really don't want to be here, Isaac and I discussed leaving town. We have a house in France that we could go to,' he offered gently.

'Yes, that would be... Good.'

——————

Before we left, I sent Stiles a text. I explained that I had to leave and that he'd be better off with me out of the picture. I knew that it was cruel, but he deserved so much better. He deserved someone stronger.

We spent a whole month in France. Unfortunately, I couldn't enjoy it. Recovering from what Void did to me took a very long time, I wasn't sure if I'd ever fully recover.

Of course, I hadn't told them everything that happened, I couldn't forgive myself for some of the things that I did. I had learnt from my grandfather that it was possible to hate a family member, it probably would be the same for me if they knew.

I had become the one thing that I had spent years promising not to become, a monster. The scars I had received had healed, but it still felt like they were there. I had tried to hide it, but they found out about that.

It didn't even take a big confession, just a slip up. Isaac had mentioned that he was hungry and I immediately held up my arm for him. It had become an instinct, as if everything I had been was chipped away until I was just a prop, a prop used for food or bait or... things that I couldn't even repeat. 

After a while, I had begun to improve. I could walk, I could eat, I could sleep, I even smiled a few times. Allison's death had taken a toll on all of us, but it had brought us even closer together. Chris had somehow convinced me to go back to Beacon Hills. He still had some business in France and Isaac had really settled in there, so I would be living alone in a  new apartment.

——————

Once I had finished unpacking, the doorbell rang. I frowned, 'Hello? I literally ordered the pizza a second ago, so whoever you...' I trailed off as soon as I opened it and realised who it was.

'Hey, Wolfie,' Stiles said quietly, the ghost of a smile flitting across his face as he saw me.

'You, um, you look... good,' he scratched his temple awkwardly as I closed the door behind him, 'Are you, you know... good?'

I stared at him in silence for a moment, 'I'm sorry that I didn't tell you that I was leaving to your face. Breaking up over text is pretty brutal.'

He frowned, 'That was a break up text? Sorry. I, um, thought we were just taking a break. Or at least I'd hoped.'

I chuckled slightly, 'I didn't want to leave, but after what happened, after what I did-'

'How can you seriously be blaming this on yourself?' he sighed in exasperation, 'I let him take over my body, I ordered the oni to kill Allison and Aiden, I let him control you... the list goes on. I remember everything I did, everyone I killed, every single time I abused and manipulated and violated you. None of this was your fault. I have hated myself for a whole month because I let you leave, I let you blame everything on yourself because I was too scared to admit that I love you!'

My eyes widened at his confession, 'W-what did you just say?'

His shoulders slumped in defeat, 'I said that I love you. I've known for a while, I just... I just didn't know how to say it.'

'I love you too.'

He frowned, 'What?'

'I love you too, Stiles,' I admitted with a small smile. He grinned, pulling me into a tight hug. His lips crashed into mine and I sighed into his touch. My arms wrapped around his neck as he deepened the kiss, pulling him closer.

When we pulled away, I looked up at him and gasped in fear, backing away from him. I tripped over my own feet and fell to the ground with a loud thud, staring up at him with a look of pure terror.

His skin had suddenly become pale and his bloodshot eyes were surrounded by dark circles. 'Ari?' he called, his voice both taunting and anxious.

'D-dont touch me! Don't...' I paused, examining his face. He'd gone back to normal, it wasn't real.

He crouched next to me, slowly reaching towards me. 'Can I hug you?' I nodded tentatively, immediately moving closer as he slowly wrapped his arms around me.

'Sorry, I thought I saw-'

'He's gone, he's not coming back. I'm here now, it'll be okay.'

We sat on the floor for a few minutes, until the doorbell rang. I sighed, 'That'll be the pizza.'

I chuckled, feeling him sit up straight. 'How about you sit on the couch and pick a movie while I get the pizza?' he offered.

I nodded, 'There's ice cream in the freezer, by the way.'

'God, I love you,' he kissed my cheek before running to the door.

'Star Wars?' he asked, grinning as he slumped down next to me on the couch, pulling me into a hug and wrapping a blanket around us.

'Thought it would be nice.'

He shook his head, 'This isn't just nice... it's perfect. Everything's perfect again.'