Ashes

Chapter Twenty Nine

Warning: Mentions of child abuse

Chapter Twenty Nine

Mac's POV

"My mom's book club usually has more wine," Lydia said.

"Well, they also probably didn't read books that cause violent hallucinations," Stiles replied sarcastically. We were currently standing in Scott and Isaac's livingroom. The pack minus Liam was here. Somehow Theo ended up getting invited to read along. Dr. Valack told Stiles and Lydia that we had to read the book to figure out if we saw the dread doctors. This was not something I was looking forward to. On top of that, we had more chimeras running around. 8 new holes had popped up on the lacrosse field.

"That's why Malia's here," Scott said. I looked at Malia who gave a tense smile. Malia is the only one of us who had finished the book. After she did, she almost got ran over by a car.

"So none of us go running into traffic?" Kira asked.

"Or worse," Scott said. 

"Like what happened to Judy," Malia said. We looked at her confused. "Chapter 14."

"Maybe I should have my mother read it," Lydia said, picking up one of the copies on the table. "She might remember a girl with a tail leaping off the ceiling and attacking everyone."

"Yeah, if it works," Stiles says.

"It has to," Lydia said. 

"What's that mean?" Scott asked. 

"I think I saw them during my surgery." She said. "When I look at the cover of the book. It's almost like..."

"A memory trying to surface." Theo finished her thought.

"Yeah." She confirmed. 

"Isn't that what Valack wanted when he wrote it?" I asked.

"If they did something to me, I want to know what it is," Lydia said, walking off with her copy. I sighed and picked up one, going to sit on the stairs. Here goes nothing. I started reading the pages.

Hours had passed and nothing seemed to happen, except my eyes becoming heavy. I moved off the stairs to the living room. Everyone else seemed to congregate there. I sat on the floor in front of Isaac's chair. Everyone but Kira, who was already asleep in one of the bedrooms, looked just as exhausted.

"I'm so tired," I said.

"Me too," Lydia muttered. I went back to reading. I read a few more pages before glancing at my phone. It was almost 3 am. I marked my page and leaned against Isaac's leg. I'll finish this in the morning. I need sleep.

~

The next day during my free period, I was walking in the parking lot toward the lacrosse field. Brett was here and we were going to have lunch together. I heard a car door slam and it rang in my ear. It froze me in my steps. I felt my legs give out and I hit the concrete under me.

The next thing I knew I was no longer at Beacon Hills High. Hell, at this point I don't even think I was in California. I looked around and could see the Washington Monument in the distance. Yeah, definitely not in California anymore. I heard a car door slam, looked to my left, and there I was. Well, the 10-year-old version of me. I sat in the backseat of my mom's car. We were parked in some empty parking lot. My dad was also there. They stood outside the car yelling, arguing with each other. I don't remember this. I knew this had to be the lost memory. I blinked and I was no longer watching from the sidelines, but I was back in that moment, watching from my place in the backseat.