Monsters | Stiles Stilinski

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟔𝟎

SIXTEEN HOURS.

Sixteen hours had passed since Stiles, Scott and Allison had sacrificed themselves to find their parents. It was quite possibly the worst sixteen hours of my life. I was a mess.

I didn't dare leave the animal clinic incase something happened. I didn't want to leave the treatment room, I had to stay close so I could continue to minor the exceptionally slow heart beat that belonged to Stiles. It had taken his heart seventeen seconds to start beating again once I'd held him under and I'd held my breath the entire time. Those seconds felt like years — it was a type of fear I'd never experienced before.

I was exhausted and so was Lydia, Issac and Deaton. We'd spent the past sixteen hours staring at the three tubs, occasionally walking past them ever so slowly. We'd seen every hour of the night and the day that followed. In fact, I was sick to death of staring at the clock but I couldn't not check the time every two minutes.

I was torturing myself but I couldn't stop. I couldn't put the anxiety at bay no matter how hard I tried — it was so overpowering. I tried everything but I couldn't even sleep. I'd been awake for almost twenty-four hours and I was starting to feel ill. My hands had been shaking since one o'clock this afternoon though Deaton told me that was most likely down to the fact I hadn't eaten in roughly two days.

I didn't think he was right at first until I realised the recital was two days ago. I'd spent the majority of Thursday unconscious here and today staring at the walls. I hadn't eaten since lunch time at school on Wednesday though it didn't feel like it was that long ago. My days were all merging into one, my mind was a mess. I was surprised I could still string coherent thoughts together — though the coherent part was debatable.

I had little to no fingernails left from chewing them down as far as I could and once I realised I couldn't go any further I began gnawing at the skin on my lips. They stung and I could feel how they'd split as I ran my tongue across them but I couldn't stop. I wanted to .. but I couldn't.

Opposite me, Lydia sat on the floor as she leaned against the wall and her eyes were closed as she tried to acquire some sleep though it ended in failure. She groaned tiredly under her breath as she brought her hand to her face, rubbing her eyes before she glanced up to me. I tried to give her a faint smile but my lips just would not move.

"What time is it?" She asked me as she stretched her arms above her head.

"Just after eight." I responded monotonous, "Looked a minute ago."

She sighed as she glanced over to the tubs fleetingly before she met my gaze again, "Is it supposed to take this long?"

I shrugged as I drew my knees into my chest, "I have no idea." Was my reply, "I wouldn't of thought so."

"I'm worried." Lydia said honestly, "What's taking so long?"

"I don't know, Lyd." I sighed, "The only thing comforting me at the moment is Stiles' slow heart rate."

She didn't reply straight away and when I looked to her I saw her eyes fixated on the middle tub — the one he was lying in. I wasn't sure what she was thinking, her expression was unreadable but her sudden silence intrigued me. I thought I detected a flicker of admiration in her eyes but it passed too quickly for me to see.

Lydia turned back to me and she gave me a pressed smile, "I didn't know what you saw in him at first, you know?" She said to me honestly, "Not in a mean way, or anything, just because I didn't know him. I did think he was a bit weird though — I still do sometimes to be honest." She chucked.

A short, breathy, chuckle passed through my lips and I nodded, "Me too."

"I didn't know if he was right for you but once I got to know him I saw how perfect he was for you, Alex. I don't think I've ever seen someone love another person as much as he loves you." She continued honestly, "And when that whole thing with his friend happened I was so angry with him and I told him that as well. That was the night the told us he loves you and I swore to him if he ever hurt you like that again I'd make sure he'd regret it."