hold me closer

26

Stiles grabbed Theo's collar and shoved him against the cage. "You don't know anything."

Theo pushed him against the cage and I rushed over, taking a hold of his arm.

"I know everything," he said. "I was there. Malia found the book. She was texting us to see where you were. She said she left you at the library. I told her I was close. When I got there, I heard the scaffolding come down. I saw Lucy head in."

"You saw him?" Stiles asked.

"Just the body," Theo said.

"Let go," I told them, stern. "Both of you."

Stiles put his hands down and Theo took his hands off and took a step back saying, "I watched you guys come out. I was gonna say something, but then I saw the cop car. And the body was gone. I don't know who took him. I only saw what you guys saw and I didn't say anything because you didn't."

There was a siren nearby.

"That's not an ambulance, is it?" Theo questioned. "We should get out of here."

"We can't just leave him," Stiles said.

"Whoever's taking the bodies will take him, Stiles," I told him.

"Yeah? Well, will whoever's gonna take him come before the police?" Stiles challenged.

"Let's take him," Theo said. "Lucy's right. Someone will take the body. Here's our chance to find out who."

"He's right," I spoke. "Stiles."

"How are you so okay with this?" Stiles asked me and he looked at Theo. "He killed him."

"In self-defense," Theo defended. "He was gonna kill all of us."

"Stiles, if they come, we either have to tell the truth - the whole truth - or we're gonna need a pretty convincing story," I reasoned. "Besides, your dad will have to announce to the town about supernatural creatures. There's already too much stress on him - the whole sheriff's station, and that's because of what we did when we woke the nemeton."

Stiles sighed and went to the body. I grabbed my bo staff and we got out of the hospital. They put the body in the back of my car, which was disgusting, by the way.

I followed Stiles's jeep and we set the body at the animal clinic. We called Scott, telling him to meet us. Before he got here, I cleaned the blades of my staff. When Scott arrived at the animal clinic, Stiles pulled back the cover to show his face.

"Did you know him?"

"His name's Josh," Scott said. "He was a junior. Which one did it? The one with the cane?"

"Yeah," Theo said.

"What are we gonna do with him?" Stiles asked. "We can't just set the alarm and leave. That's how Tracy disappeared. All right, someone's got to stay here with him."

"I'll do it," Theo volunteered. "It's not like I had a big Saturday night planned."

Scott took his phone out once it made the buzzing noise.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Another one," he said. "Another chimera."

"Go," I told them. "Theo and I will stay."

"Text us if anything happens," Stiles said and he eyed Theo before he left after Scott.

"You know," Theo began, walking towards me. "Stiles posed a good question. How are you okay with this?"

"I've seen a lot of death," I answered. "As you already saw."

"But you've never killed anyone," he said. "I mean, you're helping hide murders... that were committed in self-defense."