The Monsters Inside and Out (Scott Howl x Depressed Reader)

154. Waking Up

Your eyes start to slowly flutter open as you regain consciousness. The room is quiet, but not completely silent. The sound of an air conditioner whirs in the room, and a heart monitor is beeping along with the rhythm of your heart. As you sit, you start to hear light snoring. You look down and see Scott, sitting next to the hospital bed, hunched over, leaning on your bed next to your lap, using his crossed arms as a pillow. He has a black eye, a bruise on his chin, and a bandage on his nose. You place your hand on his head and begin scratching behind his ear. He smiles and his tail starts wagging as he continues to sleep. You lean back in bed and think about the words that have been spoken to you as you wait for time to pass.

Hours later, you wake up again, not even realizing you fell back asleep. You look down at where Scott was, only to see he's not there. You sit alone for a few minutes when you hear a flush in the nearby room. The door opens, and Scott comes out in his grey hoodie and shorts, with a paper towel in his hands, drying them off. He looks up at you, and you both lock eyes. You expect to see him smile and lunge at you, but he instead starts to cry. Strangely enough, this makes you smile. You ask, "What's wrong, babe?" He walks over to you and wraps his arms around you, sniffling as he cries quietly. He says, "I-I thought... I just... I was so scared... I thought... I lost you..." You hug him back. He continues, "I felt like I was never gonna see you again, and I wasn't ready! I just lost Mawmaw, I can't lose you!" He cries for a few more minutes, and you eventually say, "Well it's okay now. I'm here. I'm not going away." Scott says, "The doctors said that you started getting cuts all over your body because of some extremely stress-inducing emotions. They said that since you used to cut yourself, that manifested into the injuries you acquired. I'm not sure what all that fancy stuff means, but I knew you were in pain..."

You gently push him away from you to get a look at his face. You caress his face with your thumb, being extra careful as you rub his injuries. You ask, "Are you okay?" He puts his hand on top of yours, "Yeah, I'm okay. Your mom was trying to get to you, but I wouldn't let her. No matter how much she hurt me." You feel your heart beating faster. You ask, "Where is she?" He looks off to the side. "Since she was causing a scene, the nurses had to call security to take care of her. I don't know where she is now." You nod your head, "What about the others?" He smiles lightly, "They went home. After security got your mom out, the nurses said we should all go home after such an eventful night. I didn't want to leave though. It took everyone some convincing, but they let me stay. Oh yeah, I'm supposed to tell them if you woke up. You have to talk to the police about what happened." You nod your head again in understanding.

You continue caressing his face when you accidentally push too hard on his bruise, causing him to wince in pain and pull back. "Oh! I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" He nods his head, and you ask, "Do you want me to heal you? I could probably muster enough strength to do it." He says, "No, it's okay. I don't want you to work yourself too hard. Besides, Damien says I look badass!" He chuckles. You chuckle with him, but then ask, "Damien? He was here?" After Scott stops laughing, he replies, "Yeah... He brought me a change of clothes so I didn't stay in my tux for much longer. I may look good in it, but it's uncomfortable. Plus, this is much better for hugging you!" He hugs you again, tighter this time, making sure you rub your face against his soft hoodie. He chuckles again and releases you. He also says, "He wanted me to apologize for him. He had some of the punch, and he was out of his mind by the time he got to you." You sigh sadly, "It's okay... I'm glad he did it." Scott looks confused, "What do you mean?" You look off to the side and hold your hand out. He takes the hint and grabs it, caressing it gently with his thumb as you begin your story.

"You know how I have dreams of my past? I had another one. In it, I watched my mom... Kill my brother. It all happened so fast. I watched her prepare for it, and she went and lured him into her room, and she... She pinned it all on my father." Your hands begin to shake and you cover your eyes with them. Scott asks, "How did she even do that?" "I don't know! I just... I want to get away from her... I..." Scott shushes you and brings you in for another hug. You accept the offer and hug him tightly. He rests his hand on the back of your head, petting it. He says, "You don't have to worry about her anymore. We can get you away. Vera has all your stuff, right? And Damien's dads said you can stay with them, right? Then problem solved! We don't have to worry about it anymore. You can live with Damien, and we'll always be by your side! I mean, you could always live with me, too." "As nice of an offer that sounds, I don't think I could. The Wolfpack is already working hard to support you and the little ones, I couldn't live with myself if I gave them another mouth to feed. Damien's dads have a deep connection with me too, I'm sure they would be more than happy to accept me." Scott smiles, "That's true. And I guess maybe it's a bit too soon to move in together... But make sure we have plenty of sleepovers, okay? Maybe I can stay over, and we can finally take up Brian's offer on that fourway~" You laugh and push Scott's face away, "Shut up... At least wait until I'm out of here to be all horny. Speaking of, you should probably get the nurses. I want to see how long until I can finally get out of here." Scott laughs too, and he stands up. He gently pats your head, "Anything for you. I love you, (Y/N)." He leans down and kisses you on the forehead. You blush and smile, "I love you too."