Agony (Sequel to Hunger)

Chapter Eighteen

A/N: Sorry it's late at night, but I had Driver's Education (aka Hell) and didn't have time to finsish the chapter. It's a little short, but I hope it's alright!

Derek

Waiting here in this poorly lit room with ten other people all drowning in tears or worry was killing me. Watching Stiles pace back and fourth, his shoes slapping the tiled floor, was hard. After what had just happened especially, Stiles couldn't calm down. His heart was racing and it wasn't slowing anytime soon. He was worried about Lydia, trying to process the information about Colin, and he was probably tired. What he needed was to sit down, but that wasn't going to happen. 

It had been two hours since Stiles last talked to a doctor, and he told Stiles Lydia would be out of surgery within the hour. That was a lie, obviously, since she was still in that room. This had Stiles even more stressed out because he thought something bad must have come up. I chose not to believe that. I needed Lydia to be okay. 

Finally, one of the doctors stepped out into the hallway, a nervous smile on his lips. I didn't like how my mind was planning out this conversation, so I pushed my thoughts away and got up to join some of the others who were waiting for the man to talk. "How is she?" Stiles aske hopefully, biting at his fingernails. "Is she okay?"

The doctor took a deep breath, his eyes flickering to the ceiling and back to the floor. "She's alive," he shared. Everyone breathed out in relief except for me. There was a but coming next. "But she's in a coma," he finished. I knew something was wrong the second he stepped into the hall. I was focused on Stiles' heart beat. It was speeding up, even more so than earlier. I placed a hand on his shoulder and it only slowed a little. 

"When will she wake up? Soon?" Kara asked, her voice trembling. I couldn't see her face from where I stood, but I could hear her crying. 

The doctor ran a hand through his white hair and looked to the left as he sighed. "We're not sure. It may be days, weeks, months. Or she may never wake up. It's all up to Lydia." He swallowed hard as the circle of people around him seemed to shrink inwards, as if they blamed him for this. It was actually my fault. I went after Stiles. Lydia was just trying to save us. "I'm very sorry," he said quickly, wiggling his way out of the crowd. "You can see her in ten minutes, after we move her back to her room."

The doctor disappeared through the door again, leaving us to process the news. Stiles stepped away from everyone else, eyes glued to his shoes as his back hit the wall. He wasn't the only one suffering right now, but he was the one I cared about most. I tried to comfort him, but he just pushed me away. "Derek, leave me alone, please," he whispered, ducking underneath my arm. I didn't want to let him wander off by himself, but I knew if I didn't, he would get angry with me. 

"Should I-" Kara started, but I shook my head and she cut off her sentence with a nod. She didn't need to go after him either. He wanted to be alone, so I was letting him. "Is he okay?" she asked, looking up at me with worry all over her face. She feared for Lydia's life just as much as Stiles did, but she also worried about Stiles over her own grief. 

"No," I replied, running my hand over the back of my neck. "He's far from it. A lot is going on. Any normal person would be running far away from this."