Monster ~ Jackson Whittemore [Book 1]

Break Down and Drunk Dials

Darren glanced over at his sister, watching as she stared blankly at her phone as it rang. They'd been watching the Marvel movies they'd never gotten the chance to see after the little 'incident' at the movie store. With his sister being locked in a school with a serial killer, Darren hadn't really wanted to spend much time away from the girl. He'd stayed glued to his sister's side the past couple of days, afraid of what might happen if she was left alone for too long. Even the strongest people can break and no matter how strong his big sister always pretended to be, Darren knew that she was a wreck.

When she first came back after being trapped in the school, Maya had played it off like nothing was wrong. She feigned normalcy for their Dads, fighting off their worries with reassurances that nothing was wrong and that she'd be fine. But as soon as they left for work, things had gone downhill.

Loud crashes could be heard from Maya's room, followed by screams punctuated with sobs. Darren walked out into the hallway, staring at the closed door to his older sister's bedroom. More sobs could be heard followed by what sounded like breaking glass. With a sigh, he moved over to the door and softly tapped on it to get Maya's attention.

"Go away Dare, I'm fine." It was impossible not to hear the waver in her voice, he knew she was crying. 

Ignoring Maya's protest, Darren opened the door and walked in. The room was a wreck, not the normal immaculate setup Maya always had. Books were littered across the carpet, having been thrown across the room in a fit of rage. Feathers coated the bed, a torn pillow resting atop the carnage.

"I told you to go away!" Maya's face was red and blotchy from crying, tears staining her cheeks. She threw the pillow she was about to rip in half at her little brother, but he just caught it and sat on the bed. 

Setting the pillow back in its place on Maya's bed, Darren stared at his sister. Her shoulders shook as she tried to hold back her tears in front of him. That's how Maya always was, trying to shield her little brother from the fact that she wasn't always strong. It was her job to look after him, to protect him. How could she do that if she was weak?

Trying to lighten the dark mood in the room, Darren let out a quiet laugh. "Don't you remember, I don't listen."

"God you're such a twerp." Despite her effort tears still leaked out and trailed down her face, falling to the carpet beneath her. 

With a sad smile, Darren got off the bed and sat down next to his sister. "And you're an idiot." At  the offended look on Maya's face, he knew he got her attention. "Why are you pretending to be fine because clearly you're not. Stop lying to yourself Maya!" She winced and avoided her baby brother's hard gaze. Siblings knew you almost as well as you knew yourself, lying to them was like trying to lie on a polygraph machine. "Do you know how many times you've almost died? Twice! It's okay to fall apart after something like that, you don't have to pretend that everything is okay Maya."

"I didn't want you to see me like this, weak and pathetic. I'm your big sister Darren, I'm not supposed to be breaking because I've got to be strong for you and Dads!"

"No you don't! Honestly Maya, you need to break down and let it out because it's not healthy to keep it buried. Look at what happens when you try to hide it." Darren gestured around the wreckage of the once tidy room. "When you have people who love you, they'll be there to build you back up because that's what family does. Family sticks around and makes sure you don't lose yourself...We're here to pick up the pieces. I'm always going to be here to make sure you don't fall apart."

Sobs wracked her body as Maya clung onto her brother, soaking his shirt with her tears. They didn't have many mushy family moments, but no matter what they'd always be there for each other because they were family. Blood wasn't necessary for them to know that they'd always have each others backs. 

The phone rang again, catching Darren's attention. "You gonna answer that or just keep staring at it like it's going to bite you?"

"It's Stiles..." Maya glanced down at the screen again, the batman logo lighting up the glass. 

Rolling his eyes, Darren paused the movie in annoyance. "Answer it so he stops calling, I'd really like to watch Captain America uninterrupted and the Batman theme song playing every other second is getting on my nerves."

Huffing, Maya hit the accept button and held the phone up to her ear. At first the only sound she could hear was muffled voices, which made her tempted to hang up since she wasn't on speaking terms with Scott and Stiles. But before she could end the call, she heard Stiles shout her name.

"Maya? Maya! Scott, Maya picked up!" 

It was slightly hard for Maya to understand him, his speech sounding slurred. "Are you drunk?"

"As a skunk."

Darren laughed once he saw how pissed Maya looked, assuming that Stiles had agreed with what she'd asked. The female sent him a glare, not appreciating the humor he found in the situation.

"Scott didn't want me to call you since he knows you're pissed at us. But I know that somewhere in all of the bitchiness, you still love us." His voice cut out for a second, it sounded as if he was trying to fight someone for the phone. "No Scott, give it back! I wanna talk to Maya. Hah! I totally got it back from him May, superhuman reflexes are no match for Batman!"

Maya narrowed her eyes at what she just heard, "What did you just say?"

"Scott's being such a sour wolf  Maya, he won't let me have any fun. I think it's just because there's a full mo-"

"Stiles!"

There was a loud noise that sounded like Stiles' phone hitting the ground. She could her shouting on the other end of the line, definitely Scott and Stiles, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. Suddenly the line went dead leaving Maya more confused than before. Superhuman reflexes, wolf, full moon? Stiles may have been drunk, but those seemed like weird details even for him.

"So what did Stiles want?" Darren asked.

"He was drunk, it wasn't anything important." But as she told him that, Maya was pulling up  Google on her phone. Typing in the five words, she hit search even though she knew exactly what would show up. Her brain flashed back to the joke Stiles had made that night in the woods.

Scott can't be a werewolf, they don't exist. Maya mentally scolded herself for even thinking about the possibility. Yet she wondered why Scott had such a bad reaction to Stiles mentioning those things...maybe he's just an angry drunk. Not wanting to have her night ruined by her problems with her friends, Maya purged any thought of Scott or Stiles and smiled over at Darren. "Play the movie twerp."

......................

I got inspired to write a little sibling moment between Maya and Darren because I haven't really shared too much of their relationship. I figured after two near-death experiences, Maya needed to have a little bit of a heart to heart.