Back Again » Peter Hale

06

agathokakological

(adj.) composed of both good and evil

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Andrea was dressed in a leather jacket, tank top and shorts, really short shorts. Her long legs being only somewhat covered by combat boots that crunched loudly against the bullets haphazardly scattered across the ground. "How'd you find me?"

"No questions right now, just get your finger back on."

Peter scrambled to the floor once she unchained him, the digit fusing back together, the skin already beginning to stitch itself back together.

Derek rubbed his hands against his wrists, still looking at the woman in wonder, she'd gotten older but she still looked beautiful. "We aren't leaving without it."

"Without what?" Andrea retorts, her blue eyes darting back to the werewolf.

He didn't answer, only pulling on his stolen shirt and retrieving his cell phone, Derek led the way upstairs the blonde and her old lover trailing behind.

Bodies loitered the ground, people she killed and some immobilized giving the trio time to escape without being stopped further. In the corner of the room, covered with a dusty old blanket was a large box that the Hale's seemed to gravitate to.

Derek's hand reached forward to open it only to be shocked away from it, whatever encasing it clearly meant to keep any of the supernatural out. "It's made from a Rowan tree," Peter informed with a smirk growing on his dirty face, sweat and blood from his days of torture still present. "It's mountain ash wood."

Using the butt of her gun, Andrea broke the lock and lifted the chest revealed a large pile of dark black dust.

"Pure mountain ash."

"Someone really doesn't want your hands in here." Digging aimlessly into the chest full of supernatural repellent, Andrea Miller cautiously moved her fingers around until they connected with another box, it was smaller and had carvings on it.

Lifting it out revealed exactly what, a simple cylinder wooden box with the Hale's signature insignia, the Triskelion. "This? You risked your lives and a finger for a box?"

Derek didn't respond immediately, only reaching forward to take the item and prepare himself to leave the home that he felt he'd greatly overstayed his non-existent welcome to.

Didn't take much longer that half an hour to get dressed and leave, Derek speeding away in his car after ripping the boot off the tire. Peter lagged behind, his injured hand cradled to his chest protectively. "Can I️ grab a ride?"

"You already know I'm going to give you one or else you wouldn't have allowed Derek to drive away without you."

Peter pursed his lips, feeling awkward about feeling embarrassed that she'd spoken so bluntly. "I️ suppose that's true." The passenger seat was his free pass, one to silently stare at her, taking in her hair that she let grow longer and seemingly unruly but maybe she'd purposely styled it that way. Her eyes were still that same shade of blue that made his heart skip a beat when they met his own.

"You're staring."

"I️ know, I️ can't help it. I'm trying to take it all in before you randomly disappear on me again, yanking my hypothetical chain when you decide that we can meet again."

Andrea's grip on the steering wheel tightened significantly, her skin of her knuckles straining against the pressure. "You speak like you believe that I don't want to see you all of the time."

"Do you?"

His heartbeat jumped at his own question, the blue eyes satan-in-a-v-neck staring his former lover down, waiting patiently for her answer. Peter needed her response desperately, he needed the protective security blanket of her wrapped around his whole body so he knew what was happening, where they stood—if they still stood at all.

"Of course I do, there's nothing more I'd rather
do with my time but I can't do that."

"Why not? Is someone threatening you?"

Andrea clammed up, her hands tightening on the wheel as she turned it, her jaw clenching and body tensing up. "It's more complicated than that and I wish I could tell you and relieve the stress I'm causing you and I'm sorry about that too. I don't know who else to ask, Kyle can't fight for me anymore and I didn't even want to ask you."

Peter took in a deep breath, his head turning to look away from her afraid she'd see the pain in his eyes. Her words had struck him worse than any knife and shocked him more than any electrical wires could, her words stopped his heart, stopped his train of thought, stopped everything. "Why wouldn't you have wanted to ask me? I wouldn't let you down a second time."

"I never accused you of letting me down in the first place," She quickly spoke her voice full with surprise. "Where did that even come from?"

"Because that night, I was supposed to come back for you and I didn't. Maybe if I had it wouldn't be so hard right now, you wouldn't be in danger," He paused for a brief moment his glassy crystal blues gazing at her with sadness and self-hatred, guilt pooling up until it dropped down his cheek. "Maybe you wouldn't have died in the first place."

"Stop it," She grunted out not even wanting to watch him cry over her. Andrea was well aware of the choices she'd made then and not a single one of them had she regretted. Her doing what she had saved Peter and that was more than she could've ever asked for. "I was more than aware of the consequences and I accepted them. Stop thinking about the past, Peter, this is now and we have much bigger problems to solve."

It took him a moment to recover, taking in deep breathes to rid away the guilt and lock his shame back in the vault of his heart. "Like this evil that's coming that I have to stop."

Andrea's car rolled to a stop before the loft, her eyes darker than before when Peter knew her all those years ago. Now she seemed less playful, more guarded and on the verge of attack at any given moment. "Coming? Peter, it's already here."