EIGHT LETTERS || Liam Dunbar [2]

TWENTY FIVE

The very first thing Katherine had seen when her eyes had opened was Malia's concerned face hovering uncomfortably close to her own.

She yelped and flinched upwards, immediately letting out a groan at the twinge it sent through her neck. "Malia, what the hell," she moaned, rolling onto her side so he cheek was pressed into the cold floor of the locker room.

"Sorry," Malia shrugged as she pulled her up into a sitting position so her back was against her legs. She reached down and patted the top of her head. "I kind of thought you'd stopped breathing for a second there."

"Did you get Liam and Hayden back?" She grimaced, rubbing at the back of her neck. "Because I think...they got taken the Dread Doctors—"

"—They were taken, yes." She hadn't even realized Lydia was in the room.

No one looked ready to tell her anything.

She'd gone with Stiles to McCall's after that, only to be kept waiting because Scott received a call from Kira saying she was now a murder suspect. The only people who'd come with them were Malia and Theo.

After pacing the length of the living room more than three times while she waited, Malia grew frustrated and grabbed her shoulders, steering over over to the couch. Then she forced her to sit down, and held her against the cushions by the shoulders.

"Sorry," Katherine mumbled, chewing on the skin around her thumb nail for something to do. "I'm just—"

"—Stressed, I know," Malia interrupted her, frowning. "You reek."

"Is it stress sweat or chemo signals?" Katherine attempted joke to pull the conversation from her rapidly increasing anxiety.

She heard Theo snort quietly to himself, "both."

Thankfully, the front door swung open before he could elaborate and send Stiles into a parental frenzy, and Katherine surged out of her seat at the sight of Scott. "Is Kira okay?"

"She's fine," He promised, kissing the top of her head as he stopped in front of her, then ruffled her hair. "I'll explain it all later." The stalked past them and up the stairs.

Katherine immediately followed after him, her brows pulled together with worry.

"Sorry, I'm only on chapter two, I'm kind of a slow reader," she heard a new boys voice say, and immediately frowned.

Sitting on Scott's bed was a boy her age whom she though was familiar, but couldn't quite place where from. His brown hair was straight and quiffed nicely away from his pale forehead. He was dressed in grays and blacks and whites, and had a copy of the Dread Doctors book in his hand. Mason was standing next to him with folded arms and an eager expression, Lydia on his other side waiting patiently.

"It's okay, Cory," Mason chuckled, just as Scott pushed past him.

"He's right; we don't have time for that anyway."

"I don't know you," Katherine stated curiously, her lips pursed.

Corey, as Mason had called him, blushed awkwardly. "Sorry..."

"No, that's okay," she hummed, offering him a light smile even though it felt like someone had opened a helium balloon in her chest because she needed Liam. "I'll get to know you later, promise, but we've got shit to take care of first."

"Corey, I'm sorry about this," Scott murmured, then planted his claws in the back of his neck, ignoring Lydia's objection to even the idea of it.

Katherine shrieked slightly in surprise, which must've caught the attention of either Malia or Theo because moments later the two along with her brother were stumbling up the stairs. "Don't get to close," Lydia hissed, and they slowly moved through the doorway.