𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐭 ▷ 𝐬. 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐤𝐢 ✓

𝟑𝟔. 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
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YASMINE MCCALL

Something did not sit right with me at all and whether that was due to Jackson having been taken away from the field in a black body bag, as he had been pronounced dead by the EMTs, or because Stiles was missing, I did not know.

There was a pit in my stomach and I felt numb as I looked out onto the field as I watched students walk off; most of them seem confused, shocked, and scared. Stiles suddenly missing had been a lot, but to see Jackson Whittemore being transported away in a body bag after being declared dead had probably left a whole lot of scared and sad students.

Jackson was a shitty person to most people at Beacon Hills High School, which was no secret to anyone. Most people would classify him as your stereotypical white rich kid, who drove an expensive car, was the team captain of the school's sports team and of course, dating the popular girl. Granted, Jackson was all of those things and even more, but he had not deserved to die. As someone who had known him for years, been friends with him and even dated him, I knew the boy could be an asshole, but that meant nothing now that he was deceased.

Unfortunately, I had no time to grieve as Jackson was led away, because Stiles was still missing and anyone with a brain would be able to tell you that Gerard had something to do with this. There was no way Stiles goes missing as Jackson claws himself to death for it only to be a coincidence.

Tonight had by far left me feeling rather defeated and hopeless, but I knew we had to find Stiles before the Argents did the unthinkable to him. It was sad to say, but I did not doubt Gerard's twisted mind and I knew in my heart that he would do whatever he needed to do to prove his power, even if that meant killing Stiles.

So here I was, pretending that my body was not numb and tears were not threatening to roll down my cheeks; pretending I was not seconds away from falling to my knees and breaking into full-fledge sobs; pretending like I had not felt my entire world collapse around me; pretending like my heart was not hurting; pretending I was fine despite having witnessed my first boyfriend die; pretending I was not heartbroken.

A hand touched my shoulder and I let out a gasp as I returned to reality and snapped my head to the side, panting hard as my eyes had widened. Scott's mouth was gently parted as he stared worriedly over at me, his fingers gripping my shoulder as he tried to make eye contact with me. Knowing he could hear my heartbeat and sense my emotions, for once, I did not even try to fake being okay or fake being anything less than an anxious, heartbroken and sad mess.

"I got to meet with the medical examiner," the Sheriff informed us and I glanced over at him as Isaac kept his eyes on the floor and Scott finally reverted his gaze from me and back over the Sheriff. "And try and figure out with Jackson."

Even hearing his name brought back the memories of his dead body on the lacrosse field and I shook Scott's hand off me as I stepped to the side, running a hand through my hair as I reverted my eyes to the floor. Obviously, Scott alongside Isaac and the Sheriff had noticed my reaction to Jackson's name and it seemed the Sheriff had been about to address me, until Scott shook his head gently.

I could sense the sympathetic look on the Sheriff's face as I felt his eyes on me, but I chose to stay quiet as I began tracing a circle on the floor using the tip of my shoe, my arms crossed over my chest. "I've got an APB out on Stiles. His Jeep is still in the parking lot, so that means..." The Sheriff paused and I finally looked back up only to see a defeated expression on his face as he peered around. "Well, I don't know what that means. Um..." He was clearly trying to hold back tears and I could feel his sadness infect me as my expression softened. "Look, if he answers his phone, if he answers his emails, if any of you see him..."