Author's Note: I've been doing small rewrites to the chapter's I've got written and we are back in business.
Absolution Chapter 1 - Prologue
8 years ago
Olivia walked out of her parent's room holding a stack of papers in her hand. It was Christmas Eve and of course, Olivia went looking for her presents. When she came across a box in her parents' room, she opened it, thinking it was a present. She was shocked to find her birth certificate and horrified to see that her parents' names weren't on it. Instead, she saw the names Christopher Argent and Amanda Valentine. She grabbed the other file and tore it open; they were adoption papers and they had her parents' names on them. She was adopted.
Olivia stalked into the kitchen, her parents were huddled together by the stove cooking dinner. She slammed the file with her birth certificate on the counter. Her parents jumped and spun around at the sudden loud noise.
"What's that, honey?" Jessica, her mother, asked.
"Funny, I was just going to ask you the same thing," Olivia snapped. She put her birth certificate in front of her parents, tapping it with her finger for emphasis. "I'm adopted?"
Her parents exchanged looks, before her father, Daniel, sighed. "Yes, you are."
"What happened to my parents?" Olivia asked.
"Your mother died giving birth to you and your father and his wife gave you up for adoption." Her mother explained.
Olivia blinked. "His wife?"
"Your father had an affair with your mother, and when she died he and his wife thought it was best to give you up," Daniel continued.
"Why?"
"He said it was for your own safety," Jessica answered softly.
"That's all he said?" Olivia continued to question.
"He couldn't stay long, his wife had an ultrasound appointment," Jessica replied and then winced at her own words.
"There it is," Olivia whispered. "The real reason they gave me up. They already had a kid on the way. How were they supposed to explain me."
"Olivia, that's not-" Daniel tried to reason with his daughter but she cut him off.
"I'm just gonna go to bed," Olivia said abruptly. "We can talk about this later. I'm tired." Without waiting for her parents to respond the young girl turned and sprinted to her room. She crawled into bed, her breathing erratic and her heart beating so loud she could practically hear it. It felt like her entire world had changed in a matter of minutes. 'It can't get worse than this' she thought. Boy was she wrong.
Chapter One: Change
"While I thought that I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die."- Leonardo da Vinci
OLIVIA BROOKS
I sat in the police station wrapped in a gray wool blanket. I had been driven to Beacon Hills this morning by a social worker. All she told me was that there was a glitch in my adoption papers. She told me that the sheriff would explain more after they talked. I sat outside while my social worker, Destiny, talked to the sheriff.
Suddenly a tall boy came stumbling into the station. He had a buzz cut and beautiful brown eyes.
"Jay, is my dad in?" He asked a deputy.
"You'll have to get in line." The deputy answered pointing to me. I shied away from the two, hating that he was drawing attention to me. The boy sat next to me on the bench in front of the sheriff's office.
"Stiles Stilinski," He introduced holding his hand out. I hesitantly took it in mine. "What are you in for?" He asked.
"What are you in for?" I countered.
"My dad's the sheriff, I'm here to take him to a doctor's appointment."
"You sound like a good son," I whispered. Stiles smiled at me.
"You didn't answer my question."
"What question?" I asked, playing dumb. I didn't want to scare off the nice boy too soon.
"What are you in for?"
"It's a long story," I whispered. "But I'm not a delinquent."
Stiles raised his eyebrows at me. "Then why are you here?"
"Your father is talking to my social worker, I was adopted," I explained evasively.
"Was?" The boy asked softly.
"My adoptive parents were murdered last week. I was in an all girls home until today, there was a glitch in my adoption papers. I think they are sending me back to my real dad." I stopped talking unable to believe I'd just told him that. I don't even know this boy!
"And your real mom?"
"Died giving birth to me." Oh, my god, I had to stop talking.
"That's rough." I looked over at him with a small smile.
"You're the first person not to say I'm sorry," I said.
"When my mom died it really didn't help me, so I know now not to say it to other people." He explained. I stared at him. What was it about him that made me trust him so much?
"We've known each other for ten minutes and we are already sharing our life stories." I joked, earning a laugh. Except I left out the part where my family was murdered by werewolves and that I am a supernatural creature, and that I didn't know what I am.
Before he could comment the door opened revealing his dad and my social worker. "You can come in now," Destiny said to me.
"It was nice to meet you, Stiles," I said, getting up and shedding my blanket. I paused at the door when I heard his voice again.
"Wait, you didn't tell me your name."
"Olivia Brooks." I walked into the sheriff's office and sat down in front of his desk. Destiny sat next to me and the sheriff took his seat.
"Olivia, I'm sure Destiny told you about the 'glitch' in your adoption papers." Sheriff Stilinski asked though it was more of a statement.
"Yes, she did."
"It's not quite a glitch," He explained, "It's more that they're fake."
"Fake?" I asked, shocked. "How is that possible?"
"We aren't sure, we tried to get a hold of your adoption agent but the name on the documents are also fake. We have already sent an officer to question your birth father but he didn't know anything. And since these are fake," he explained, gesturing to the papers, "He still has custody and full parental rights. Since you are seventeen, he thought it best not to put you back into the system."
"Wait, you mean that I'm going to live with him?" I asked incredulously.
"Yes, he and his wife have decided to take you in. They are talking to their daughter about the situation and then coming to pick you up."
*Absolution*
ALLISON ARGENT
"I have a sister?" I screeched, jumping off my bed and glaring at my parents.
"Half sister," my mother corrected. "While your father and I were separated he was with another woman. He left her but she called three months later and told him she was pregnant. We found out that I was pregnant with you a few days after."
"Wait," I snapped, closing my eyes briefly. A headache was starting to pound in the back of my head. "Why is she coming to live here now? And why did you give her up in the first place?"
"Her mother died in childbirth," my dad started to explain. I took a deep breath and sank back onto my bed. "I decided that it was best to give her up for adoption. Apparently her adoptive parents were killed last week."
"Wait, what?" I gasped, "By who?"
"The police aren't sure yet," my mom said softly.
My dad sighed. "I got a call this morning that her adoption papers weren't real. The agent I used was a fake, so I still have custody of her. She is a few weeks older than you, and seventeen is too old to be stuck in the system. She is coming to live here."
"When?" I asked. I didn't know how to feel. I was pissed at my father and I felt bad for my new sister, on the other hand, I was happy to have one.
"Tonight. She is waiting for us at the police station," my mother grumbled.
"Well, we shouldn't keep her waiting," my father said, getting up. I slipped on my sandals and grabbed my jacket.
"Wait," I called. My parents stopped at the door and turned towards me. "You never told me her name." My mother looked at dad who answered.
"Olivia Brooks."
*Absolution*
OLIVIA ARGENT
The sheriff continued to explain how they were opening an investigation on the adoption agent and the agency, but I barely heard him. I was too busy thinking about the family coming to get me, my family. My father, my stepmother, and my sister.
"What's her name?" I asked interrupting the sheriff.
"Whose name?" He questioned, eyebrows raised in confusion.
"My sister, what's her name?"
"Allison Argent." The door opened suddenly and I jumped. A deputy stood in the doorway.
"The Argents just pulled up outside, sir." Sheriff Stilinski nodded and gestured for us to leave his office. We walked into the front office and I noticed Stiles still waiting for his father.
"Dad!" He exclaimed, "We have to leave in ten minutes."
"Stiles, after this we can-"
"Sheriff Stilinski," I interrupted him. "If you need to go, you should. Can't risk your health or anything."
"This won't take long Olivia." The sheriff smiled, putting a hand on my shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere."
I smiled at him. I was about to thank him when the station doors swung open. I looked up and saw two adults with short hair: the woman with vivid red hair and the man with brown. Then my eyes fell on who must have been my sister. I could instantly see the resemblance; both of us had long black hair, only my face was slightly skinnier and my eyes are green while hers were brown.
Allison smiled at me and tentatively, I smiled back. Chris looked between the two of us before smiling at me. I forced a smile to him and his wife. I looked back at Sheriff Stilinski, his hand still on my shoulder. He smiled at me and lead me towards the family.
I felt my entire body tense up the closer we got to them. One of my gifts was to be able to tell a lie from the truth. I would know just how welcome I am, but it was only for a year, I could do this. We stopped in front of the Argent family. It was then that I finally looked my father in the eye. The man was staring at me jaw was set, his eyes wet as if he's holding in tears. I blinked back my own and turned away from him and looked at his wife she was staring at me her expression unreadable. Finally, my eyes landed on Alison, who was smiling, but there was a look of uncertainty in her eyes.
Destiny stepped forward, "Christopher Argent?" She held out her hand, he shook it finally removing his eyes from me.
"Chris please." He informed.
"Well Chris, this is Olivia Brooks. Well as of today, Argent." That's right, my last name was Argent before the adoption and if my adoption was fake then my last name was Argent again.
"Hello, Olivia. It's nice to meet you."
"Hello, Mr. Argent," I said my voice surprisingly strong. His smile
dropped for a second as if he has expected me to call him dad or something.
"I'm Victoria, your dad's wife. I'm happy that you're coming to live with us."
She was being honest. They both were. I turned to Alison.
"I'm-"
"Alison." I interrupted. "You're Alison. I'm Olivia-"
"You're my sister." She interrupted. "We're sisters." We both laughed and she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around my neck and I wrapped mine around her waist.
"I can't believe I have a sister," Alison whispered pulling away.
"You know, it's new to me too." I giggled, Alison laughed and Chris cleared his throat. We both looked up at him to see him smiling.
"Come on girls, we should go, it's late," he said. We both smiled. I turned around and took my bags from Destiny and hugged her.
"Thank you, Destiny. For everything." She smiled at me before I hugged the Sheriff.
"I think you better go, Sheriff. Your son looks like he's gonna have a meltdown if you don't get to your Doctor's appointment." I whispered in his ear. He laughed as I pulled away from him. "Thank you. You're a kind man."
"No problem, kiddo." He said I turned back towards my new family. Chris took my bags from me and we walked towards the door. I looked over my shoulder and saw Stiles looking at me. He mouthed 'thank you' as his father put on his coat. I winked at him and walked outside. Alison and I got into the back of her dad's black SUV.
I pulled out my phone and saw I had one unread text message. From my ex back home. I stared at my phone willing the message to disappear but It didn't. It read 1 unread message from Aiden.
I opened the message. It read: Olivia, I know you don't want to hear from me, but I just want to know if you're okay. Please, call or text me.
I sighed and locked my phone. I looked over at Alison and saw that she was handing me hers. I laughed quietly and took her phone putting my number in it as she did the same with mine.
We pulled up to her house- our house- and we all climbed out. Chris got my bags out of the car and they walked me upstairs.
"This is your room," Victoria said, " Your things from your house will be here for you tomorrow afternoon." I thanked her and walked into my room. She closed my door and I opened my blue backpack. I put some of my clothes in the drawers before opening the smallest pouch. It was a picture of me and my parents.
I sat down on the bed and stared at it, the memories of that night coming back to me.
"Mom, Dad I'm home!" I called walking into in the house. It was eerily silent and all the lights were off. "Mom? Dad?" I put my keys on the table and walked over to the wall across from the door my hand landed on the light switch and I flipped it up, turning on the living room lights. It was like everything was in slow motion. It was my last second of what I called normal before my entire world would shift, again. My pointer finger lifted the light switch and I screamed.
The walls were covered in blood and claw marks. My eyes landed on my parents. My heart was thudding in my ears and tears streamed down my face. I collapsed on the floor next to my mother, her eyes were open and staring at me. She was splattered with blood and covered in bite and claw marks. I checked her pulse, sobbing when I felt nothing. On shaking legs, I moved towards my father on the other side of the room. I slipped into a puddle of blood, hardly taking notice, I crawled towards him. I felt his pulse, nothing again.
"This can't be happening!" I sobbed, stumbling to my feet and over to the phone. Dialing 9-1-1, I began slurring out what happened as I collapsed onto the floor in tears. I left out the part about the obvious werewolf involvement. The phone slipped from my hand when I spotted a watch a few feet away from me. I picked it up and the tears started to flow again. It belonged to Aiden, my werewolf boyfriend.
I snapped out of the memory with tears running down my face. I slipped off the edge of the bed and onto the floor my chest tightened at any thought of my parents. I sniffed and wiped my cheeks trying to will my defiant tears to stop falling but they wouldn't. I apparently missed the door opening, which usually never happens due to my heightened senses. Arms slowly wrapped around my shoulders and I saw Alison. She smiled at me sadly and pulled me off the floor, and onto the bed. She took the picture and set it on the nightstand before crawling into bed next to me.
"You're not alone anymore Olivia. I'm here, always." The two of us drifted to sleep when my tears subsided.
OLIVIA ARGENT
I woke up the next morning to a knock at my bedroom door. My eyes snapped open just in time to see Alison's do the same. We looked up to see a shocked Chris in the doorway.
"Alison, what are you doing in here?" He asked. I closed my eyes hoping she wouldn't tell him that I was crying.
"We had a girls night, Dad," she answered making me smile. "We both fell asleep."
"Alright, well there's breakfast waiting downstairs."
"Can Alison and I go out today?" I asked. "I kinda want to look around Beacon Hills. Maybe find somewhere to volunteer."
"That sounds like a great idea. Why don't you both volunteer somewhere for the school year," Chris agreed. Alison smiled, obviously having no problem with the plan of us leaving. Thank god. I really wanted to get out of this house.
"That's a great idea," Alison agreed sarcastically. Chris nodded and left. Alison and I both got up to get dressed.
"Alison, thank you for last night."
"What is family for?" Alison dismissed. "Look, we both hate what my dad did. Giving you up, and not even giving us a chance to be a family."
"You're the only person that I'm not replacing," I whispered. "I had a mom and I had a dad, but I never had a sister. Being your sister is the easiest thing about this whole situation, but I can't call Chris 'Dad,' because what will that say about the man who was there for me all my life?"
"I understand where you're coming from, Olivia," she whispered. By now I was fully dressed and Alison sat on my bed in her pajamas still. "Having two sets of parents is hard. Especially when you just lost the most important ones, but I think that you will recover and heal, and you'll be stronger from it. You will have more room for all of us. Until then, our dad will survive."
"You are too wise to be sixteen." I laughed hugging my sister. "Now go get dressed. I want to find an animal clinic in this place."
I brushed out my hair and put on eyeliner and mascara before walking downstairs. I wandered into the living room, there were pictures of Alison and her-our- family everywhere. Above the fireplace was a picture Alison, it looked like last year's school picture.
"Hey, are you ready?" Alison asked coming into the room.
"Yea, let's go." We both got into Alison's car. We spent the entire car ride playing twenty questions. We talked about our favorite foods and about any boys that we have been with. I told her about Lucas, leaving out the parts where he is a werewolf and he murdered my parents. We pulled up to the clinic and I leaned forward and hugged her.
"I'll call you if I need a ride, okay?"
"Yeah, okay. See ya."
"Bye!" I practically screamed in excitement as I walked into the clinic. The bell on the door rang as I walked in. Nobody was at the desk but a gangly boy with shaggy black hair stumbled out of the back room.
"Can I help you?" He asked.
"Um, yes my name is Olivia B- Argent." I stuttered out almost forgetting the change in my name. "I'm a new volunteer."
"Oh, well okay. I can show you around if you'd like." I smiled widely at him.
"That would be great!" He opened the gate for me and I walked in. We were inches apart he had done so well at keeping his eyes on my face but now he seemed to struggle with it. I took another step closer to him and his eyes traveled down my body. I wore an emerald green tank top that matched my eyes, dark blue skinny jeans, and black converse.
I cleared my throat, "Um, I didn't get your name."
"Scott M-McCall."
"Well, Scott McCall are you going to show me around or what?"
"Right follow me." We walked into the back room where a metal table is. "This is where the Doctor looks at the animals." He lead me to a hallway down to the left. "The cats are to the left, the dogs to the right."
He was gesturing to the doors but I didn't look around, I just stared at him. "Where's the Doctor?"
"Doctor Deaton? He's out for the week. The offices are over here." We walked down towards the dogs. The door on the right, he explained, was Deaton's and the other was the employee office.
"So this is your office?" I asked, pulling him inside.
"Y-yours too, I guess." I stepped closer to Scott so that our faces were inches apart. Scott leaned forward and crashed his lips to mine. He backed me into the door, and I pushed him away tugging off my tank top. He did the same with his shirt. I grabbed his arm and pulled his lips back to mine. We both sunk to the floor as I brought my hands to his belt buckle.
*Absolution*
I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. I looked over to see a stirring Scott next to me. Oh god, I slept with him and we fell asleep. I grabbed my phone, shushing Scott when he looked up at me.
"Hello?" I asked into the phone, not looking at the caller ID.
"Olivia, I'm leaving the police station now, want me to pick you up?"
"The police station?" I asked, slightly alarmed. "What happened?" Scott sat up next to me, he put his hand on my shoulder before trailing it down my back rubbing it in comfort.
"Yea, that's where I'm volunteering. Thanks for that, by the way. I hate this idea."
"I know, I'm sorry. How far away are you?" I asked shivering as Scott's hands got lower.
"Ten minutes."
"Alright, I'll meet you out front." I hung up and turned around to face Scott. He smiled and I leaned forward to kiss him.
"Who was that?" He asked.
"My sister," I answered, She'll be here soon. So we can't do that again."
We got up and found all of our clothes and Scott walked me to the door and leaned over to kiss me. He handed me his phone. "We should talk about this, but you have to leave." I handed him my phone and we exchanged numbers.
"I'll call you tonight," I promised and walked out the door. Alison pulled up and I hopped in. I couldn't help but stop smiling.
"Does taking care of animals really make you that happy?"
"No, but sex does," I whispered. Alison's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
"What?!" I laughed at her but didn't explain anything to her.
*Absolution*
Scott and I talked that night before bed and I told him that I couldn't do anything serious, he'd accepted that without question. I didn't have to tell him about my family. I hated it here because nobody knew about werewolves or about what I could do. But Scott is a welcome distraction and I do have real feelings for him, just not romantically. What we have now is nice and we made a rule not to talk about families, which means he is normal around me like Alison is. Everyone else is waiting for me to have a meltdown. Today was Sunday and it was our last day before school. We both knew that our bubble was about to pop.
I walked into the clinic with a nervous smile on my face. Dr. Deaton had come back last night while we were closing. Scott and I both knew that sleeping together during work couldn't happen anymore. Scott greeted me at the door with the same nervous smile. I quickly kissed him. He smiled and pulled me into his arms for a hug before we sprang apart. Deaton came out of the back as I hung up my coat.
"Good morning, Olivia," he smiled. I nodded my hello and he chuckled. "Why don't you two start with the cats? They all need feeding, and some need their meds." We both shuffled out of the room, down the hall, and into the cat room. Scott closed the door behind us with a sigh and we fell into awkward silence.
After six minutes of silence and twelve fed cats later Scott finally spoke. "What are we going to do about tomorrow?"
"What do you mean?" I asked looking up from one of the cats I'm feeding.
"Do you just want to pretend that we don't know each other or-"
I winced at his words and cut him off. "No, I definitely don't want that! Why would you think that?"
"Well, we aren't together and you made it clear you didn't want us to know anything too personal about each other."
I sighed and walked over to him, his back was facing me. I put my hands on his shoulders and gently turned him around. "I just don't want you to treat me differently. You're the closest friend I have Scott. I just need a friend and not someone else to walk on eggshells around me."
Scott's eyebrows wrinkled in confusion and he put his hands on my waist and gripped me tightly. "What are you talking about, Olivia?"
"I was adopted, and two weeks ago my parents were murdered," I explained. I watched as his eyes widened and his hands tightened on my waist. "My biological mother died in childbirth, and when my parents died they noticed a glitch in my adoption papers."
"What kind of glitch?" He whispered when I paused.
"Someone had faked them, and because of that, I got sent back to my biological father. I live with him, his wife and my younger sister."
Scott breathed deeply taking in my news. He sat heavily in the chair near the door. "Have you asked your father about the adoption papers?" He asked, shocking me. That's all he had to say?
"What?"
"Your biological father signed those papers, he might have known that they were fake. You should ask him."
I laughed in relief. He just wants to help me find the truth. "That's it? After what I just told you, all that I kept from you that's all you have to say?"
"I don't care that you kept it from me. In fact, I'm happy you did, because I got to know you for Olivia, and not a sad girl who lost her parents." Tears filled my eyes as he pulled me onto his lap. "You mean a lot to me, Olivia. I just want to help you, okay?"
"Thank you, Scott. You're a great friend."
"Friend with benefits."
I giggled nervously. "About that-"
"It stops today. I had a feeling that you'd want that. I want that too since it's your first year here and I want things to be simple for you."
"Thank you, Scott." I said kissing his cheek, "you can tell your best friend about us now."
"I, uh, told hol him about us two days ago," Scott replied sheepishly making me laugh. "He's picking me up today. You should come with us and have dinner at my place."
"I'd love that. I'll text Alison and my father to let them know."
"Great, I'll call my mom and let her know." He hopped up, setting me back on my feet, kissed my cheek and left the room, pulling out his phone as he went.
I texted Alison and let her know not to pick me up before texting Chris. I turned around and smiled at the door. Everything Scott had just said to me was true.
After work Scott lead me outside to a light blue banged up the jeep. He opened the passenger door for me, to let me into the back. I froze when I saw the driver. "Stiles?" I asked. The boys head shot up.
"Olivia!" He yelped, his arms flailing dramatically. "You're the girl sleeping with Scott?"
"I was sleeping with Scott," I corrected. "You're the best friend?"
"Sure am!" I chuckled nervously and climbed into the backseat.
"You two know each other?" Scott asked, getting into the passenger's seat. Stiles pulled out of the parking lot and I assume, headed towards Scott's house.
"We met my first night here. He was at the police station waiting for his dad." I explained.
"She got my dad to go to his doctor's appointment. We talked about our parents for a while." Stiles continued.
"Small world," Scott mumbled.
"Small town," I corrected.
"Wait, so you and Scott aren't together?"
"Um, no. It was just our way of getting to know each other, I guess," I stuttered.
Stiles laughed, "wanna get to know me?"
I spluttered, shocked, and Scott punched his best friend in the shoulder. We all laughed and continued to talk like we'd known each other our whole lives.
*Absolution*
Scott and I stood outside his house, I took a deep breath and nodded at him. He smiled and opened the door and called for his mom. She came rushing from the kitchen. I smiled at her wringing my hands nervously.
"Scott's told me so much about you. It's nice that he has a friend other than Stiles." She said.
I laughed. "I'm Olivia," I said, holding out my hand.
"Melissa." As soon as she touched my hand I felt a familiar pull in the back and I knew I was about to get a vision. My vision blurred and my knees buckled as I slipped into darkness.
I was in a hospital. I glanced around and saw myself in a hospital bed. Melissa was standing next to me, holding my hand.
"I'm so sorry, Olivia." She whispered softly, running her hand through my hair. I walked forward, getting closer to me in the hospital bed.
"What did I do wrong?" I whispered to Melissa. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. What the hell is going on?
"Oh honey, this isn't your fault. Scott said you got overwhelmed and fell. It happens."
"Is he okay?" I asked. The me in the bed began to cry. "Is he mad at me?"
"No one is mad at you. Everyone is sad, but not mad. Scott, Stiles, and Allison are waiting outside." I watched as myself began to panic.
"No! No, I can't. Scott is going to be so disappointed or angry. This is my fault I should have- I should have-"
"Olivia Argent, listen to me. This. Is. Not. Your. Fault. Everyone knows that. I know you're upset, you must be devastated and so is Scott. Don't shut him out, you both need each other right now." The scene began to blur. I was suddenly yanked from the ground and went shooting up towards the blurry ceiling.
I sat up on a brown couch in an unfamiliar place. Scott, who was sitting on the coffee table in front of me, shot forward, looking relieved. "Oh my god, Olivia, are you okay?"
Yeah, I'm fine Scott. I just had a vision because I'm some strange supernatural creature. How bout some dinner? "Yea, I'm fine. Just have a headache."
"You hit your head when you fell. My mom called your dad. She is waiting outside for him." Scott sat at the edge of the couch next to me and ran his hand through my hair briefly.
"I'm okay, I promise," I whispered.
"You really scared me," Scott said helping me off the couch. He led me outside, where his mom was waiting.
"How are you feeling?" She asked me.
"I'm okay. I'm sorry about dinner."
"Oh don't worry about it. I'm a horrible cook anyway." We all laughed for a moment before a car came screeching to a halt in front of the house.
"Time for me to go. See you at school tomorrow, Scott. Bye, Mrs. McCall."
They both spoke at the same time. "Bye Olivia."
I ran to the car and hopped in. Chris gazed at me in concern, until I reassured him, "I'm fine," and he smiled, before starting the car.
"I know." he smiled.