A/N: Hello and welcome the third story in the Protector series: the Breakdown! Cheery title, I know.
If you have read the previous two stories (Beginning and Buildup), you can scroll right past this. If not, I'd recommend reading them first and coming back later. Some quick information:
Apart from in the first few chapters in the first story, I steer clear from character descriptions of my OC, Lorraine. But if you want a visual, I imagine her to look somewhat like Olivia Holt, with some small changes.
I try my best to upload every weekend, but sometimes fail (sorry). I also aim for my chapters to have 2k words.
I only do author's note's at the start of the first chapter in a series, all the other chapters will have them at the end.
After uploading this I will take a break for a month, so I can write some chapters in advance.
Enjoy!
Chapter X: GravesI looked up from the bouquet of flowers I was holding to Stiles. "Are you sure you want me to be there?"
He nodded. "Trust me, it'll make it a whole lot easier." He held open the door for me so I could walk into the sheriff's office. "You know, last time we brought one of these to her grave, they got stolen the same day? Fifty bucks, down the drain."
I put down the flowers on the desk and peeked over it, seeing the sheriff on the floor with a lot of files. I mean piles and piles of them. "Sheriff… what are you doing?"
"Well," he looked up. "If someone wants flowers that bad, they can have 'em. It's the gesture. And as for the files…" he sighed. "I've been going through some old cases of mine with a, let's say, more illuminated perspective."
Stiles picked up one of the files and opened it. "Reports of bipedal lizard man sprinting across freeway," he read, giving his father a questioning look.
"Kanima pile." the sheriff said, slapping his hand on a few files. Stiles shrugged and threw it on top as the sheriff turned to me. "By the way, Lora, Stiles said you had this… book, full of supernatural creatures."
I scoffed. "Yeah, but that's thicker than all these files put together. Besides, do any of these cases still matter? I'm sure the bipedal lizard man is long gone now." The sheriff nodded and stood up, walking to the corkboard behind his desk.
"That may be true, but there's been one case in particular that's been bothering me. Almost six years ago, when I was elected county sheriff, my first job was to tell a man that not only had his wife and children died, but for as far as we could tell…" he pointed at a picture of a little girl with brown hair. "His daughter Malia had been dragged by coyotes."
Stiles walked over to the board and started taking a look. "You mean dragged and eaten?"
"We didn't find the car until three days after the crash. They'd driven off the road into a pretty deep ravine. The bodies that were still in the car were covered in bites and slashes."
Stiles nodded. "So you're thinking bites and scratches… werewolf attack?"
"Maybe. The night the accident happened was a full moon." The sheriff turned to me. "Could it have been a werewolf attack?"
I bit my lip. "A werewolf would've destroyed all the bodies, ripped them to shreds just for the satisfaction…" I walked over and scanned the files on the board. "Does any of it suggest why they crashed?" The sheriff shook his head. "Maybe this Malia was the one who shifted."
Stiles frowned. "You think?" I gave him a look and he started considering the idea. "It would explain the cuts inside the car… and if Malia did survive the crash, she might've panicked and ran."
I nodded. "Since she was never found, she either died somewhere around the crash or…"
"Or she's still alive…" Stiles finished, and shook his head. "No way, a little girl can't survive on her own in a forest."
I sighed. "Can and can't are hard to define in the world of the supernatural." We spent a few more minutes staring at the articles on the board in silence, until the sheriff clapped his hands together.
"Alright, let's go. You kids have got better things to do than doing what's supposed to be my job."
~o~
The sheriff and I walked towards Stiles, who was already standing at the grave with the flowers. It pained me to see him hurt like that without being able to do anything about it, but he always claimed that I didn't need to do anything.
"Hey, ehm…" the sheriff suddenly said. "Stiles and I need to talk about something, would you mind-"
"Oh, it's fine. I'll wait."
He smiled. "Thank you." I shrugged and gestured him to go ahead. I watched him go and waited until I was sure he and Stiles had started talking. Then, I started wandering around the graveyard. I've had my suspicions, but in between the human sacrifices and Alpha packs I hadn't found the time to really go look.
Finding my parents' grave was much more of a kick to the stomach than I'd expected it to be. Dad had once mentioned that mom had been buried, but never where. He must've been buried here after I… left.
I sat down in front of the patch of ground, staring at the tombstone. Behind me, there was the sound of a twig snapping. I quickly wiped away my tears, but they just kept coming.
"I probably should've told you that," Stiles said as he sat down next to me.
I shrugged. "Doesn't make them any less dead."
"It's okay to feel sad, you know." I nodded, wiping away another tear. "Hey…" He put one arm around me and pulled me closer. "Let them come, Lora. Let 'em come."
I cried, okay? I cried my fucking eyes out and I'm not going to pretend I didn't. Once I did that long enough to feel numb, I could talk again.
"They were planning to stay in Beacon Hills, you know." I said, my head on Stiles' shoulder. "My mom and dad. They didn't want me to move around constantly. But after mom died… he couldn't stay."
Stiles frowned. "Since when do you know this?"
"Jason told me."
"Ah."
"You still don't like him?"
"Nope."
I chuckled and took my head off his shoulder. "Come on, let's go home."
