Pyrophobia. The fear of fire. Parker Hale didn't always have this fear, but six years ago her entire family burned to death in a fire. She and her father had both been in the house at the time of the fire. Her father sacrificed his own life in order for her to live. He now sits in a coma with burns on half of his body, while Parker received a burn over her right eye from the explosion that occurred from the boiler exploding in the fire.
Parker knew who started the fire, but by telling the authorities the truth then it would put her and her two cousins in danger, so instead, she refused to talk about it. Her cousins had been at the school during the time of the fire, so they had no idea what happened. Parker did feel guilty for not telling them the truth, but she knew about Derek's secret. He had a relationship with the person who killed their family. He told her things that should never have been told. Parker knew if she told Laura the truth then that would make Derek have to tell the truth. They both carry their guilt and pain, but they both knew how it would turn out if they confessed.
After the fire, the three of them moved to New York where they were able to start over and have a normal life. They were different after the fire. Derek and Parker used to be such happy and loving kids, but the fire had turned them cold, distant, aggressive. Neither could remember the last time they smiled or laughed. The fire took apart of them away, apart that neither believed they could get back. While they buried their pain and moved on, Laura became obsessed with knowing the truth. She needed to know the truth. It was what brought her to Beacon Hills, but she didn't tell this to Parker nor Derek. She knew that would only result in a fight. Derek and Parker have long since agreed never to talk about Beacon Hills or the fire.
The guilt that Laura went there was eating away at them, especially since she hasn't called them in over a week. It's why they are in the woods. They're looking for her. They smelt her scent when they arrived, so they know she is close by, but the police are in the woods and that screams only problems for them. The idea of the cops searching the woods makes Parker feel sick. What are the cops searching for? Are they searching for a body? Are they searching for Laura?
She didn't want to think about Laura lying somewhere dead, but time was running out and Laura's chances of survival are growing slim. Parker knew Derek was thinking the same, but neither could bear to say the words aloud. So instead they follow the scent in silence. Neither saying a word. Neither mentioned the hint of blood in the air.
It isn't until they found her laying on the forest floor with eyes wide with terror that they found their voice. "Argents." Parker growls, feeling her anger boiling inside. She was going to kill them. She was going to kill them all. They took away everyone. Everyone that she loved.
"Parker. Parker, breath." Parker looks at Derek with such anger, such hatred that it was almost startling. "We don't know for sure that it's the Argents. They normally clean up after themselves."
"Unless they want us to find her. It's on our property."
"But look at the wound."
"Derek she was cut in half!"
"No, she was ripped in half." Parker's breath catches as she looks at Laura. It wasn't a clean cut, but that didn't mean it wasn't hunters. They could be sloppy or purposely sloppy. They might have wanted to trick them into thinking it was something else. "Parker, we can't just assume. Look, we can't do anything tonight."
"How are you not angry?"
"You think I'm not? My sister is laying ripped in pieces before me! I am furious! I want to fucken kill who did this, but we don't know who did this, so, for now, we get some rest and go from there."
"But, Derek-"
"That's final, Parker. Help me with her." Parker looks at Derek for a long point. She could the hidden anger beneath those green of his. The pain that is stabbing deeper and deeper into his heart. She could see just how much he was grieving, but he refused to let it consume him. It always shocked Parker how Derek could push past his pain and get the job done. "Parker!"
"Just tell me this, Derek. Are you going to be okay?" Derek lifts his eyes, the pain is deep and fresh. She can see the pure agony on his face. They had wanted to find Laura and bring her home to New York. They didn't want to have to bury her. "Where are we taking her." He lifts up the body with Derek. He could carry her himself, but Parker knew he needed her to balance him out. Keep him focus.
"With the rest." His words send chills down her spine, but she knows it is the way it has to be. Every Hale was buried there, just past their house in the back. A whole graveyard of Hales that were all so strong, but in the end wasn't strong enough or fast enough.
"Next to Talia." Parker agrees as they move through the woods together.
"I promise you, Parker, we will find who did this."
"Until then?" Derek looks at Parker, she can see he's fighting something.
"Laura made us both promise to graduate at least high school." Parker knew where this was going. They were carrying her dead cousin across the woods, but Derek was still focused. Focused on what Laura wanted and asked for.
"I go to school, you do research and find out why she was here, to begin with. We know she came here for answers, but what we don't know is what she found."
"If I find anything you and I are going together and taking care of it." Taking care of it. He means to kill who did this and Parker was right behind him. They'll pay. They'll regret the day they fucked with a Hale.
Once they got her to the house Derek stopped. "Why are we stopping? The graveyard is behind the house."
"We're stopping because we aren't burying her there. Not yet." Parker raises an eyebrow. She didn't like this. Derek was burying his feelings and his anger. He was trying to act like Laura right now. He isn't letting his anger show and he is thinking too logical about all of this.
"Derek, your sister is torn in half and I know you are mad, so show it." Parker snaps. "Stop being so logical and emotionless. Stop being-"
"Laura." Derek finishes. Laura was the only one not distant and cold, but she could be when it came to things like this. Death was something all Hales were used to and Laura's moto is just shut up and get the job done. Normally Derek and Parker would feel the same, but this wasn't just another wolf, this was Laura. This was family. Logic and lack of emotion has no place here. Derek should be throwing things, screaming, hunting the hunters. That was what Derek should be doing. "Sometimes Laura is right. We can't let our anger rule us. We have no idea where the Argents are and if we did they might not even be the ones that did this." Derek motions to Laura's body. "Those are bite marks, Parker."
"So she got munched on by scavengers."
"Or those are from the thing that killed her."
"You mean werewolves."
"We can't rule anything out. So yes, I am being like Laura, emotionless and getting the job done. So, just shut up for a moment and let me do what Laura would have wanted." Parker closes her eyes, taking a deep breath, and trying with all her might not to break down. Maybe Derek was right. He got the cold and distant part down to a tee and normally Parker does too, but this was Laura.
The emotions are too much, Parker falls to her knees. "I can't." Parker whimpers, opening her eyes to look at Derek with tears streaming down her face. "I can't keep doing this. That's our family, the last of us and she's dead. I can't keep losing family." Derek moves and kneels down in front of her.
"Parker, we'll get through this. We always do. What does Laura always say?"
"We're stronger together and together nothing can beat us."
"I promise you we will revenge Laura's death."
"What about our family?" Parker meets his eyes. "What about Kate?" Everything around them has gone silent from just that name.
"Why do you think I've been training? Trying to get stronger?" A real smile comes to Parker's face.
"We will have our revenge once the time is right. But first," Derek looks at Laura. "We got work to do."