chapter seven: not your fault


The rest of the weekend passed without a hitch. Well, for the most part. Sunday night, a woman named Carrie Hudson was killed. There were odd stab marks just below her chest, and the report still hadn't come back from the station, so the rest of us didn't know what to think about them. The only thing I knew was that Carrie Hudson was on the deadpool.

Lydia returned from the lake house without anymore cipher keys. No one said anything, however, because she looked like she was on the verge of death. This banshee business was beginning to seriously affect the poor girl.

Stiles and Scott told Dad all about the list and the killings that had been linked to it. I didn't want to be there for it because I couldn't stand piling all this information on him. I knew that he needed to be aware of everything that was going on around him, but along with the Eichen House bills and the MRIs, it was just a lot.

I did find out that Kira made the lacrosse team. I hadn't even known she tried out. So did Liam, obviously. Scott was captain, and even my brother had made first line. Scrimmage was on scheduled for Wednesday - today - and I still hadn't found Liam.

The bell was going to ring soon, and as I was heading to the locker room, I got a text from Mason.

"We're in the weights room. Liam isn't on steroids, is he?"

I frowned, and headed to the boys' locker room anyway. Liam would have to go there afterward to change, so I figured I'd meet him there.

When I finally did get to the locker room, the only light source was that spilling through the windows. Derek and Scott were talking in low tones. Derek was smiling - something that happened once in a blue moon, so I was shocked to see it - while Scott looked less than happy. There was a broken lacrosse stick at his feet, and I frowned. I remembered how Derek had hounded Scott when he first was bitten, and this could be a repeat. "That isn't Liam's, is it?" I asked.

"You just missed him, Zoe," Scott said, and I figured that the little nod at the door meant that he was dismissing me.

"I don't think you heard me," I insisted, stepping further into the locker room. My fingers curled around my backpack straps and I stood my ground. If there was one thing I had learned from this ordeal, it was that you had to be confident. "Is that Liam's stick?"

Derek and Scott exchanged looks, and I stared at them imploringly. Derek was the one who spoke first. "That anger that your friend has, it'll make him strong."

"And dangerous," Scott added.

"Very." Then Derek looked at me. "That's why he needs you, too. Scott's his Alpha, but he needs an anchor. Something that can bring him back."

Scott nodded. "You make him calm down, Zoe. Liam needs that."

"I don't think you understand," I said. "I can only do so much. You don't - you don't know everything, Scott. And we all know I can't always be there for Liam. There will be times that I won't be able to. He needs to learn how to anchor himself."

"Yes," Derek agreed, nodding, "but you may be able to anchor him, Zoe. People can be anchors, too. It doesn't always have to be an emotion."

I worried my lower lip. "You're saying that Liam could choose me to keep him human? That the thought of me might bring him back?" Derek nodded again. My eyebrows furrowed. This certainly was a lot to take in.


I was walking down the hallway during pass period when my phone beeped. I pulled it out of my pocket to see a message from Stiles - the dumb I.D. photo of him grinning and winking at me.

"The killer is on the lacrosse team. He's got a knife in his stick."

I frowned, and was about to reply when Liam ambushed me, pushing me gently against the lockers. His eyebrows were pulled together and he seemed angry, but not quite so. I noticed Mason hovering a few steps behind him, looking uneasy.

"Did you know that the scrimmage was against Devenford?" Liam asked me, his voice hushed, a touch of anger behind it. I shook my head, and Liam gripped my shoulders., his fingers pressing into the skin. "Did you know?" I don't know why he repeated himself, but when I didn't respond, one of his hands slipped down to mine and he pulled me along with him.

Mason followed after us, and Liam's fingers squeezed mine. I thought back to what Derek said about calming Liam down. It didn't work all the time, but I had been able to make him take a deep breath and give him comfort before, so maybe I could do it again. I would have to.

We exited the school, and I noticed a bus was parked outside. Boys I recognized from Devenford Prep were spilling out, holding their lacrosse gear. And Liam was heading right for them, dragging me along. "Liam, wait," Mason called. "What, no, no, no, no." A brief thought flashed across my mind that I was happy Liam had found another friend. Someone else to confide in that knew him nearly as well as I did.

"Liam," I said quietly, leaning towards him. "Maybe we shouldn't - "

"Brett!" he shouted, drawing the attention of Devenford's lacrosse captain, Brett Talbot. He was tall, much more so than Liam. I had hung out with him a couple times - him and Liam and the team - but after putting advances on me, stopped. And now I wasn't too fond of him after the way he treated Liam when he...

Mason stopped behind us as Liam and I stood in front of Brett. I had to crane my neck up to look at him. Liam's breathing had quickened and his shoulders heaved. I could tell he was having a hard time looking at Brett and not bashing his face in, and I tightened my grip on his hand, trying to convey my support towards him.

"I just wanted to say..." Liam started, just barely keeping the growl out of his voice. He held out his free hand for Brett to shake. "Have a good game." My jaw dropped, but I was secretly proud. There was silence for a few moments, where I'm sure that everyone was as stunned as I was.

Then Brett started laughing. "That's cute, Liam," Brett said. "Is that what they told you to say in Anger Management? Apologize and everything's fine?" Liam eyes shifted down and I glared at Brett, suddenly as furious as Liam would have been. "You demolished Coach's car," he added.

"I paid for it," Liam gritted out, his fingers flexing around mine.

"Yeah, you're going to pay for it," Brett said. His voice dropped an octave. "We're gonna break you in half out there. And it's gonna be all your fault."

That phrase. It's been said to Liam far too much. It affects him too deeply. I automatically expect Liam to lash out now, but clearly I underestimate him. His breathing accelerates, and I winced as his fingers crush mine. I squeezed his back discretely.

"Shut up, Brett," I intervened. "Liam hasn't done anything to you." Brett's gaze shifted to me, and it didn't pass my attention that his eyes slowly traveled over my body, lingering at the hem of my dress. My lips curled in disgust as he smirked appreciatively.

"Long time, no see, Zoe," he said. "You're as hot as ever, not that I doubted that would change, but it looks like you're still hanging with this loser. It's a shame, really. You could've had me." I hate his smug face, the haughty way he carries himself. I hate the way he treats Liam - they used to be good friends.

I sneered. "As if I'd ever want you when I could have - " Liam's claws came out suddenly and I sucked in a breath, plastering a fake smile on my face and forgetting about the rest of my sentence.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, let's go," said a familiar voice, and Scott slung an arm around Liam's shoulders, backing him and I up a bit. Stiles stepped in front of us, right before Brett.

"Hey, what's going on prep students?" Stiles asked, smiling. "Welcome to our little public high school. How you doing? Stiles." He held out a hand, but Brett didn't move. "That's a firm handshake you got there. Uh, we're very excited for scrimmage tonight."

I didn't pay so much attention to what my brother was saying as I was focused on trying to lower Liam's heart rate. I couldn't risk removing my hand from his, as his claws were still out and stuck in my flesh, so I settled on whispering to him while Scott rubbed reassuring circles into his back with his thumb.

"It's okay, Liam," I said to him, forcing him to hunch a little to hear me. "Don't listen to them. They're idiots. It's not your fault, it's not your fault, it's not your fault." I repeated the last bit until Stiles motioned for us to get the hell out of there.

Five minutes later would find us in the boys' locker room. Liam had shifted, and he was growling and snarling. I had since ripped my hand from his, and Stiles turned on the shower.

"Push him under," my brother said, and Scott slammed him against the tiles. Liam was drenched in seconds, Stiles and Scott holding him back.

I bit my lip, and Scott glanced back at me as Liam roared. "Hug him, Zoe!" I stared at Scott with a bewildered look, and Stiles's eyes practically bulged out of his head.

"Are you serious?!" he yelled at his best friend. "My sister?!"

I stared at Liam, his gold eyes looking right back at me. He snarled, and I flung myself at him. I was soaked, but I pretended not to notice as I clung to him, his chest rumbling as he growled again. I could feel his heartbeat, and I closed my eyes, pressing against him so he could feel mine, too.

"Liam," I said, "it's not your fault. It's not your fault, and I know that. It's okay, it's okay, it's okay..."

Scott and Stiles yanked us out, and my arms slipped from his shoulders to his waist. "Okay, you calm yet?" my brother asked, and Liam let out another roar. They pushed us back under the water, and I buried my face into Liam's neck. I whispered against his skin, letting my lips do the work.

Liam shook his head. "Okay! Okay!" he conceded, and I met his eyes. They were back to that beautiful Tiffany Blue that I loved. Stiles shut off the water, but not without noticing the blood going down the drain.

"Uhh, who's bleeding?" he asked, gaze drifting from Scott to Liam and I, as we had slid to the floor, soaked. Liam's eyes fell to my slightly bloody hand - most of which had dried - which I was cradling in my lap. The marks he gave me from the boathouse on my right hand had pretty much healed over, but now I had fresh ones on my left.

"I didn't mean to, Zoe - I'm sorry - " Liam said, his Tiffany Blues wide in realization and regret.

Stiles flipped. "Of course you didn't mean to! You'll never mean to! But you did! You hurt her! My sister! You're - You're dangerous, you know that? You're - "

"Stiles!" I scolded, shooting him a look. I knew that Liam felt awful, that he hated himself for the claw marks. And I knew he would blame himself, repeat the same mantra that Brett had said to him, the same one that he had been told his whole life. It's all your fault. "Not important right now."

My brother's eyes bugged out. "Not important? Not important! Zoe, you - "

"She's right, Stiles," Scott said, and my brother looked like he was going to protest, but clamped his mouth shut and groaned. To Liam, who had one arm around my waist, Scott started, "That car you smashed. I thought you said that was your teacher's."

"He was also my Coach." Liam sighed, looking away from the boys. "He benched me for the entire season."

Stiles just stared at us, and I could tell that on the inside, he was fuming. I knew he didn't like Liam, especially now. More so that I was involved with him. But my brother was going to have to suck it up.

"What did you do?" Scott asked, and Liam didn't say anything. I cleared my throat, and squeezed Liam's shoulder.

"He got a couple of red cards," I informed them, and Stiles scoffed.

"Just a couple?"

Scott crouched in front of us and met Liam's eyes. "You gotta be honest with us. What else happened?"

I stayed quiet. Liam really needed to do this on his own. I would help him if he required my assistance, but it was important that he move past the whole Devenford thing.

"Nothing," Liam insisted. "I got kicked out of school. They sent me to a psychologist for evaluation."

I remembered when that had happened. I had been back at the Stilinski house by then, but as soon as Liam called me, I had Dad drive me all the way back to Grandma's. Liam was furious, but at the same time, really embarrassed by having to go to the psychologist.

"What did they call it?" Scott inquired.

Liam's hand tightened around my waist, his fingers pressing into my skin. "Intermittent Explosive Disorder."

"I.E.D?" Stiles asked, and I rolled my eyes. I should have known Stiles would make a big deal out of this. "You're literally an I.E.D? That's great. That's great. Zoe's dating a walking time bomb - " he looked at Scott " - and you gave him super powers."

I scowled at my brother. "I've told you before, we're not - just shut up, Stiles."

Scott ignored us both. "Did they give you anything for it?"

"Risperdal," mumbled Liam.

At the boys' mildly confused looks, I added, "It's an anti-psychotic." My brother sighed heavily.

"Oh, this just gets better."

"But I don't take it," Liam said."

My brother clapped his hands together. "Obviously."

"Stiles," I hissed, only slightly appalled at his behavior.

Liam huffed. "I can't play lacrosse on it. It makes me too tired."

"Okay." Scott sighed. "I think you should bail out of the game. Tell Coach your leg is still hurting."

Liam stood, pulling me with him. Water dripped from my hair, and my clothes sagged from the excess weight. "No, no!" Liam protested, "I can do this. Especially if you're there." He glanced at his feet. "And Zoe." I smiled slightly. Liam had always liked me to be at his games.

"But, Liam, it's not just about the game," Scott said. "We think whoever killed Demarco might be on our team."

"Who's Demarco?"

I slapped Liam's chest lightly. "Remember that guy I told you about?" I asked. "The one that brought beer to the lake house party? He got beheaded."

He nodded and Scott said, "We think the person who ordered the keg killed Demarco." Liam's brows furrowed, and my eyes lit up. We looked at each other, and Scott's gaze shifted from Liam to me to Liam again. "Liam? Zoe?"

I frowned. "Liam, didn't you say to me earlier this week that Garrett told you he paid for the keg?"

He nodded again and glanced at Scott. "I don't know who ordered it, but Garrett paid for it."

I knew there was a reason I didn't like Garrett.


Ahhh, I'm sorry, I'm awful! School has just been so horrendous. I'm tired all the time, and I have so much homework, and I'm also looking into applying for a job. So updates are probably going to be infrequent. I'm in my junior year of high school, which is supposed to be the toughest, but I'm definitely trying! But anyway. Scrimmage will be next chapter. How did you guys like this one? I'll admit, I struggled a little through the first bit. I was mostly just dragging my feet about writing it. If you care to know, I wrote this chapter under the influence of "Talk Dirty" by Jason Derulo. I don't know why, really. I was just feeling it, and that song gets me going. Anyway, let me know what you thought in a review!

8.19.2014