Gut wrenching screaming, woke Stiles that night. He bolted up in his bed with a gasp, his startled heart racing.
He vaguely realized in his half asleep state that the screaming was coming from Accalia who was sleeping in their guest room, he threw his blankets off his legs and stumbled into the hallway.
He hesitated outside of the guest room door, noticing that the light was on down stairs and his father who was usually a pretty light sleeper hadn't bothered to come check to see what was wrong.
With one last wary look toward the room, he hesitantly made his way down stairs and into the dinning room, where his father sat at the table his eyes red and sleep deprived, and his chin resting heavily on the palm of his left hand, he was holding a piece of paper in his right, a file laying on the table in front of him.
"Dad," Stiles called astonished "What's going on?"
"Sit." His Dad commanded with a heavy sigh dropping the paper in his hand in favor of rubbing it down his face.
"Who's file is that?" Stiles questioned.
"Accalia Hale's." His Father stated giving him a hard look, "Now listen, normally I wouldn't do this, but if she's staying here you need to know how to handle it."
Stiles shifted nervously, wincing as another round of screaming broke out upstairs, "Dad, come on." He urged.
"Your aware of the Hale fire I assume?"
Stiles nods and he continues.
"Right well, Laura Hale and Derek Hale were the only two not at the house at the time. Their were twelve other people there at the time, Accalia and her twin sister Cora, were among them, they were ten."
"Accalia and her uncle Peter Hale, were the only two survivors, Cora didn't make it and neither did anyone else."
"How did she get out?" He asked quietly almost scared that she was listening.
"We don't know for sure. They think Peter pushed her out of a broken window before pulling himself out. She was unconscious, suffered pretty serious burns and smoke inhalation. Peter on the other hand is currently still comatose. Laura was left in charge of Derek and Accalia, and they took off to new york."
"Laura had her put into therapy there, thats were the files came from. She suffers from survivors guilt, she was showing some signs PTSD, and sever separation anxiety and night terrors."
Stiles eyes were wide by the time he was through, now understanding where the screaming was coming from, and why his father hadn't woken her up, with her having PTSD on top of the night terrors she could react violently.
"Well there has to be something we can do? I mean didn't they have to do something for her? She was only what, ten when this started?" Stiles asked frantically waving his arms.
"The therapist had it noted, that Laura had informed them, that she was always more attached to Derek and while he had withdrawn after the fire, He always let Accalia sleep with him. It was the only thing that helped the nightmares."
"And now Derek's gone." Stiles stated with a sigh, guilt settling into his stomach like a rock.
"Now I'd hate to do this after today, but if we're gonna figure this thing out, and catch him I have to go back into the station." His Father winced.
Stiles nodded his understanding not even letting himself feel upset because, he had brought it on himself.
"Are you absolutely sure that you'll be alright by your self?" The Sheriff questioned seriously.
Stiles once again nodded in reply watching his father fight sleep to go back to work, while the werewolf sister of the either dead or now in hiding werewolf they just blamed for mass murder screamed in her sleep because she was terrified of being left alone. It was safe to say that Stiles wanted to curl up in a hole and let the guilt swallow him, but he couldn't so instead he crept back upstairs.
He hesitated only for a minute before forcing himself to wrap a hand around the door handle to the guest room and push it open, the room was dark and cold he noticed, Accalia had opened the window, in the light of the hallway and the almost full moon he could see her face bare of makeup and blood, and marked with dried tears, scrunched up in pain while she tossed and turned restlessly.
He took a deep breath and tiptoed to the edge of the bed kneeling on it with one knee, reaching out a shaky hand prepared for what ever reaction she had and nervously nudged her awake "Accalia" He whispered harshly.
She bolted up with a scream tears leaking out of her wild eyes that had momentarily flashed silver, her hair sticking to her cheeks, still damp from the shower she had taken and wearing one of stiles shirts, she gasp before her eyes found his and she deflated. "Stiles?" She croaked.
"Shh, It's alright." He whispered swallowing thickly before crawling the rest of the way into the bed, and laying down next to her. He wrapped his hand gently around hers and closed his eyes tightly, against the tears trying to built up in his own. "Go to sleep."
Her cheeks flushed in shy embarrassment and she fidgeted for a minute tears silently flowing down her cheeks and sniffling before she told herself to suck it up and laid back down next to the boy who had kind of become a friend.
"I'm sorry." He told her guilty a painful whisper in the quiet room.
She broke pressing her face into his neck her shoulders shaking with sobs, as she lent against the only thing she had at the moment.
Stiles wrapped an arm around her, letting a few silent tears fall in empathy for the girl who had lost everything.
Twenty minutes later she had cried herself into exhaustion and had finally fallen back asleep curled up on his chest, it seemed to be peaceful this time.
Stiles laid awake watching over her, thinking about the girl who was so hard and bitter, at only sixteen, who had to be cold and harsh to protect herself, who was left painfully alone in the world, who had saved his Dad and him, who had tried to teach his best friend control, who was terrified of being alone and really, really tired.
He saw her for the first time that night for who she really was, and it broke him.
He vowed then that he would make sure that she was never alone, because he would be there.
In whatever way she let him.
"I promise."
