CHAPTER 4
Scott woke up standing in the hallway of the hospital, next to the door leading up to the roof. Lydia was next to him looking around in confusion. "Well at least we're not tied to beds this time." she marveled.
"Lydia, stay close. I don't want to get separated like last time." She nodded in understanding. Last time they were in Stiles's mind, it had almost immediately separated them and tested them each. It could have had a very different ending had it worked.
They didn't see the boy coming, too distracted in staying together, but they he was running by them and through the door leading to the roof. "Hey!" Scott shouted, following after him. "Hey, kid, I'm pretty sure you shouldn't be coming up here, it can be dangerous." The boy ignored him and continued up the stairs, pushing himself through the door and onto the roof. Scott looked at Lydia before following suit. He had been the only person they had seen since waking up here, maybe he was important? Either way they had to get him off the roof. The kid looked about nine or ten, and definitely shouldn't even know how to get to the roof let alone be on it without a member of the hospital staff present. Scott shouted to the kid one more time when he got to the roof, but the kid had disappeared. Instead what drew Scotts eyes was the figure of the sheriff, talking to a woman that was dangerously close to the edge. Scott froze, trying to decide what to do. Trying to figure out how the sheriff was even here. Was this a trick?
"He's trying to hurt me. I don't care if you don't believe me but he is. He's trying to kill me!"
"Claudia he's ten years old!"
"He's trying to kill me" Scotts head whipped towards the woman. Claudia? But- that was Stiles moms name. Scott looked at the Sheriff again, and this time noticed how much younger he looked, how deep the bags under his eyes were.
"Stop it." Claudia said.
Scott felt Lydia's hand grip his arm. "Scott" she whispered, "She's looking at us." Scott looked back to Stiles mom, her head now facing their direction.
"Stop looking at me like that, stop it!" She started tearing herself free from the sheriffs grip, and then she was running towards them. "Stop looking at me!" she screamed. But instead of running into them, she ran right by them and into the shadows, where she plucked the boy they had followed up here into the light. With his face visible, Scott and Lydia had a brief second to take into account that the boy was crying and had probably heard everything, before his face was blocked out as his mother served him blow after blow, scratching and tearing and punching any part of him she could reach. Scott and Lydia stood frozen , unsure what to do, as muffled screams came from the boy "Mom! Mom! No. Mom stop!" Realization dawned on Scott and he rushed forward. Before he could get to his brother on the ground, Mr. Stilinski ran over and desperately peeled his wife off of his son. At the same time, two nurses burst through the door, alerted by the commotion, and made their way to detain Claudia Stilinski, who was now screaming to take her son away from her.
Little Stiles was hunched over on the ground, his hood up, hiding his face from his dad, who was trying to make sure he was alright. Lydia and Scott exchanged a glance and made their way over as well. Mr. Stilinski was begging his son to put down his hood and look at him. Slowly, he raised his hands, dirty from being shoved on the ground, and lifted his hood to reveal his tear streaked face now red and raw with scratches and dark red spots where Scott knew bruises would form. Lydia grabbed his hand, as they knelt down next to the sheriff. "Mom hates me" little Stiles whimpered.
Lydia's heart went out to the boy she now knew so well. Her gaze drifted to his father, whose face was dark with worry and sadness. Lydia put her free hand out to touch Stiles hand, try to comfort him and make him look at her. Before her fingers brushed his, the world spun, and they were somewhere else.