Chapter 12

Our World is Getting Smaller

Riley got home after school and checked the mailbox. With her bag over her shoulder, she walked back to the house and checked the mail as she went. She unlocked the door and stopped dead in her tracks. There was an envelope addressed to her from the family attorney.

'Dear Miss Riley Goodwin,

I am to notify you, under the request of Jennifer Goodwin; you have 30 dates as of this date to relocate yourself and belongings to a new location. The property in question will go up for sale at the end of the 30 days under the request of Mrs. Goodwin.

The following pages will explain the legal proceedings that took place.

Thank you,

J. Whitman'

Riley stood frozen in the door way. She couldn't believe what she just read. She dropped the envelope, the other mail, and her bag on the inside table just by the door. She turned around to go back outside and ran her hands through her hair. She saw her mother's flower pots lined up along the sidewalk. She took the first one she saw into her hands and through the pot as far as she could into the street. She picked up another one and made to do the same thing she did to the first one but dropped in on her foot. She shouted a curse word and wobbled back to the front porch to sit down, running her hands through her hair.

"Riley, are you okay?"

She looked up and saw her neighbor, Erica, looking at her concerned from her drive way.

"I'm fine…I was trying to rearrange the flowers," Riley said.

"In the middle of the road?" Erica asked.

"Yes, it's a European thing," Riley shouted a little.

Erica turned toward her house and left Riley alone.

Riley breathed in heavy, "Oh my God," she cried into her hands.

After a few minutes, she went inside her house but only made it as far as the couch in the living room because her foot hurt too much.

She sat there and felt her phone vibrate. She got another text from Allison.

So you think I should forgive Scott?

The text message read. She had been texting Allison all day about this issue. Riley replied.

Do whatever you want. It's not my choice.

A few seconds later, she got a reply. Riley picked up her phone and aimed to throw it as the wall in front of her. Just before she could, she felt a hand on her arm. She looked behind her and saw that it was Derek. He took the phone from her and saw that she received a text from Allison.

"Romeo and Juliet getting you down," he teased.

She rolled her eyes, "I wish they would leave me out of it. It's not my problem they broke up, but they keep asking me if the other asked about them. I can't take it anymore," she said.

Derek sat down beside her on the couch about to say something when he looked down at her right leg, "You hurt yourself," he said.

She couldn't look at him, "Just add it to the list of problems that is called 'My Life'," she said.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said as she got up, "Ow!" she cried and sat back down.

Derek grabbed her chin to force her to look at him, "Don't make me ask again."

"I got an envelope in the mail. It's by the door," she said, watching him get up to retrieve it. She watched him as he read the letter, "And I fail at redecorating."

Derek looked outside and saw the flower arrangement. He walked over to her and kneeled down before her. As gently as he could he untied her shoe and removed it along with the sock. He heard her protest the whole time.

He gently touched her foot with his fingers, "Derek," she cried.

He stopped to look up at her, "Be quiet," he ordered. He continued to rub her foot gently. Riley felt her pain slip away, "I don't think anything is broken," he put her foot down and disappeared in the kitchen. He returned with an ice pack, "Lay down," he said. Riley turned to lie down on the couch. Derek picked up her legs to sit down to hold them. He placed the ice pack on her injured foot and held it there for her, "You should be more careful. You're lucky you didn't break anything."

"I'm sorry," she said.

"I feel sorrier for the flowers," he replied.

She smirked, "It caught me off guard."

"I know," he said.

"I can't believe she's doing this to me. It's my house more than hers," she said.

"I'll think of something."

XXX

Derek walked into a diner outside of town carrying a large bag. He walked to the back of the place, looking for someone. He found her waiting on him.

"You're late," Mrs. Goodwin said.

"It took sometime to get the agreed amount," Derek said, "Do you have the papers?"

"I do. I want to see the money before I sign," she said.

He slid the large bag on the floor to her, "It's all there."

"I know it is," she said, "If it wasn't, I would be going to the police and telling them where they could find Derek Hale."

"So we good?" he asked.

Mrs. Goodwin signed the papers, "She could do better than you."

"I'll let Riley decide that," he said before walking away with the deed of the house.

XXX

Riley came home after school to find Derek had laid out a meal for them on the table.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Food," he replied.

"I know that but we usually just order Chinese or pizza," she said.

"It's to celebrate," he said.

"Celebrate?"

"I have something for you," he handed her the deed.

"This is the deed. For the house," she said after looking at it, "Why do you have it?"

"Your mother named a price," he said, watching her face.

"And you just gave it to her," she said, sitting down at the table, "It had to have been a lot of money."

"Don't worry about that," he said.

"Don't worry?!"

"I don't care about money. It was worth every penny," he said.

She stared at him, "You bought my house?"

"Yes."

"You bought my house," she said.

"Yes," he laughed. He pulled out a pen, "Once you sign this, the house is yours."

She took the pen from him, "You bought my house," she whispered before signing the deed.

"Its all yours now," he said.

"But why?" she looked up.

"Because its you," he replied.

She got up and walked over to him, "You bought our home," she said, resting a hand on his chest.

He looked down into her eyes questioningly before kissing her softly.

Dinner was forgotten as Derek picked Riley up in his arms and carried her upstairs.

XXX

A few days later, Riley woke up in a heavy sweat from a recurring nightmare about the fire. She hadn't had the nightmare for a while, but it came back full force. She sat up and realized Derek wasn't in bed with her. She reached for her phone to call him. He didn't pick up. She sighed as she got up to open up her window to let in some fresh air.

After a while, she turned when she heard her phone go off. She got a text message from Scott.

Meet me at lunch tomorrow. I need your help with something.

She didn't reply.

Something was going on and she was being kept out of the loop.

"Why aren't you asleep?" Derek asked from behind her.

"I had a nightmare…about the fire," she said quietly, knowing he could hear her.

He approached her, "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked as he rubbed her shoulders.

"No," she said.

He pulled her back to the bed and had her sit in between his legs with his back to the wall, "I was so close to the alpha tonight."

"What happened?" she asked.

"The alpha went after a guy named Harris at the school," he said.

She turned to look at him, "Why a teacher?"

"I don't know. He might know something. The last time I spoke to Laura, she gave me his name," he said, getting out a piece of paper, "Something about this necklace."

"Allison's necklace?"

"You've seen it?" he asked.

"Yeah, she doesn't take it off. She got it from her bitch of an aunt. I can ask her more about it, if it's that important," she said.

"No, I want you to stay away from this. Scott is going to take care of it," he said.

"How much did Laura find out about the fire?"

"I don't know. If she kept notes, they are gone. I think she was close to finding out something," he said. Riley yawned, "You should get some sleep. You have school."

She sighed, "Just a few more months and I am done. No more evil twins," she said.

XXX

Riley was closing her locker the next day when Jackson approached her.

"Riley, Riley, Riley," he said.

"Jackass, Jackass, Jackass," she said back, "What do you want?"

"You obviously know a lot more about Derek then you let on," he said, "Do you know where I can find him?"

"Try a few states over," she said, trying to side step him but he wouldn't let her.

Jackson ran a finger down her arm, "I think you do know where I can find him. I also think that you know what he is," she looked at him, "Because he knows a lot about you," he said while rubbing the back of his neck, "You know how I can become just like him."

"The crack you took this morning is seriously messing with your brain," she said.

He pushed her to the locker, "Just pass on the message," he walked away from her.

She made her way to lunch to find Scott. She found him sitting with Stiles. She sat down across from Scott, "Do you want to tell me why Jackson assaulted me and then asked about where he can find Derek?"

"He what?" Scott asked.

"He knows about Derek. And I'm guessing he knows about you," she said.

"Why would he confront you?" Stiles asked.

"I don't know. But it better not happen again or I'm seriously going to deck him," she said.

"I might actually enjoy that," Stiles smiled.

"If he does it again, tell me," Scott said.

"Did you get the necklace?" Stiles asked Scott.

"Not exactly," Scott said.

"What happened?" Stiles asked.

"Is this the same necklace Derek mentioned?" she asked.

"Yeah, we might need your help getting it" he said, "I tried talking to Allison and she wouldn't listen."

"Time for plan B," Stiles announced.

"What's plan B?" Scott asked.

"Coming from him, probably a bad one," Riley said.

Stiles ignored her comment, "Just steal the stupid thing."

"That might work," she said.

"Thank you," Stiles said.

"With some more planning," she said.

"Couldn't we try at least getting to Harris?" Scott asked.

"My dad put him on a twenty-four detail. The necklace is all we got. Steal it," Stiles said before taking a big bite of a chicken strip.

"That looks good," she said, "Can I have one?" she reached for one.

Stiles slapped her hand away, "Get your own."

Scott gave Riley one as he looked over her shoulder and noticed something, "He's watching us. Act normal."

"Might be hard for Stiles," she commented.

"I'm serious," Scott said.

"That was me acting normal," she said.

Scott had a look on his face, "What's wrong?" Stiles asked.

"Jackson is talking to me. He knows I can hear him," Scott said.

"Just calm down, you're being too obvious," Riley said.

Scott panicked and looked at Stiles, "Look normal. Pretend that nothing is happening," Scott said as Riley moved her chair over a little to block Scott from Jackson, "Say something. Talk to me!"

Stiles waved his arms, "I can't think of anything. My mind's a complete blank," he said.

"Surprise," Riley commented.

"Your mind's blank? You can't think of something to say?" Scott asked.

"Not under this kind of pressure," Stiles said before looking over at Jackson's table, "FYI. He's not even sitting there anymore."

Riley looked behind her and couldn't find Jackson, "Where is he?" she asked.

"He's talking to me again," Scott said.

The three of them were silent the next couple of minutes until Scott broke his lunch plate, "I'm going to try to find the necklace before I get you involved and have Derek kill me for it," Scott said to Riley, "If I need you, I'll text," he got up and left Stiles alone with Riley.

"Awesome plan," Stiles commented.

"Good luck tonight at your first game," Riley told him as she took a chicken strip from his plate and walked away from the table.

XXX

Just as school was ending, Riley got a text from Scott.

I didn't get it.

She replied.

What do we do?

She waited for a response.

We break into her house.

The plan was for Scott to break in through Allison's window and for Riley to knock on the door and ask to go in.

Riley didn't think it would work because she actually hadn't been inside the Argents' house. Scott was sure it would work, but he didn't know about the confrontation she had with Kate. Or how facing Kate again made her afraid for some reason.

She pushed that aside as she rang the door bell. As she waited, something occurred to her. If Kate knew about her relationship with Derek, then so do the others. Maybe the girlfriend of a known werewolf knocking on the door where hunters lived wasn't such a good idea. Allison's dad knew who she was. Everyone but, "Mrs. Argent, I'm a friend of Allison's. She has something of mine up in her room. I know she isn't here, but she said I could swing by to get it."

"Sure you can dear. Come right in," Mrs. Argent said, holding the door open for her.

"I'll just be a moment," Riley said.

"Take your time. Do you know where it is?" she asked.

"Yep," Riley said, Thank you."

Riley found Scott already in Allison's room, "Did you find it yet?" she whispered.

"No," Scott said, looking in Allison's jewelry box.

"Did you try her underwear drawer?" she asked.

"Yeah, the first place I looked," he replied.

"Of course," she said while looking through her closet, "I have like minutes before Allison's mom comes up to check on me. Maybe this wasn't a good idea to bring me. You could have done it alone."

"No, I'm glad you're here," he said.

Riley saw that he was looked at something. She walked over at him and saw him hold a piece of paper that said 'First date with Scott', "We don't have time to go down memory lane." Scott put that down and found the necklace as a bookmark in an old book, "You found it great. Let's go." Scott didn't move as he got out his phone, "Now is not the time to Google yourself."

"Be quiet a sec," Scott said.

"Are all werewolves that bossy?" she asked.

"Just go," he said.

"Fine, but if you get caught it's your furry ass. Meet you at the game," she said as she left. She ran into Mrs. Argent, "Found it. She borrowed a pair of my ear rings. Thank you again."

"Glad you could find it," Mrs. Argent said as Riley left the house.

XXX

Riley sat with Scott that night at the lacrosse game, "I'm surprised you're here," he said.

"I couldn't miss Stiles' first game for the world," she said.

"Why are you so mean to him?"

"I'm not mean to him…He just begs me," she said.

"Is it because of the thing with his dad?"

"I'm jealous of him because of his relationship with his dad," she said.

"Wow."

"If you breathe a word of that to him, I'll have Derek kill you," she said.

At that moment, Scott's phone rang, "Did you get the picture?" she heard him ask.

…

"No, the thing's flat. No, it doesn't open. There's nothing in it, on it, or around it. Nothing," he replied, "And where are you? You're supposed to be here. You're first line."

"Where the hell is Bilinski?" the coach asked Scott, "What is she doing here? Only the players sit here."

"Sorry, I'll move," Riley said.

Riley heard yelling on the other end of the phone. Scott looked at her, "Derek wants to talk to you."

"Hello?"

"What are you doing there?" Derek asked.

"I'm at the game supporting Stiles," she said.

"Stiles isn't even there," he said.

"I came here to talk to Scott after we…"

"After you what?"

"Stole…Allison's necklace," she said.

"I told you not to get involved."

"I wanted to help with something. You can't always keep me in the dark," she said.

"We'll talk about this later."

Riley handed the phone back to Scott and said to Stiles, "Man, you're not going to play if you're not here to start."

…

Scott hanged up.

"I better go find a seat before your coach kills me," Riley said, getting up. She saw Allison sitting in the stands as she made her way over to her when someone stopped her.

"Well, isn't it little Miss Riley," Kate sneered at her, "Where is your boyfriend these days?"

"Oh, you know out and about," Riley replied.

"Howling at the moon, I bet," Kate said.

"What is your problem?" Riley asked.

Kate looked at her, "It's you little girl. Taking over my scrapes," Riley looked at her confused, "Sloppy seconds aren't always the best, but it's better than nothing." Riley didn't say anything as she stared at her as Kate's meaning came to light, "Watching the look on your face as you're figuring it out is priceless. I feel dirty sometimes thinking about what I had to do to earn his trust, but then other times it gets me excited thinking about what he is capable of in the sack. So like I said before, you can have your wolf sloppy seconds," she turned to leave.

"At one time, it was good enough for you," Riley said.

Kate turned around and slapped Riley across the face, "You should watch yourself before I destroy you."

"You think I'm afraid of you?"

"Sweetheart, you should be," Kate said.