Chapter Sixteen - Tell Me Why
~ A Teen Wolf fanfiction collaboration between Miss E Charlotte and Sage Londyn.~
After leaving the loft, Avery made her way back home. Her head was spinning from all the newly learned information.
No wonder no one had heard from Derek since he'd left his loft after killing Boyd. He'd seen more heartache and pain in his life than she could have even imagined.
Up until learning about Paige from Peter moments before, she'd thought Derek's worst relationship had to have been Kate Argent using him to kill his family. But now her heart broke for him, she couldn't imagine being in his shoes. Being afraid that his first love would leave him because of what he was, so he'd had her bitten to be turned. But something had gone wrong, for some reason Paige's body rejected the bite and instead of dying a slow, agonizing death Derek had ended her suffering. The last kind act, the last act of love he could do for her.
A tear ran down her cheek, she swatted it away and tried to focus on the road and making it home safely.
The way Peter had told the story, made it sound like the entire thing was Derek's idea, but this was Peter Hale and he wasn't a reliable narrator. Which left her thinking that in one way or another; his uncle had ultimately been to blame for the situation.
Her sadness was laced with anger as she gripped the steering wheel and remembered when Peter wanted to turn her, then he'd tried time and time again to get Derek to bite and turn her.
As she pulled into her driveway, she shut the car off and thought to herself that no wonder Derek had been so against Avery becoming a werewolf. He'd already lost someone he loved that way, what if the same thing had happened to her?
She walked in the front door of the silent house. Knowing her father was at work, she kicked her shoes off by the front door, then pulled the loose fitted dress she was wearing from over her head, leaving her in a pair of short shorts and a tank top.
She made her way up the stairs, heading for her room, with only one goal in mind, taking a long, hot relaxing bath. At least she hoped she could relax. With everything still going on with the alpha pack, Deucalion breathing down her neck, losing Erica and Boyd, and now Derek missing, she knew it would be hard to turn her mind off, but she knew she had to try.
She read in one of her mother's journals about a mixture of herbs to add while soaking in the tub and wanted to try it out. She knew there was no way she can continue learning about what her mother could do and ways to tap into her own mind and see what she is capable of unless she could get her mind to relax.
Once in her room, she walked straight to her desk to grab the herbs she would need, not even glancing around the room. With jars in hand, she turned around and gasped in surprise, when she saw a distraught Teagan sitting in the middle of her bed. Aspen and Annabel Lee were laying together at the end of the bed, both raised their heads to look at Avery, before laying back down and closing their eyes.
"Jeez, T. You scared me!" Avery said, as she placed her hands, which were still holding the glass jars against her chest.
"Sorry." Teagan mumbled. "I had a key, so I just-"
"It's ok. You know you never have to explain why you're sitting in my room. I was just surprised is all." Avery said. Hoping to cheer her friend up, she added, "it's just, what if I had been naked or something?"
"I've seen you naked before, A." Teagan said with a shrug of her shoulder, like it was no big deal.
"Ok. This is worse than I thought." Avery said with a sigh, knowing whatever was bothering her friend was pretty bad when she didn't even crack a smile. She just kept her head down, pulling at the shaggy throw blanket across the bed, just trying to keep herself from falling apart. Too much was hitting her at once and she didn't know how much more she could take.
Avery sat the jars back down on the desk, then walked over toward the bed. She sat down in front of Teagan, then asked,"what's wrong, T? Is Isaac still being a dick about the whole training thing? Cause I told him-"
Before Avery could finish her sentence, Teagan's face scrunched up as she pulled her legs up to her chin and broke out in a sob. Avery's mouth dropped open in surprise as she watched her best friend fall apart in front of her eyes.
"Wha-Hey, come here, T. It's ok." Avery said, as she scooted closer and wrapped her arms around Teagan. Thinking all of this was about Isaac, she ran a hand up and down her back, trying to comfort her, as she said, "He'll get over it, T. He's just scared for you, but-"
"It's not just that!" Teagan cried out, interrupting her, as she pulled back. "It's everything! It's alphas... My mom... Bracelet... I found. Then dad... Yelled... I left and I-I can't... I can't-" Teagan tried to explain through her tears, but only made herself more upset.
When she began to gasp for breath, Avery swore out loud, then jumped up to grab her phone, quickly dialing Isaac. All she said when he answered was, "Get your ass over here. Now!"
Once she ended the call, she tossed her phone on the bed, then ushered Aspen and Annabel Lee from the room. The last thing Teagan needed was for them to be all over her, even though she knew Aspen was worried about his owner.
With the pets out of the room, Avery sat back down in front of Teagan on the bed. She grabbed onto Teagan's hands, feeling them shaking, and called out her name a few times, but all she could do was watch helplessly as Teagan gasped for air in between sobs.
It felt like the longest couple of minutes of Avery's life, until she heard the door slam open downstairs, followed by the sound of footsteps running up stairs and then down the hall. Isaac slammed the bedroom door open, then rushed over toward the bed.
Avery saw the worried look on his face, as he kneeled down on the floor beside the bed. She stood up and made her way toward the doorway, keeping Aspen distracted, as Isaac softly spoke to Teagan.
"Hey, hey, baby, hey. Look at me, look at me, Teagan." Isaac said, as he laid a hand on the side of her face, turning her head to look at him. "You gotta breathe, babe. Breathe with me, ok?" He added, as he slowly breathed in and out a few times, hoping she would copy him.
He watched her close her eyes and take a deep breath, then blow it out. He lightly stroked the side of her face as he whispered, "That's good, baby, that's good. Keep breathing, ok? Just keep breathing."
Teagan nodded her head at his words, as she breathed in again, then slowly released the breath, feeling her heart rate slowly return to normal. Once she felt better in control, she opened her eyes, seeing Isaac's concerned ones staring at her. Without a word, she slid off the bed, falling into his lap and felt him wrap his arms around her, holding her tight.
"Shh, it's ok, baby. I got you." He whispered, as he kissed the side of her head, feeling like he could finally breathe again too. He had followed her scent earlier from her house and was heading for Avery's when she had called. He could hear Teagan's heart pounding over the phone and ran as fast as he could to get to her. He didn't know what had upset her, and he still didn't know, but he would worry about that later, for now, he just wanted to make sure she was ok.
When he felt her grab on to his shirt, gripping it tight, as if she feared he would leave, he ran his hand up her back to cradle the back of her head. He rested his chin on top of her head, as he whispered again, "I got you, babe, and I'm not going anywhere, ok?"
He felt her nod her head and loosen her grip on his shirt. He held on to her silently, just listening to her breath until he realized she had fallen asleep. With everything that had happened to her lately; finding out about her mom, fighting with the two most important men in her life, her father and Isaac, then on top of hardly no sleep and a panic attack, it didn't take long for her to pass out once she was in Isaac's arms.
He looked over her head at Avery, who had thrown on a pair of jeans and another shirt on top of the tank top she was wearing while he was calming down Teagan earlier. When he caught her eye, he nodded his head toward the bed, asking her to pull the comforter back. Once she was done, he stood up, with Teagan still in his arms, then carefully laid her down in the bed.
Avery watched as he pulled the comforter over her, then watched her for a few moments. She had a feeling he was listening to her heart beat, making sure it was beating normally as she peacefully slept. She could see the love he had for her best friend as he stood protectively by the bed. Not that she ever doubted the love he had for Teagan, but it always warmed her heart to see. If things got as bad as Avery feared they would, she was happy to know that Teagan was left in good hands.
When he looked over at her, she nodded her head toward the bedroom door, telling him to follow her, as they both silently left the bedroom. Neither one said a word, as they walked down the stairs and made their way to the back door. She let Aspen out in the fenced in back yard, then turned around to face Isaac. Both of them had questions and no answers.
"What happened?" Isaac asked her.
"Your guess is as good as mine." Avery answered with a shrug. "When I got home she was here. I thought she was still upset about the fight you two had." She added.
Isaac sighed as he ran his hands over his face and through his hair, before saying,"I never should have yelled at her. I was just so-"
"I know." Avery said, interrupting him. The two had already talked about it earlier, she knew how badly he felt about it, but she felt like there was more to it than their argument. Which is what she told him. "She said something about the alpha pack, then her mom and dad. Something set her off the edge."
Isaac nodded his head at her words agreeing with her. Teagan was one of the strongest people he knew, and was getting stronger every day. After everything all of them have been through, he knew it had to be something bad that set her off like that. It had been around a year since the last time she had a panic attack.
He opened his mouth, planning to ask Avery what she thought it could be, until he heard Teagan shifting around in the bed upstairs. He looked up at the ceiling where he knew Avery's bed room was, then said, "I think she's waking up or either having a nightmare." Either way, he was itching to rush to her side.
"Go." Avery simply said when she saw the look on his face.
Isaac nodded his head then turned to walk out of the kitchen, he turned his head to look at Avery, surprised that she wasn't following him. He turned around to face her before asking, "Are you coming?"
"I think you two need to talk and I'm going to go... somewhere." Avery said, wanting to give them some privacy. "I'll be here for her later, but I think right now, you are the one she needs."
"Even though I'm an idiot that screwed everything up?" Isaac questioned, still feeling guilty for Teagan's break down.
Avery chuckled at his comment, then said, "You're not an idiot and you didn't screw up anything. You love her and would go to the ends of the earth for her. She knows that, and that is exactly what she needs right now."
Isaac softly smiled at her words, then said, "Be careful." He wasn't sure where she was going or what she was doing, but he needed her to come back safely. Not only for Teagan but for himself as well; she had become one of his closest friends and he had already lost enough.
"I will." Avery promised, as she let Aspen back in. She gave Isaac a smile, as she added, "Just take care of my best friend."
Isaac nodded his head, giving her a silent promise, then turned and made his way out of the kitchen and over to the stairs. He watched Aspen walk into the living room, then lay down with Annabel Lee in one of her beds that were laying in different rooms around the house. Even he looked sad, Isaac figured it was cause he knew Teagan was upset.
Isaac made his way upstairs and over toward the bedroom door. He creaked the door open and poked his head inside, seeing her tossing and turning in the bed with a pained look on her face. He quickly entered the room, making his way over to the bed, and sat down beside her.
When he heard her heart begin to race and saw her breathing heavily, he reached out, pushing her hair off her face, as he softly said her name, trying to gently wake her up. Teagan, feeling someone touch her, snapped her eyes open with a gasp, then relaxed when she saw it was just Isaac.
"Hey, babe, you ok?" Isaac questioned, seeing the tears in her eyes and wondered exactly what she was dreaming about.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm ok." Teagan mumbled, as she sat up in bed, avoiding his eyes as she pulled her legs up to her chin.
"Teagan..." Isaac began to say, knowing she wasn't being honest with him.
"I don't want to fight with you." Teagan said with a tired sigh. After fighting with him before and then her father, she was too tired for a round two. "I don't want to fight with anyone." She added, as she stretched her arms out in front of her then wrapped them around her legs, as if she was trying to protect herself.
Isaac lowered his head and sighed, the guilt of their earlier fight hitting him again. "I'm sorry, Teagan, I really am." He softly said, as he shook his head, beating himself up.
He heard her sniffle and knew she was trying to hold back the tears, but he could tell she wasn't doing a very good job of it. He could smell the salt from her tears as a few fell down her face.
"The alpha pack killed my mother." She said, barely above a whisper.
"What?" Isaac asked surprised, as his head shot up to look at her. He could hear the pain in her voice, her tone and words caused his heart to break for her. He had never heard her sound so broken before. He knew he had to have heard her wrong though. He wouldn't put it past the pack to murder an innocent woman, but the thought of them going after her family that long ago sent a chill down his spine.
"That's why I've been so out of it. The night Boyd-" She began to say, unable to finish the sentence, instead she continued, "I found out mom was killed by the pack and I just- I can't get it out of my mind. I can't figure out why. Why did they do this?" More tears fell down her face, as she cried, "Why did they take her from me? Isaac, why? Why did they take my mom?"
"Shh, come here." Isaac whispered, as he pulled her into his arms while she broke down. He wished he could answer her question, he wish he knew why they did this. He also wondered how she found out the truth, but he knew now wasn't the time to question her.
He continued to hold her as she cried, he wasn't going to let her go until she was ready. He whispered words of comfort to her, as he lightly kissed the side of her head a couple of times.
When she pulled back to look at him, he wiped the tears from either side of her face, then rested his hands on her face, as he said, "I'm sorry, baby. I don't know why this happened to you, but I won't rest until I find out why they took her from you."
"No." Teagan said, as she shook her head. She laid one of her hands on the side of his face, as she added, "I don't want you near them. I don't want to lose you; you are all I have left."
As Isaac shot her a confused look, she sighed, then looked down before continuing, "Me and dad had a fight. I left."
Isaac nodded his head once, the question of why she was in Avery's room was now answered. He placed a finger under her chin, forcing her to look up at him, as he asked, "Whatever you two fought about, I'm sure you can work it out. Your dad loves you, Teagan."
Teagan shook her head, as she said, "There is no working it out."
"What was the fight about?"
"You." Teagan whispered, feeling fresh tears fill her eyes. "He knows what you are. He knows what's going on and he wants me out. He wants me away from you and I can't- I'm not going to walk away from you, Isaac."
"Shit." Isaac softly swore, as he looked down at the bed. The last thing he wanted was to come between her and her father. He took a shaky breath, then raised his head to look at her, as he said, "Teagan, maybe you should listen-"
"No! Don't you dare tell me to listen to him." Teagan interrupted, as she sat forward. She grabbed his hands, holding them tight, as she said, "We're in this together, remember? It's you and me. It's always you and me."
"But your dad-"
"Made his choice." Teagan said, interrupting again. She swallowed hard, she hated what was happening, she loved her dad, but she loved Isaac too. He was her future, her life and she was honest before, she wasn't walking away. She felt confident in her words, as she added, "And I've made mine. I choose you. I'll always choose you, Isaac."
~()~
With an exasperated sigh Avery shut her car off and looked over to the cemetery entrance. This wasn't where'd she'd planned to come, but there was a group of middle schoolers hanging out in the old, abandoned park she normally went to when she was upset.
And she wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone at that point, she just wanted somewhere where she could be alone with her thoughts.
Taking a deep breath she slowly pushed open the car door and walked into the cemetery, she slowly walked along – numbly reading the names off of the headstones.
Funny she thought, that she'd came to be alone with her thoughts and now she was using every little distraction to keep from thinking about the day, from thinking about what her life had become.
Pulling her phone out she called Derek, but it didn't surprise her when the call went straight to voicemail. She was trying to be patient and give him space, if it hurt that bad to lose a friend she'd only had since the summer she couldn't imagine what it must feel like for Derek to lose one of his betas. One that he'd bitten and turned himself.
Tucking her phone back into her jeans pocket, she glanced around at the headstones, her sight stopping on one carved from pink marble. What was even more impressive than the headstone itself was that there were rose bushes to either side of it, not just blooming but flourishing.
Drawn to it she froze once she was close enough to read the name: Aliene Marie Dukate.
Her mother.
Her mouth went dry, contrasting her sweaty palms which she was nervously rubbing on her jeans.
How the hell could she forget what her mother's headstone looked like? Of course, in truth she'd only visited it a few times.
She knew Teagan felt comfort when she visited her own mother's grave, but it only made Avery feel pain. She didn't know how anyone could go and just talk to a slab of marble or cement, she'd tried before but it didn't feel like her mom was listening.
Glancing up to the sky, she wondered if her mom was watching over her. After everything she'd been through, she had no doubt hell existed but heaven? She wasn't even sure if she believed in any of that anymore.
Her legs shook as she stepped up closer to the ornate stone and took a deep breath, maybe if it worked for Teagan it would work for her too.
"Mom?"
But her voice was met by deafening silence, there weren't even any cars on the nearby streets.
"I don't know if you can hear me…" Her voice trailed off with a dry laugh as she looked around.
Rolling her eyes at herself for even trying, she turned and started to walk away when a soft wind blew through her hair. And she wondered what would be worse, her mom not being able to hear her, or if her mom had been watching over her.
Keeping her back to the stone, she let her mind wander. What would her mom think of her if she had been watching over her? With all of her promiscuity, and the way she'd let guys use her just to feel wanted and important. It was enough to make her hate herself.
But she knew she wasn't that person anymore. Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought about Derek, he'd been the first guy to ever see her as more than an easy piece of ass. He'd showed her that she was capable of love, and worthy of being loved.
Her mind continued to race, going over her every flaw and mistake until she was outraged at what her mom would probably think of her.
Spinning around she yelled, "Do you have any idea what growing up without a mom is like? What losing you did to me? What it did to dad? He's been buried in work since we lost you… I'm practically an orphan in designer clothes! I raised myself, and I've done a really shitty job."
Shaking her head back and forth she walked closer and continued, "Where the hell are you? I have lost so many people, so many friends because you never taught me what I was capable of. I… I watched Boyd get killed and all I could do was stand helpless on the sidelines."
Taking a deep breath and still feeling anger coursing through her veins she said with gravel in her voice, "You should have been here… you should have taught me all of this!"
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she dropped to her knees on the hard earth and ran her trembling fingers over the carvings in the marble and managed to squeak out, "I lost you… and I lost Boyd and Erica. I've almost lost Teagan and Derek… every single person left on this earth that I care about is in grave danger and I don't know what to do. Teagan wants me to fight… I want to fight, but I don't think I'm strong enough. I've lost too many people and I won't let anyone die for me."
Her chin quivered and she roughly smacked the tears away from her cheeks, until all of the anger and fear that had been bubbling up inside of her for months came to the surface and before she even knew what she was doing, her bare fists collided with the hard surface of the headstone, her skin splitting open on impact with the carvings.
Until she didn't have any fight left in her and her now bloody hands fell to the ground beside her, clutching onto handfuls of soft grass as her entire body continued to shake from her crying.
Once all of her tears had dried she slowly raised her head, a disappointed look falling over her face as she looked to her bloody, swollen knuckles. She'd lost control again, just like the time she'd destroyed her room the year before when Derek left her alone after the night she'd almost been killed at the video store.
Looking around and almost seeming to realize where she was for the first time she scrambled to her feet, looking around briefly before she turned and started for her car.
Remembering all the thing she'd said to her mom, she paused and looked over her shoulder as she started to apologize but then stopped herself. It was just a slab of marble, it wasn't her mother. Even after everything she'd said and the emotions she'd let go… she didn't feel any comfort there. Just an emptiness.
Looking up she saw something move in the tree line and it hit her, that prickly, uncomfortable feeling that came with being watched.
The hairs stood up on the back of her neck as she scanned her surroundings, she didn't need werewolf senses to tell her someone was watching her. It felt just like the night outside of her house when she'd taken Annabel for a walk to talk to Isaac, and he'd hurried her back to her house.
Keeping her eyes open for any approaching threat, she made her way back to her car, without another thought about her mom as she drove away.
~()~
Some time later, Avery walked into the house after leaving the cemetery. She still couldn't escape the feeling of someone watching her. It was the same feeling she had at the beginning of the summer before the alpha pack took her. She wouldn't be surprised if Deucalion had someone watching her, seeing how quickly she is learning and making sure she'll choose what he thinks is the right decision.
She walked into her bedroom, trying to ignore her swollen knuckles, and saw Teagan laying in the bed with Aspen laid out beside her and Annabel Lee laying on top of the pillow by her head, it was like both animals were trying to comfort her. She glanced around the room with a surprised expression on her face, then said, "Where's Isaac?"
She walked further into the room, then added, "I figured he would be stuck to you like glue. You two did make up, right?"
"Yeah we're good." Teagan said, a small smile appeared on her lips. There was still a lot going on, but at least she and Isaac were ok now. That was one less worry on her mind.
"Wait, you two didn't 'make up' in my bed, did you?" Avery asked, as she made a face.
"No. It wasn't like that." Teagan said with short chuckle, then added, "He just held me for a while then went back to Scott's."
"Why? He could have stayed here tonight." Avery pointed out.
Teagan shrugged then said, "I tried to tell him that but I guess he didn't want to over stay his welcome or make your dad mad or something."
"Did he forget that Derek practically lived with me last year and my father never cared." Avery stated.
"I guess so." Teagan said. She was silent for a moment, watching Avery change into a set of pajamas, then walk over to the bed. She finally cleared her throat, then said, "Speaking of living with you, I was wondering... can I crash her for a while?"
"You don't even have to ask." Avery said with a nod. She laid down in the bed, Aspen laying between them, then added, "I was already going to get the guest room together for you tomorrow."
"How did you-"
"This isn't the first time you ran away from home." Avery said, as she looked over at Teagan, a smile on her lips as she thought about it.
Teagan rolled over on to her back, like Avery, then chuckled as she remembered. It was so long ago, she had honestly forgotten. It felt like another life time ago. She was about to turn six and all she wanted was a pony, but when her birthday rolled around, there was no pony.
She cried for days then threatened to run away. Trying to use reverse psychology on her, her mom packed a bag for her, knowing if she did leave, she wouldn't go far and she didn't. She showed up at Avery's house with a back pack strapped to her back and a puppy Aspen in her arms. She slept at Avery's house for a few nights until she got home sick and finally called her mom to come get her.
"This is a little more serious than not getting a pony." Teagan said, as she thought about the fight with her father again.
"What's going on, T?" Avery asked with a concerned look. She was glad to see that Teagan didn't look as upset as earlier, but seeing her gasp for air while having a panic attack still worried her.
"Dad knows." Teagan simply said.
"Knows what? Everything?" Avery asked, her eyes wide.
"Yep, everything." Teagan answered with a sigh. She turned her head to look at Avery as she said, "He doesn't want me involved with anything, even Isaac."
"Ouch. I'm sorry, T." Avery said sincerely. While she and her dad were never close, she knew how close Teagan and her father were. She knew how hard this was for Teagan to having to choose between family and love.
"I can't just walk away from all of this, A, and I can't walk away from Isaac." Teagan said, then added, "So I had to walk away from him."
Avery nodded her head in understanding, then said, "I'm sure he'll come around, T. I mean, look at my dad, he is surprisingly understanding of it. It freaked him out, just like it does your dad, but once the shock wears off, he'll understand."
"I hope you're right." Teagan said. She looked up at the ceiling, as she added, "There's more to it though. I found out the truth about my mom. The alpha pack killed her."
"Wait- what?" Avery said, as she rolled over on to her side. She raised up, placing her arm on the bed and resting her head on her hand, as she looked down at Teagan in shock.
"Ethan told me." Teagan stated, then added, "The day Boyd, you know..."
Avery now realized that must have been where Ethan was while Aiden grabbed her. "Wait..." She began to say, as a thought hit her, then continued, "Maybe he was just screwing with you; trying to distract you while they went after Derek and his pack."
"I would consider that as an option, but I believe him. Looking back on it, there were times before he and his brother made comments that didn't make sense before, but now it does." Teagan explained. "Plus then there is this." She said, as she sat up in the bed and grabbed something from the table. She laid the bracelet she found of her mothers earlier that day in Avery's hand, as she added, "I found that this morning in the woods. It was mom's. She always wore it, even on the morning she went jogging, but it was never found until now."
"So it's not enough that they killed her, now they are rubbing it in." Avery said with a hint of anger, as she looked over the bracelet. She never saw it in person, but she remembered Teagan telling her about it when they got it for Christmas after they moved.
Teagan nodded her head, then said, "I just don't know why."
Avery stared at the bracelet, her mind wandering, trying to find a connection then gasped when a thought hit her. She looked up at Teagan, then said, "I think I know why."
As Teagan shot her a confused look, Avery sat up, then leaned over the bed, to grab a book she had tucked under the bed. She sat back up and held the book out to Teagan, as she said, "This was one of mom's journals." She paused for a moment, watching Teagan flip through it, then said, "You know how I mentioned Deucalion telling me that mom was a powerful emissary?"
"Yeah." Teagan said with a nod, as she flipped through a few pages, stopping when she saw her mother's name. 'I brought Lisa to the Hale house today. I never wanted to involve her, but she insisted. She didn't want me to handle this on my own. She always says she will never turn her back on me, I just fear that will cost her in the end.' She softly read out loud.
Teagan raised her head to look at Avery, the meaning of those words hitting her full force. It was like history repeating itself, her mother was like her, always willing to help her best friend, no matter what and in the end, it did cost Lisa her life.
Could that be why the pack went after her mother, they thought she knew more than she did? Or were there other reasons? She wasn't sure, but she was going to find out.
A/N – I hope you guys liked the chapter, thank so much for reading!
So, from what I understand tonight on the new ep of Teen Wolf we not only finally get to find out what Parrish is, but the identity of the benefactor is also revealed! What are you're guys' theories on Parrish, and who do you think is the benefactor?
It's all of your continued support and kind reviews that really keep us writing and getting these chapters out as soon as we do. So if you're still reading, please take a few moments to drop a few lines and let us know!