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chapter five:

⤵︎ ⤹
⤷ THE TELL ⤶
01 x 05

❝ I KNOW WHAT I SAW, ALRIGHT ?? IT WAS REAL ! IT WAS REAL AND I KNOW IT !! ❞

❝ CORDY . . . ❞

❏❐❑

STUCK IN BETWEEN JACKSON
and Lydia wasn't how Cordelia had planned to spend her evening, but that is what was currently happening.

They had been parked outside of a video rental store for around ten minutes now as Jackson tried to persuade Lydia to watch a sports movie. He'd already been through this discussion before with Cordelia, who ended up giving in and watching the movie. Though it was quite clear that the strawberry blonde in the seat next to him was nothing like his brunette best friend.

"Hoosiers is not only the best basketball movie ever. It is the best sports movie ever made !" Jackson yelled, his anger getting the best of him due to his girlfriends apprehension to watch something he wanted for once.

Lydja, forever stubborn, just shook her head with a small smirk on her face. "No."

Eagerly, the jock tried to defend the movie. "It's got Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper !"

Lydia stubbornly shook her head while Cordelia's brows furrowed, nit knowing who to the two actors mentioned were, and she'd seen the film. "No."

Jackson huffed, his hands clenching around the steering wheel. "Lydia, I swear to God, you're gonna like it."

The teens' eyes narrowed in frustration. "No." She spoke in the same tone as before.

"I am not watching The Notebook again." He yelled, not wanting to give in and fall Prey to yet another rom com ━ he'd seen enough of those to last a lifetime ━.

Not fazed by his outburst, Lydia and Cordelia shared a knowing glance in the rear view mirror before turning their attention to Jackson. The teen just sighed deeply, knowing what was in store for him tonight.

◤━━━━━━━━━━━◥

"CAN SOMEBODY HELP US FIND
The Notebook ??" Jackson asked out loud as he and Cordelia peered around the seemingly empty video store.

"Hello? Is anybody working here ??" He called out once more, scoffing lightly. "You gotta be kidding me . . ."

Cordelia frowned as they continued to move around the store, looking around for any sign of worker still there to help them. But it was empty.

The pair continued walking around until a hand fell to her arm, stopping her in their tracks. Her blue eyes fell forward, and a gasp got stuck in her throat. The brunette scrunched her eyes tightly shut before pulling them open, still seeing the lone pair of feet sticking out from one of the aisles.

"You see that, too . . . right ??" She asked shakily, not wanting to jump to conclusions because, as of right now, she wasn't sure what she was seeing that was real and fake anymore.

Jackson, seemingly snapping out of a daze, nodded slowly. "Uh . . . yeah . . ." He swallowed harshly and forced his feet to keep moving across the poorly carpeted ground.

Cordelia tightly gripped his arm as they hesitantly made their way around the aisle. And right there, as clear as day, was the dead body of the clerk. Throat and body slashed to bits. Blood sprayed everywhere and pooling deep into the fabricated ground, staining it a harrowing shade of crimson.

Jackson and Cordelia's eyes widened as they stumbled back in fear at the sight. After all, what is one to do when stumbling across a dead body.

"Oh my god . . ." Cordelia breathed out, already pulling out her phone to call the police.

Jackson quickly pulled the pair back from the body but cursed as he accidentally bumped back into the ladder behind him. It crashed to the ground and ripped wires as it did so, surrounding them in darkness.

Her fingers were already hovering over the buttons, but before she could do so, a low and ominous growl sounded from behind them.

Cordelia was already on edge enough and did not want to turn around. But she found her body moving before she could control it, and what she saw was a horrifying sight, yet unfortunately, an all too familiar one. Standing behind them was the monster that plagued not only her nightmares but every waking moment of her life, too. Its red eyes glowed in the dark as it stared at them, not making a move. As though it was waiting for them to try to run. To try and escape.

Without wasting another second, Jackson grabbed her hand and pulled her behind a shelf, their backs pressed tightly against it as her hand was over her mouth. Both teens could practically feel their hearts beating rapidly against their rib cages as they tried to steady their breathing, not wanting to give away their hiding spot.

Jackson gave her a look as if to stay silent, and he peered around the corner of the shelf in an attempt to get a glance as to what was hunting them. As he did so, Cordelia pulled her phone back out, her fingers shakily scrolling through her contacts until she found who she was looking for. The brunette didn't know why she was calling him of all people but quickly pressed the dial button. It rang for a few moments before he answered. Shocked and confused.

"Cordelia ??"

Hope filled her body as she lowered her tone of voice. "Stiles . . ." She nervously spoke, her voice shaky and terrified.

Stiles' brows furrowed, hearing her clearly scared tone, earning a look of confusion and concern from his father. "Cordelia, are you okay ?? What's wrong ??" He asked, sitting up and shuffling his food to the side, suddenly not feeling all too hungry anymore.

The brunette cried softly as she tried to muffle the sound. "We ━ we're at the video store and . . ." She suddenly paused as her breath hitched at the sound of the monster inching closer. "He's dead . . . something killed him." She added, her mind trailing back the dead and bloodied body of the clerk.

Stiles' eyes widened at the news, as did his father's as his food also got pushed to the side as he ignited the cars engine, ready to drive to their location.

"What ?? Who's dead, Cordelia ??" The teen questioned, dread creeping up in him as he glanced to his father.

"The clerk . . . something ━ something killed him." She said in a sincere and scared voice.

Stiles was about to respond when suddenly a gasp left her throat. "What is it ??" He asked desperately, wanting to help her as much as he could while also getting the information he needed. "What's happening ??"

Cordelia didn't answer as she peered back to where Jackson was looking. The monster had pushed one of the shelves into the other, causing the rest to crash like dominoes. Jackson quickly grabbed Cordelia and pushed her forward, not wanting her to get crushed by the falling shelves.

The Madden teen groaned slightly as she landed on her elbows, the rough fabric of the ground digging into her knees while her phone was lying next to her as Stiles frantically called her name. The brunette didn't answer once again as she glanced back, noting how Jackson was stuck on the ground, having been trapped by falling shelves.

She quickly rushed over and gripped the shelf and tried to lift it off of him. Though, unsurprisingly, it was no use. The shelf was simply too heavy. She cried out in despair and tried to lift it once more, seeing the red eyed beast come their way. "Come on !"

Jackson grunted in pain from the heavy weight but shook his head. "Cordy, you need to go. Get out of here !" He urged, shuffling slightly in a futile attempt to escape.

She frowned and immediately shook her head. "No." The teen spoke sternly, forcing her words to come out as more of a hushed whisper. "I'm not leaving without you." This beast was the thing of nightmares. Her nightmares. And now she knew it was real as it had killed the clerk, and they would no doubt be next.

Jackson huffed in annoyance once more, his eyes finding hers. "Cordelia. Just go. I'll be fine but you need to go. Now !"

Sensing his urgency and pleading eyes, she reluctantly agreed, letting the shelf rest back on his figure from the little amount she'd been able to lift it. The teen then shifted back slowly and reached for her phone, her eyes trailing to the exit. Before she could even make a move, the sound of Jacksons shaky breaths met her ears. Cordelia peered around from the shelf she was hiding behind and gasped. The monster was hovering over him, his claws trailing down the back of his neck in intrigue.

Cordelia hurriedly pressed both of her hands against her mouth to stop any soft breaths or choked sobs emitting from her lips. The last thing she wanted was whatever this thing was to come after her as well. It'd already gotten to Jackson after all. Oh, how she hoped he was alright.

But that all seemed to be wishful thinking when the flickering lights below her all of a sudden came to a halt, as though they were being blocked out. Slowly, the brunette peered upwards only to see the monster towering over her in his huge and terrifying form. She gasped as her breath caught in her throat before diving away when what looked to be claws swung her way. He only managed to grasp onto her ankle, and she hurriedly shook it free.

The teen woman hastily stood up, phone in hand; desperately trying to get Stiles attention on the other end of the line as he'd been yelling her name in alarm ever since she'd explained what was going on.

It seemed the monster of a man took her hesitation as a moment of weakness and grasped her ankle once more, and pulled her down. Cordelia felt the air leave her already breathless lungs as she collided with the solid, glass covered ground. From afar she could see the workers dead body, bloody, lifeless and ripped to shreds ( Cordelia wondered if that's what would become of her ) all while Jackson's screams for her name became more frequent.

The monster slammed a hand ?? down onto where her phone lay, immediately cutting the call short. Now, there was no chance of help. She was going to die here. Plain and simple.

The Madden girl winced when he pulled her around and onto her back and swore she physically couldn't breathe from the fear she was feeling when he dragged his sharp claws from her face down to her neck. Cordelia was sure she was about to be torn apart when he lifted his hand up and down to her stomach and slashed it slightly so her clothes ripped and small bloody marks began to fade into the fabric.

However, after that, he stopped in his movements and looked up and out the window before racing out and crashing through. The teen could hear Lydia's screams pierce the air as she stared up at the ceiling.

◤━━━━━━━━━━━◥

AFTER THE CALL HAD GOTTEN cut short, the sheriff had immediately started driving to the video store where Cordelia mentioned she was. On the way their, he'd also gotten a dispatch of a murder at said video store, proving what the brunette had said to be true.

The car pulled up and immediately, Stiles unnuckled his seat belt and bolted out the car, watching as the gurney was wheeled past him, a black body bag laying on top, no doubt the dead clerk.

He glanced on as his dad was conversing ( or rather, arguing ) with Jackson. Even after going through all that, he was still a jackass.

"I don’t need to go to the hospital.
I’m fine." Jackson spoke with conviction, not seeing why he had to stay. He was clearly fine. But Cordelia ?? She looked shaken to the core as her eyes were trained on the ground.

"Why the hell can’t I just go home ??" He demanded harshly, his expression hardening as he noticed the sheriff walking over to him.

"I’m sorry, but the EMT’s tell me
you hit your head pretty hard and
they need to make sure you don’t
have a concussion." Noah argued, just wanting to make sure that he got checked out properly before going home, knowing the situation must have been traumatising enough.

Jackson merely scoffed at his words. "What part of I’m fine are you
failing to grasp here ?? I want to go
home!"

Noah looked shocked at the teens outburst but held up a reassuring hand, his eyes kind and understanding. "I understand ━"

"━No, you don’t understand." The jock interrupted, his gaze falling to Cordelia once more, noting her far away gaze as she fumbmed with a loose thread on the blanket whixh had been lossely draped over her shoulders. "Which kind of blows my mind since it should be a pretty basic concept for a minimum wage, rent━a━cop like you. I just want to go home!" His tone had now raised to a new level, taking in account of all the eyes on them, taking note of their pity. The teen just scoffed at that.

The pale teen peered over to Cordelia worriedly as Jackson continued to argue with his father and the paramedics. All colours were drained from her face as she avoided eye contact from everyone.

He peered around before walking over to the brunette with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

She seemed to acknowledge his presence as she peered up slightly, sending a small smile his way though it faded quickly. "Thanks for coming . . ." She quietly spoke, her heart still racing from the previous events.

Stiles nodded as if it were a given. "You called." He replied simply. "I guess it's a good thing you have my number, huh ??" He joked lightly in an attempt to diffuse the tension and lighten the dampened mood.

Cordelia laughed softly, if that. "Yeah . . . I suppose it is . . ."

The pair paused for a moment before a thought crossed his mind. When she'd called him, she'd said that something killed the clerk. Not someone. The teens mind was quickly racing to different scenarios. Though they all led to one definitive answer.

Stiles looked shocked at the revelation, and his eyes widened as he scrambled forward slightly. "Woah ━ wait ! That thing that attacked you . . ." He paused for a moment, trying to think of the right words to say. "Was it the same thing you saw at the party ??"

Cordelia's eyes narrowed slightly with the knowledge that he'd just come over to ask her about the attack.

Before he could gain a response, the voice of Jackson sounded out from behind them. Stiles sighed in annoyance, still pissed off with how Jackson was talking to his dad.

"Hey, tweedledumb. Move it." He spoke in an aggressive tone, motioning for him to move away from Cordelia. His eyes narrowed in on the boys' form, sending him an unfriendly glare.

Stiles peered to the brunette in hopes that she might ask him to stay, but she just avoided his eyes, not wanting to talk to him.

In turn, he just sighed in defeat, his mood dampening even more. The teen slowly shuffled over to his dad, who had since calmed down from his rather tense interaction with the Whittemore teen. Though, noticing his son's departure over to him, looked concerned. The sheriff placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "Everything alright ??" He asked slowly, worried for his sons safety.

Stiles just sighed and nodded, watching Jackson tend to his friend, pulling the blanket tighter over her shoulders as they spoke quietly between each other.

"Yeah . . . I'm alright . . ." He replied. "But I don't think she is." Stiles added, motioning to the brunette from afar.

Noah nodded, knowing that something like that was bound to traumatise the pair majorly. Maybe some more than others.

◤━━━━━━━━━━━◥

SINCE HER PHONE HAD BEEN destroyed by the monster, Jackson had offered to drive the girl home. First, he dropped Lydia off to her house, who was met by her distraught mother before driving to Cordelia's home. The brunette, in mention, was a nervous wreck the entire ride. Fumbling with her hands, bouncing her knee up and down all while glancing around them in fear that the beast would come back to finish the job.

Jackson glanced over in concern, his gaze softening as he pulled up outside her house, turning off the engine, leaving the pair in silence. "You okay ??" He asked sincerely, knowing the answer but still wanting to check on one of his closest friends.

Cordelia let out a shaky breath and shook her head. "No . . . not really." She then peered to her left to face him, her eyes meeting his. "But I will be. Eventually . . ."

The jock sighed and reached out to press a hand over hers, his heart aching for the girl. "Look, you know I'm here if you want to talk about it. Or about anything."

The brunette smiled at his sincerity and nodded lowly. "I know . . . I appreciate that more than you know." The pair were interrupted as she saw a light switch on inside the house. Cordelia sighed gently before unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out of the car, waving him goodbye.

She internally braced herself as she walked to the door, only hearing Jackson drive off as she opened the door.

Almost immediately as she walked inside, she was swept up by a pair of arms. Cordelia immediately wrapped her arms around him in return, feeling like she was young again in her brothers embrace.

His hand came up to the back of her head as she cried softly, tears staining her face as the events of the night caught up to her.

He quietly hushed her as his hand continued to run through her hair reassuringly, just like when they were kids. "It's okay . . ." He gently soothed. "You're okay . . ." Adrian spoke softly, feeling her cries and muffled sobs increase in his chest, his heart breaking at the sound.

◤━━━━━━━━━━━◥

AFTER AN HOUR OF SOFT AND quiet reassurances from her brother in the dimly lit hall of their home, Adrian had convinced her to get some sleep before school the next day.

Despite his insistence and best efforts, Cordelia had decided to go to school the next day, claiming it would take her mind off of things.

Even if it was in the form of chemistry class.

Stiles watched as Cordelia slowly walked inside, clutching her book tightly against her chest as she avoided the lingering stare of her classmates. Jackson followed closely behind as he sat down next to her.

Mr. Harris eyed the pair sympathetically and leaned down to talk to them. "If you two need to leave early for any reason . . . just let me know."

Jackson only seemed annoyed by his comment, which was laced with pity as Cordelia nodded slightly, appreciating the teachers concern.

Stiles' eyes narrowed at the scene as he gave up on his search for Scott, wondering where the hell he was.

◤━━━━━━━━━━━◥

STILES STILLINSKI WAS NOT impressed as he hurried down the hall, Scott, on the phone. 

"Finally !" He cried when his friend answered. He'd only been trying all morning. "Are you getting any of my
texts ??"

Scott nodded and shifted slightly to cover his phone so Allison wouldn't overhear. "All nine million of them." He replied in a low and dramatic tone.

"Do you have any clue what’s going on ??" Stiles asked exasperatedly, not knowing if Scott indeed knew about the incident or not. He didn't give him a chance to reply, though, before speaking quickly. "Lydia’s totally M-I-A, Jackson looks like he had a time bomb inserted into his face. And it turns out Cordelia may not be so crazy after all !" He spoke, his voice raising dramatically with each sentence. He then added. "Oh ! And another random guy is dead, and you need to do something about it."

The teen wolfs eyes widened at the news. "Wait, what !? And what am I supposed to do !?" Scott questioned incredulously. This really didn't seem like an issue for right now. Especially as he was with Allison.

Stiles scoffed. Was he serious !? "Something !"

Scott just sighed and quickly glanced at Allison, who smiled softly at him. He then leaned in close to the speaker in his phone and whispered.
"I’ll deal with it later."

"What ! Scott ━━ !" The teen cried, but Scott just ended the call, not wanting to speak on the matter any longer.

Stiles pulled his phone away as the call ended, glaring at the screen in annoyance. He turned around and was surprised to see Cordelia down the hall. She sat against the lockers, her knees pressed up against her chest as earphones hung in her ears while she was reading a book. Though he could see she wasn't fully concentrated on the words as she let out an annoyed sigh each time she had to go back to reread each sentence.

Cautiously, Stiles made his way over to the brunette and cleared his throat. Cordelia peered up and pulled out her left earphones to hear him better. She didn't say anything, but he could see she was confused as to what he wanted.

Stiles nervously scratched the back of his neck as he glanced down to her, not having actually prepared himself on what he'd say.

As he stood there, the Madden girl glanced up at him slowly before patting the ground beside her. "You can sit down, you know . . . I don't bite."

Stiles chuckled lightly as he considered the irony of her words and their current situation with the alpha.

The boy sat down next to her and sent her a small smile and meek wave. She laughed softly at his nervous composure, finding it sweet.

He gestured to her earphones and the wire that was now laying across the pages of her book. "So uh . . . what are you listening to ??"

She grinned softly and passed him the other side to her earphones so he could listen too. "It may not be what you're used too but . . ." She trailed off lightly, not knowing the boys' music taste but assuming ABBA was most certainly not it.

The pale teens eyes widened as he heard the song. The lyrics to Waterloo filtering into his ear. "Are you kidding ?? I love ABBA !" He proclaimed, watching the smile on her face widen. The pair exchanged a knowing look as a pair of girls walked past just as he'd made his statement, eyeing him curiously.

Cordelia laughed at that. Actually laughed. Stiles' mood lightened at that as they continued to talk back and forth, the incident between them last night having seemingly being forgotten about.

Eventually, the topic of the parent, teacher conferences, came up. Only students who were not at risk of failing or who were below a certain grade requirement were asked to attend with their parents.

Thankfully, Cordelia didn't have to go and would spend the night at home with Adrian, having some quality sibling time together.

As the pair continued to talk, Allison and Scott came up. Cordelia huffed as she picked up a small gift bag that was sat next to her, which Stiles hadn't seen before. It was a light shade of purple with silver sparkles all over. "I even got her a present too. But, seeing as she's not here . . ." She spoke softly, trailing off glumly. "I'll just have to give it to her another time."

Stiles peered in the bag. There was white tissue paper inside and a small silver box inside. "So, what did you end up getting her ?? I'm sure she'll love it."

The brunette smiled warmly, glad he was taking interest before rifling through the bag and pulling out the box and handing it to him. The teen opened it and was met with a silver locket. It had a simple chain with a heart pendant hanging from the middle. He peered up to the girl, and she motioned for him to open it. He did so and peered down at the picture that was inside. It was of she, Lydia, and Allison on the first day of school just beside the bleachers.

Stiles passed the gift back to Cordelia, who carefully placed it back in the box before stuffing it away in the gift bag once more. "That's a really nice present." He complimented, watching as a small smile made its way onto her face. "Thank you. Since we don't know each other all that well yet, I thought, what a better idea than jewellery ??" The brunette then peered up and paused slightly. Her eyes fell onto something behind Stiles' figure. She gaped at the figure of the monster. The same red eyed beast that had attacked her and Jackson.

Not wanting to stay there for a second longer, Cordelia quickly packed away all her things and hurriedly stood up. "Uh, I should get going. But I'll see you later." She spoke in a shaky tone, practically booking it down the hall.

The boy with the buzzcut tried to call out to her, but it was to no avail. She was already gone. Stiles sighed as her figure faded down the hall, turning around to where she'd been looking. Only to see nothing there.

◤━━━━━━━━━━━◥

CORDELIA WAVED HER MOTHER goodbye as she and Richard pulled out the driveway to attend the parent teacher conference. She quickly locked the door and smiled as she heard her brothers voice on the phone in the next room.

The brunette walked inside and flopped on the sofa, three different movies in her hands; Mean Girls, Clueless, and The Breakfast Club. She knew her brother wasn't a fan of any ( but she had caught him reciting the words to a scene in Mean Girls once, though he made her promise not to tell anyone ).

She watched as he ended the call and sighed, a hand rubbing his temple. Clearly, he was conflicted about something that had been said on the call.

"Everything okay ??" She peered, angling her neck back to face him.

Adrian sighed and shook his head gravely. "No . . . they uh . . . they need me back, Cordy." He replied, eyes filled with guilt. He obviously didn't want to leave his sister, and felt like a grade a asshole for doing so.

Her face fell, the grip on the movies tightening as she felt her heart drop. She definitely didn't want to be alone. She hadn't been alone since the attack. "What ?? But you just got back."

He sighed and his softened, watching her mood dampening instantly. "I know. But they need me."

"I need you. I could have died that night. I'm terrified, and I'm pretty sure I'm losing my mind ! You can't just leave. Not now !"

Adrian's eyes widened at her confession. He hadn't known she'd been feeling like this. If he had, he would have come back sooner, even before their mother's call.

Her eyes narrowed and she stood up, throwing the movies onto the seat next to her and marched upstairs and to his room. Adrian followed after her hurriedly, calling out the brunettes name.

She didn't listen and stormed into his room, grabbing the suitcase and bags he'd brought ( most of them hadn't been unpacked yet ) and shoved one into his arms.

"Cordy . . ." He began, clutching the bags with pity. Watching as his sister continued grabbing his stuff.

She whipped around and stared at him, her eyes narrowing. "Don't. Don't look at me like that !"

He scoffed lightly though his tone wasn't angry. More empathetic. "Like what ??"

She huffed and threw her arms up in anger. "Like everyone else does ! Like there's something wrong with me."

Adrian looked taken aback at her sudden outburst and took a step closer to her, placing his warm hands on her shoulders, meeting her cold gaze "Cordy . . . You said you saw a monster with glowing red eyes." He sent her a look. Like he wanted to believe her but couldn't. And she hated that.

Cordelia scrunched her eyes up in frustration, feeling the constant rage from earlier bubbling up to the surface once more, just waiting to burst. And it did. "No, no ! I'm not crazy, alright !?" She practically yelled out while shoving her brother's caring and supportive arms from her shoulders. "I know what I saw, alright ?? It was real ! It was real and I know it !" 

Adrian's gaze softened as unused tears filtered their way into his eyes. Just a minute more and they'd most likely fall down his perfect features. "Cordy . . ." He tried to reason. "I think you need to go back. They can help you. They're therapists, it's what they do."

The brunette shook her head vehemently. "No ! I'm not going back there. I won't !"

"Cordelia." He muttered, a new firmness settling in his tone this time. One that he had never used on her before.

And then, a gut━wrenching realisation dawned upon her. She backed away slightly and fisted her hair with both hands, tightly scrunching it to release the tension she felt swirling around in her mind. "Oh my god . . . you think I'm crazy, don't you ?? That ━━ that my childhood trauma has caught up to me after all this time and that I've ━━ that I've lost it !"

"I don't think that and you know it." He denied with wide eyes. Slowly beginning to take small and steady steps towards her.

Cordelia frowned and moved back. "If you really think that then just get out." She hissed. Her eyes met his as she watched as he made no movement. "Get the hell out !" She snapped, her eyes filled with fire and anger as he finally picked up his things and left the room. His mind flashing to the similarities of this argument and the one his mother had with Richard that night. But something tells him he wasn't going to be at the table eating breakfast with them tomorrow morning.

As she heard the door downstairs shut, Cordelia moved to the window

◤━━━━━━━━━━━◥

THE DOOR OPENED BUT
Cordelia didn't look to see who it was. And any hope that it was her brother shattered when he heard the boots that Richard Trevino wore creak against the cold wooden flooring.

Mean Girls was playing the background though she was barely paying attention, just occasionally glancing at the screen with a newfound displeasure.

Crystal walked in after placing down her keys and taking off her jacket. She peered to the screen before turning to her daughter, noticing the absence. Her brows furrowed in confusion as she walked in further. "Where's your brother ??" She inquired.

Cordelia huffed and continued staring at the screen. "He had to leave." She replied.

Crystal shared a look with Richard before turning back to the brunette. "So soon ??" It was safe to say the mother wasn't happy. Cordelia didn't exactly tell her anything, much less to Richard. Adrian was the only person who knew everything. Who kept the girl calm. With him gone and with all these attacks happening, who knows what effect that'll have on her ??

Cordelia just nodded, not wanting to speak much more on the matter. The argument they'd shared still lingering in her mind like a bad dream. And she'd had enough of those to last a lifetime.

Desperate to change to subject she stood up, announcing that she was going to bed. Crystal frowned and was quick to stop her. "Hey, are you okay ?? You know you can talk to me about anything." The mother spoke in a warm and kind tone, sending her a loving gaze. She just wanted her daughter to trust her and not feel the need to keep secrets from her.

The teen paused for a moment, partially swayed by her mother's words. Sure, she could tell her. Tell her everything. It would lift a weight off of her chest after all.

"You can talk to both of us." Richard suddenly added, taking a step forward so he was side by side with Crystal, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Cordelia eyed the man with distaste, feeling her anger bubbling up once again. How dare he ?? She scoffed and glared at the man, her gaze heated.

"You know you ━━ you're the cause of most of my issues ! The stuff I don't want to talk about. How do you think it feels to see you every damn day, knowing what you did !"

Richard sighed and raised his hands slightly in defense in order to not be hit with her fiery words once more. As though he was innocent. As though she was the one in the wrong.

"Now . . . you know that was an accident. And I've regretted it every day since." He admitted, his eyes filled with sympathy but she still didn't believe him. He sure didn't act sorry.

"Cordelia . . ." Her mother began but was cut off by her daughter's words.

"I could have died ! I would have done if it weren't for Adrian !" She then scoffed once more, a though coming to mind. "I mean, what the hell was so important that you let a child drift out to sea !?"

Richard's gaze narrowed slightly, not liking the tone she was using on him. "Just what are you trying to suggest ?? I only looked away for a second !"

"Yeah. But that second, almost cost me my life asshole." She thundered, her expression furious as she met his eyes. The brunette didn't wait for him to respond before she walked out and rushed up the stairs, slamming her door shut and flopping onto the bed, not even noticing the red eyes that glared at her from her bedroom window, blackened claws slowly dragging down the window.

◤━━━━━━━━━━━◥

ODI SPEAKS ━━━━

SO . . . I SUPPOSE THAT WAS AN intense chapter huh ?? Obviously, she's even more traumatised now than before. And the night school episode is yet to come. And I've got some pretty interesting ideas for formality yet so be prepared.

ALSO, PLEASE DON'T HATE ME
bcs I got rid of Adrian. He will be making another appearance I promise. Wether that's in season two or three we shall see. He'll also have a bigger role in season three, especially in 3B.

FURTHERMORE, THE NEXT
will in fact be night school and not heart monitor as I've decided cordelia won't have a huge part in the chapter as it focuses heavily on scott and Stiles. As well as his connection to Allison. It may be briefly mentioned in the next chapter but not majorly.

coast_by_coast