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Stiles cringed as he swallowed down the pain killers, once again, too many to be healthy, but right now they were the only thing keeping the pain at bay. He didn’t want to think about everything that had happened these last 6 months.
He didn’t want to think about the Hales leaving Beacon Hills, and Scott’s pack, because his once best friend was getting tyrannical in his approach to others.
He didn’t want to think about the lonely days or harsh nights, were the memories of the Nogitsune resurfaced and forced him to relive everything that had happened while the Fox had taken over and made him do unspeakable things.
He didn’t want to think about the way his pack shielded away from him, and pushed him to the edge of it, not trusting him after everything that had happened, didn’t want to get close to him again, after what had happened and who they had to lose I the process.
He certainly didn’t want to think about his dad, who had been shot in a shoot out by a criminal organisation who seemed to think back water Beacon Hills was the perfect place for their headquarters. His dad had found out and had tried to resolve it peacefully – and with it not being anything supernatural, all of them had heard about it too late, meaning his dad had been dead already before anything could be done.
Peter had been the only one who had stayed with him and taken care of him, especially just after his dad’s passing, but now, the Hales had also left, leaving him all alone in the misery that was Beacon Hills.
He had needed to sell the house, to pay for all the debt his father dead left him with, most of them still from his mother’s extensive hospital stay, operations and treatments, as well as her funeral. The only consultation had been him not having to pay for his father’s funeral with the man being a cop.
It still didn’t make it any easier to let go of the pain, hence the reason he took so many pain killers, he knew the dangers of doing so, but it helped with the main he felt, as well as repressing all the memories he didn’t have the strength to go through alone.
Laying down on the bed in the motel just outside of Beacon Hills, he realised he hadn’t heard from Scott in a few months, nor had any of the others checked in on him – the bounds, once bright and strong, were brittle and some had already broken.
He was truly alone in this world right now, having to take pills to forget, and to give the appearance of healing, even if he realised that he would never be able to stop taking these pills, not would he be able to start having a normal life again – that part was over and done with, too many things had happened in recent years.
Maybe if Peter, Cora, and Derek had stayed, he would have the support he needed, but they left too – not that he blamed them.
Thinking back hurt, so he grasped the pill case and popped a few more into his hands, going so far beyond the prescription, he knew that if he took this the pain would stop – at the cost of his life. Maybe then the pain would be over with, finally, as would the nightmares and the aching loss he felt from the pack bounds.
It would all be better now if he only…
A hand grasped his own and took the pill case out of it, looking up he could see the scared blue eyes of Peter Hale, looking down on him with something of compassion and fear.
Stiles smiled, thinking this was all, once again, a hallucination, not saying anything, but letting his eyes fall close, Peter would never come back for him, or to the town that took everything from him – this was a last hallucination before the end, and he had peace with that.
When Stiles woke up some hours later, he was in a moving car, the movement making him nauseous, even if he hadn’t eten for days on end.
Slightly green, he looked over to the person driving, his eyes widening as he took in the brown hair, slight beard, angular face, and blue eyes.
“Peter?”
“Hello Sweetheart, I heard you got into trouble again?”
Stiles flinched, but didn’t say anything, so that was why Peter came back, because he got into trouble, not because he wanted to come back to Stiles.
“Stop that way of thought right now, sweet boy, I came back to you because I was missing you. Hearing about what happened only made me want to find you faster. I mean, taking pills, Stiles, this doesn’t sound like you at all.”
Stiles looked away, he knew that what he was doing wasn’t right, but he didn’t know how to cope otherwise, and getting any professional help wasn’t possible with the depts he still had to pay off.
“I didn’t know what else to do.”
Peter scoffed, “you could have called.”
Stiles sneered, “and how would I do that, Peter, you just up and left, all of you did. With the rest of the pack following not long after. We might have been in the same town, but that’s where it all ends. I didn’t have a means of contacting you, because believe me I tried – but the number was disconnected. So, tell me, Peter Hale, how should I have reached out to you.”
The silence in the car stayed, until Stiles spoke again, “just stop the car and let me out.”
Peter looked up, “what no, we’re on the highway.”
Stiles scowled, “I’ll walk to somewhere, let me out.”
Peter did pull over, “sweetheart, I did leave my new contact info with… Scott.”
Stiles scoffed, “what made you think Scott would give me anything after a person wearing my face killed his beloved Allison? He hasn’t talked to me for longer than you all left – so please, Peter, think of a better excuse.”
Sighing, Stiles got out of the car and opened the trunk, finding his belongings stashed neatly in bags he knew weren’t his. Fishing out the pill case, he kept in in his hand while he got the one bag that was his own out and slung it up his shoulder.
“Go enjoy your Stiles free life, Peter, it will do you a lot better than keeping me around.”
With that he turned and walked into the forests surrounding the stop they had pulled into; Stiles shook a few pills once more in his hand to take them dry – to fight off the pain this all had caused him. He didn’t want to feel right now, didn’t want to think about what could have happened, and by the way Peter never came after him – he knew the older man didn’t really want anything to do with him. He’d be happy here in the wild, without having to think back about everything that had caused him hurt, all alone. Sliding down a tree, he could feel the drugs starting to work, his vision swam as he passed out.
Peter stayed into the car for a moment longer, trying to collect his thoughts, thinking back about everything Stiles had said, that he never got his new number, that Scott had left his best friend to essentially rot for something his sweet boy hadn’t even done.
Laying his head on the steering wheel, the Hale couldn’t believe what he had been seeing the first time he saw Stiles again, the young man looked like a junkie, or even a zombie with hallowed cheeks, bags under his eyes and a skin far to pale. And that is to not speak about the dead look in those amber eyes.
Sighing, he got out of the car and locked it, making his way into the forest next to the stop, following Stiles scent, only to find him passed out by a tree, sighing once more, he hefted the other man up into his arms and carried him to the car again.
He didn’t care what Derek or Cora said, Stiles was coming home with him, and together they would help him get rehabilitated of everything that had happened and everything he had done to himself – in an effort not to feel pain yet losing the essence of who Stiles actually was.
Shaking his head, he pulled away, his eyes dartling to the young man on the passenger’s seat, broken, so very broken and alone.