59. Monstrous

After seeing Meredith Stiles suddenly fell unconscious, Lydia and I grabbed Stiles while Parrish grabbed Meredith and we got out of there. Parrish called some deputies as the records room was a scene of crime and Lydia and I took Stiles to hospital. On the way, Stiles gained consciousness but was still a little dizzy and I was sure he had a concussion. As we went inside the hospital Melissa was at the reception and when she saw my black eye and Stiles condition she ran to us. 

"What happened to you guys?" 

"I am sure Stiles has a concussion can you please check him." I said and she nodded and called some nurses to take Stiles in. Then she turned to me and said that I should get myself too but I just brushed her off and requested her to take care of Stiles. "Lily, I think you should go back to the Station and help Parrish and Dad with the whole Meredith situation." 

"Are you sure Rue? Because I can stay if you want me to." 

She asked, "I am sure. You should go." She hugged me quickly and left while I sat in the waiting room. As I was sitting and waiting for Melissa to return, my phone rang and I picked it up absent-mindedly. 

"Who did this to you?" 

Isaac asked as soon as I picked up the call. At first, I was confused but then I saw my black eye and tried to cover it up with my hair and convince Isaac that it was nothing. 

"Don't try to fool me, Ruth. Who. Did. This. To. You?" 

Isaac again asked as I saw his eyes turning yellow and his teeth coming out. "Woah, calm down Isaac. I'll tell you everything but please first calm down." His changed back and I sighed and told him about Brunski, and as I finished, I saw his eyes turning back to yellow. 

"How dare that pathetic excuse of human touch you. I am going to make him suffer so much that he begs me for death." 

Isaac seethed. "Well, sorry but Meredith beat you to it." I told him. 

"Meredith? Wasn't she dead?" 

Isaac asked. "Yeah, welcome to the club. Apparently, she is still alive. She's at the Station at the moment with Parrish, Dad and Lydia, and I am at the hospital getting Stiles checked up." As I finished Melissa walked out. 

"You were right honey, he has a concussion. But he's awake right now and you can meet him." 

She informed me and I looked back at Isaac, 

"It's okay you go. I'll call you later." 

I smiled and ended the call and went inside Stiles room. "Hey, Sty, how are you doing?" I asked as I pulled a chair and sat beside him. 

"Oh good you're here. We have to get out of here and help with Meredith." 

Stiles said and I protested but he didn't listen to me and started taking out his drips as I was about to hit him in the head again with a vase, Melissa came and got angry at Stiles for trying to leave.

"You have some nerve buddy, thinking I would let you leave without a CT scan after the head trauma you suffered." 

Melissa said as she checked Stiles vitals. Stiles sat back again but pouted which made Melissa and me laugh but when he glared at us Melissa cleared her throat, 

"If you're worried about Meredith, Rue already sent Lydia to Station with Parrish and Lydia." 

"Yeah Sty, Dad is also there so, there's nothing we could do to speed up the process." I said holding his hand and he nodded then Melissa told us that he was fine for now but he did need to rest and then as she was leaving, Stiles stopped her and asked if she could find a tape player. She nodded and left the room while I looked at him in confusion. He then asked me to pass him his bag and when I did he pulled out the Lorraine Martin tape. After that, as we were waiting for Melissa to bring a tape player, I called Scott to tell him Meredith was still alive. He was as shocked as us and then he told me that at the bonfire someone tried to set him, Malia and Liam, on fire, but they were okay now and he had taken Liam home. Then Scott offered to come and check on us but I refused and told him that he should take care of Kira and Satomi's pack for now, which Kira saved.

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Soon it was dark and I was reading my book while Stiles was sleeping. Suddenly the door opened and I got startled and took out my gun and pointed it at the door but Melissa came in and was shocked to see me with a gun. 

"For heaven's sake, this is a hospital. Ruth, put that gun away." 

She whisper yelled at me. "You startled me." I defended myself as I put the gun back in my bag. 

"Firstly, that doesn't justify this and secondly, how did you get that through the metal detector?" 

She asked and I smiled, "Mr. Argent has given me a device that lets me bring my weapons through a metal detector." Then I lifted my skirt a little and showed her the knife strapped to my thigh.

"I don't even know how to react to that." 

She said and I laughed and that accidently woke up Stiles. 

"Hey did you find the tape player?" 

Stiles asked sitting, 

"Sorry, kids I didn't find that. But I found something else." 

She said and Malia walked in. "Hi. How are you? Do you how much I missed you this past week?" I said hugging her and even though she didn't reply, she hugged me back and I could feel her smiling. After a few seconds, I pulled back and Melissa and I went out of the room to give Stiles and Malia privacy as we went out Melissa locked the door behind us so that Stiles and Malia could sort their shit out. Melissa and I stood outside but we could hear everything and after a while Malia admitted that she doesn't hate Stiles in fact she likes him. A lot. I squealed and hugged Melissa, and she also smiled, then she went and unlocked the door. 

"You can come in Ruth." 

Both Stiles and Malia shouted. "No, I am bored sitting there all day. I am going to get some fresh air while you guys talk." I shouted back and went away from there to the roof. 

As soon as I got there I took out my phone and called Liam. "Hey kid, I heard what happened, how are you holding up?" I asked as he picked up my call.

"To be honest I am a little scared." 

Liam admitted. "It's okay to be scared, Liam. You should be scared, what you went through was traumatizing as hell. I remember the first time I got attacked, I handled myself in front of everyone but as soon as I got home, I cried my eyes out and I couldn't even sleep until Isaac got there because I was scared." I told him and then I heard soft sobs. "Honey, do you want me to come there?" I asked 

"No." 

Liam said in a shaky voice. "Are you sure Liam, because I can." When I didn't hear any reply I told him that I'd be there in 20 and went back to Stiles room to inform him that I'll be leaving. "Hey Sty, I am going out for some time, so I'll see you guys later." I said as I grabbed my bag and tried to leave but Stiles stopped me, 

"Woah, woah. Where are you going this late?" 

He asked, "To Liam's place. He is pretty shaken up after the unfortunate event, and since Scott is busy, I'll hang out with him for a while." Stiles nodded so I again started to leave but then I was again stopped when Malia grabbed my bag and I stumbled. 

"Do you really think we're going to let you go alone with the benefactor lurking around?" 

Malia said and I smiled, "I think you should care about the benefactor more than me since your name is actually on the list." She smiled back and said, 

"Well, tell that to your black eye and your brother's head." 

I rolled my eyes and Stiles jumped in, 

"Yeah, she's right. Here take the jeep." 

Stiles said giving me the keys to the jeep. "Thanks Sty. Malia." I said and quickly hugged Malia and kissed her on the cheek before running out of the room.  

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"I am outside you're house, kid." I called Liam as I reached his place. 

"I'll be there in a second." 

He said and I ended the call and under a few seconds, he came and opened the door for me. As I walked in he told me to be quiet till we went up to his room since his parents didn't know I was there, so we tiptoed to his room once we were inside and he closed the door he finally released a breath and then took my bag and placed it on a chair nearby. "Aww, you looked really cute." I said to Liam while looking at his childhood pictures. 

"It's...It's nothing." 

Liam said embarrassed and I laughed seeing him flustered. After that, I sat on the edge of his bed while Liam kept standing. "So, how are you doing now kid?" I asked and he started pacing the room while trying to form a sentence, but he couldn't so I stopped him. "Liam, stop. come here." I patted the space next to me and hesitantly he came and sat next to me and I turned towards him, "Sweetie, it's okay to feel confused. What you went through today was very rough, even any adult would have a difficult time dealing with that kind of trauma, and you're still a kid. It's okay to feel emotional about it, hell even cry if you want to. This is a safe place. Whatever you want, I'll help you. We all will." I said holding his hand and soon tears started streaming down his face and he started sobbing while I hugged him and patted his back lightly. "It's okay sweetie, you're safe now. I am here." I kept repeating. After some time he finally stopped, 

"Can I tell you something?" 

He asked and I nodded, "Anything Kid." 

"When I first met you, I had this huge crush on you. That was the reason I didn't tell my parents about how Scott and Stiles kidnapped me and also went to that party with you even though I suspected something was fishy. But as we spend more time together I realized I do like you and I want you to be around, but like an elder sister. As you know I am a single child, I really don't know this love or care siblings share, like you and Stiles and Scott also for that matter, but after hanging out with you I know if I had an elder sister she would be just like you. Thank you for caring about me and protecting me." 

As Liam finished I had tears in my eyes, but I wiped them and cleared my throat. "Um.. that was really sweet Liam. And for what it's worth I do consider you like a younger brother and I feel protective about you just like I feel protective about Scott and Stiles." After that, I hugged him again, and after we pulled back I asked, "Did you really have a crush on me?" He nodded shyly and I laughed, "Well it's a good thing Isaac wasn't here to witness that otherwise, it would've been difficult for me as well to save you." Liam looked at me with confused looks, 

"Who's Isaac?" 

He asked and I smiled, "Isaac Lahey. He's the love of my life who moved to Paris this summer to attend fashion school, though he'll be back really soon." 

"Oh, that Isaac Lahey, the second Beta after Scott?" 

Liam asked, "Well technically there were Erica and Boyd with him too, but they were killed by the Alpha pack." I informed Liam and showed him a picture of Isaac. After Liam started to tell me about his past and as we were talking we didn't realize we both dozed off. In the morning I woke up to the sound of Liam's alarm. "Hey kid wake up, you have school." I said shaking Liam. 

"Hmm...Just 5 more minutes Mom." 

Liam whispered, I laughed and started shaking him even more. "I am Ruth, buddy. Not your Mom." Suddenly Liam's eyes shot open and when he saw me he sat up in a panic.

"Oh god! How am I going to sneak you out now that my parents are awake?" 

"Relax kid. You just get ready for school, I'll get out through the window." I said but Liam did not believe me, 

"Are you sure? I mean it's pretty high." 

"I have a lot of experience kid." I told him and he asked if I used to sneak out to go see Isaac and I shook my head. 

"One of my best friends and my partner Allison used to sneak out a lot since her Dad, Mr. Argent wasn't always pro-werewolf. Initially, when the Argents moved back here, they were against werewolves, as they are hunters. When they found out Scott was a werewolf, they couldn't let their daughter date him so Mr. and Mrs. Argent banished  Allison from seeing Scott but she used to sneak out to meet him. After some months when Mr. Argent was finally on our side, he used to mentor Allison and me on how to become a hunter, to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Often I used to stay at their place at night as Mr. Argent had given us a strict routine and we had to start the training at 5 in the morning, because of it he didn't let us go to meet our friends or parties, so Allison taught me how to sneak out and we used to do it almost every night." I smiled remembering the good old days. Finally, Liam went to freshen up while I opened the window got out and drove home. 

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"Sty, I am home." I announced walking in the main door.

"We are in my room. Come quickly." 

Stiles yelled and I made a sandwich for myself and ran to Stiles room. "Hey lovebirds, how are you?" I asked going in but they both rolled their eyes at me, then I noticed the tape player, "Did you guys figure something out?" I asked and Stiles nodded. 

"Yeah, but how's Liam?" 

Stiles tried to play it cool but I could sense the concern in his tone, "He's a strong kid. He'll be fine." I told him and he again nodded, then Malia told me that Lorraine recorded this before she was taken to Eichen House and she knew she was going to die and then Malia said that with more focus she could hear the record player from Lorraine's lake house and she believed that maybe Lorraine did predict something else and it wasn't just one death, it was a lot of them. It was the Deadpool. And she knew there was something in the lake house study that could stop it from happening. So then we decided to go down to the Lake House since I had an extra key.

 In the lake house as Stiles, Malia and I were listening to the record player but we were getting frustrated since none of us could hear a single unusual thing. Stiles then got up and turned off the record player but Malia said that she could still hear it playing. She heard something else spinning somewhere in the room—something that she never heard when she was in here before, listening to the record with Lydia. Stiles looked behind the record player and saw a cord coming from the wall. Stiles pushed the record player aside and tugged on the cord. Tugging on the cord messes up some of the plaster but Stiles kept pulling and as the walls ripped we saw three big machines behind it. "Guys, I think this is the Deadpool." I said looking at them carefully. Malia was ready to smash the Deadpool machines to pieces but Stiles stopped her, saying that if this thing was being used to disseminate the list then, it was probably going to keep going until everyone was dead. Stiles believed that the machines needed a prompt or a command but Malia said that she think it might be an actual key since there was an actual keyhole in one of the machines. 

I video-called Lydia hoping she knew something about all this but she was as clueless as us then Stiles snatched the phone from me and again showed her the machine but she again reminded him that she didn't know anything about computers from the 1970s. Then Stiles started waving the phone around in frustration but Lydia suddenly told him to show her that carpet. Stiles started yelling that how it was not the time to appreciate her carpet but since Lydia was persistent I took my phone from Stiles and showed Lydia the carpet and she told us that the Red Wine stain on the carpet had disappeared. 

"Red wine doesn't just disappear. Unless it wasn't wine." 

Lydia said and Stiles asked what did she mean, 

"The ashes weren't ashes, the study isn't a study, the record player isn't a record player. So maybe the wine wasn't wine."

Lydia says then asks us to go down and find that bottle. When we did I shook it and something rattled inside it so Stiles and I started looking for a wine opener but then Malia took the bottle from my hand and smashed it, and there was a key inside. Stiles took the key and we went back in the room and put the key in the computer and it fit perfectly. Stiles looked at us and as both Malia and I nodded he turned the key and the computer powered down and we all fell to the floor in relief.