She jumped on the bed, making the boy groan, face in his pillow. “Just five more minutes.”
He interpreted her lack of answer as acceptance and only realized his mistake when he was pushed out of the bed and into the cold floor. “Ow, you’re freakishly strong.”
He looked up at May who was snickering from her place on the bed. “Never underestimate me. Now get up or we’re going to be late.”
After a quick shower, Isaac walked down the stairs, finding her and Tom at the breakfast table in the middle of a heated debate. “I’m not saying it’s not a good movie, I’m just tired of watching it every year.”
“It’s a tradition!”
“What are you talking about?” Isaac asked, sitting at a free space where a steaming cup of coffee was waiting for him.
“Love Actually. Tom here…” she dramatically pointed at her brother “seems to have no respect for great Christmas movies and family traditions.”
The boy opened his mouth to protest but May threw a breadcrumb at him. “Shut up and eat your cereales, you traitor.”
Isaac started sipping his coffee to hide the amused smirk on his face and kept watching the two bickering. He’d almost forgotten how a relatively normal, happy family looked like, and instead of being bitter about his he simply felt grateful that they were welcoming him. It calmed him down for a few seconds before reality hit him again. Tonight, he would have to face his father again and he wouldn’t be happy about him sleeping out. He kept to himself, not wanting May to feel guilty again. She had done enough.
————————————-
After the first class, May walked to the library for her free period. Her first test was only a few days away and she wanted to make sure she remembered everything, but she quickly changed her plans when she saw the girl sitting alone at a table in the back.
“Hey, how are you feeling?”
Dori looked up, meeting her eyes and gave her a weak smile. “Better I guess. Thank you for the album by the way, I really liked it.”
“You’re welcome.” She returned her smile and sat beside her. “You still look preocupied, but I guessed it’s normal after what you’ve experienced.”
She gave a small laugh. “I wish that’s all it was.”
“What is it then?” She rested an elbow on the table, tilting her head slightly.
“I…” she took a deep breath, debating of the right way to say it. “I’m going to ask Lydia out. Today.”
May’s eyes widened. “Wow, no wonder why you’re so nervous.”
“Thanks, that’s helping a lot.” She winced.
“Sorry, I mean she has to say yes, obviously. Who wouldn’t want to date you?”
Dori laughed. “Way better.”
“I mean it! You’re beautiful, badass, smart…the ideal girlfriend.” She concluded.
“Getting there.” She grinned. “Thanks for the pep talk, I need to find Lyd’ now.”
“Go get her!” May whisper-shouted as Dori left the library. The girl responded with a thumbs up before disappearing behind the wooden doors, leaving her with no choice but to actually start studying.
“Hey, did you do exercise 10? Because I couldn’t remember the teacher’s method so I came up with something else but I’m not sure it’s good and…” May stopped talking, her eyes falling on Isaac. “What the hell happened to you?!”
“Later.” He mumbled, focusing on the teacher asking for silence.
She couldn’t help but stare at him, even though she knew he was probably aware of it. She had seen him in bad states but this was a whole new level. He was sporting a black eye and several bruises on his arms and neck and his lower lip was cut deeply. His attitude was equally alarming. His jaw was clenched and he was looking at the board without really seeming to see it, his eyes red with tears and exhaustion.
The class was barely over when Isaac dragged her out of the room and into a quieter hallway. He leaned into the wall, closing his eyes for a second and taking a deep breath. “Remember when you told me I could talk to you?”
May nodded, not daring to speak out loud for fear of interrupting. “I don’t usually talk about it to anyone but…I don’t know, you seem to notice it more than other people and I feel like I owe you an explanation.”
“Of course I notice, I care about you! I hate seeing you like that.”
He looked down at his feet. “My dad gets violent sometimes. And yesterday…well I’m supposed to get home directly after school to work in the graveyard but I couldn’t handle it.”
“You’re in that state because of me?” She asked, her eyes widening.
“No, no it’s not your fault! I knew he’d be angry, I only wanted to do something normal for once. I knew what would happen and I’d do it again, he just got carried away more than I expected.” He explained.
She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts, then looked up at him. “You’re not going back there, not tonight.”
“I’ll be fine May, he must have calmed down by now. I have nowhere else to go anyway.”
“Yes you do.” She took out her phone, sending a quick text. “You’re staying at my place.”
“What? No, I can’t ask that from you!”
“You’re not asking.” She looked at him, concern painted on her fact. “Please, at least for one night.”
Isaac sighed. “Fine, but please tell your mum she can’t talk to anyone about this. I’ll only get into more trouble if he learns I went to someone.”
“If that’s what you want, I’ll tell her.” She assured.
“Thank you.”
———————————–
The walk home from school was strangely cheerful. May tried her best to make Isaac laugh, hoping to keep his mind off any dark thoughts. “So you’ve never seen an episode of Doctor Who? Not one?”
“Nope. I’ve heard about it but never watched it.” He shrugged.
“How do you even live?”
Isaac laughed, nudging her. “You’re such a drama queen.”
“I know, I’ve been told.” She grinned up at him before opening the door. “Welcome to my palace. A few recommandations first of all: My brother is an idiot and my mum is adorable but desperate for me to find a boyfriend so ignore her innuendos. Oh, and we’re all weird. I think that’s it.”
“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” He smirked, following her upstairs.
She pointed at the the first door. “This is my brother’s room, don’t go in there if you want to live. My mother’s room is downstairs. The next one is the bathroom.” She pushed open the next one. “This is the guest room, where you’re going to sleep, and the last one is my room.”
She opened the door, leading him inside. “It’s not the tidiest but my brother’s is way worse so my mum leaves me alone.” May gestured to the bed. “Sit down, I’ll be right back.”
She left the room for a minute and came back with a first aid kit, kneeling next to him. Isaac watched her patch him up in silence, not wanting to break her focus. After a good ten minutes, she got up, left the kit on the floor and flopped on the bed. “All done. Now I have a mission to accomplish.”
“Of course.” He laughed as she opened her computer, searching for Doctor Who on Netflix.
“Hey, don’t laugh! It is my duty to educate you.” She placed pillows against the wall and the computer on the bed in front of them.
A knock was heard on the door and May paused the episode, looking up at her mother. “Hi mum! Did you just finish work?”
“Oh no, I’ve been home for a while but I didn’t want to bother you. I just came up to tell you dinner’s ready” She smiled at the two of them. “And you must be Isaac, it’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you too, thank you for letting me stay here.” May made an effort not to mock his embarrassment, knowing that she wouldn’t do much better in the same situation. “We’ll be right down.”
Tom was just back from his friend’s house and had a lot of questions about lacrosse, which made Isaac grow more comfortable within minutes. Her mother asked them both about classes and they told her about that day’s chemistry class and how Stiles had managed to blow something up again. “We’re keeping scores, it’s the third time this month.”
After dinner, they went up again and laid on the bed, looking at the ceiling. “We should probably do our homework.”
Isaac only responded with a groan which made her smile. “Finstock is going to be pissed if we don’t and then he’ll get revenge by leaving you on the bench at the next match. Again.”
“Who cares, it’s not as if I was any good anyway.”
“Don’t say that!” She propped herself up on one arm. “You’re not that bad.”
“You can’t talk, you haven’t seen me play yet.” He remarked.
She chuckled lightly, shaking her head. “True, but I’m sure you’re a great player. Even though I don’t know anything about lacrosse.”
“Thanks for believing in me. If I ever score a goal I’ll dedicate it to you.”
She placed her hand on her chest in a mockingly dramatic gesture. “It would be an honour.”
After an hour of talking about anything and everything, Isaac stretched his arms, sitting up. “I should go to bed or I’m gonna fall asleep here and then your mum won’t ever leave you alone.”
“Yeah go ahead, abandon me.” She laughed, throwing one of the large men tee shirts she usually slept in at him. “There are spare toothbrushes in the bathroom cupboard. I’ll come wake you up tomorrow when it’s time. I can’t guarantee I’ll be nice though.”
“You’re evil.” He walked out and paused, his hand on the doorknob. “'Night May.”
She smiled sleepily at him from her place on the bed. “Goodnight.”
I’m writing episode 7 of The Wolf right now to program it since I’m not going to be there on Sunday and I seriously want to cry. I just...ugh. Poor Isaac.
That morning, she got ready without ever turning the music off. It gave her the strength to go through another day of incertitude and ,almost certainly, a whole new set of weird events.
She couldn’t figure out if moving to Beacon Hills was the best or the worst thing that happened to her. At least she wasn’t bored anymore, although she was constantly in danger instead.
In the hallways, the accident of the previous night seemed like the only topic of conversation. Everyone had their theory, from the wild animal to the serial killer. Well, they weren’t wrong. May’s first reflex was to look around for Charlotte. They still had five minutes before their first class of the day and it was enough to at least check up on her. Her friend was nowhere to be seen until later in the day. After lunch, May found her near the classroom door, looking intensely at her own feet. She looked shaken up, but not too badly, which was reassuring.
“Hey, how are you holding up?”
Her eyes shot up and she looked lost for a moment before registering who was talking to her. “Oh…hi. I’m good, I guess.”
May shot her a skeptical look and she sighed, shaking her head like she was trying to shake off a bad dream. “I’m just worried for Dori. She looked fine yesterday but I’m scared it’s going to catch up with her at some point. And Lydia was a mess, I don’t know what’s going to happen to her.”
“I’m so sorry, I wish there was something I could do. I don’t know them enough to be of any help but I do really care about them.”
Charlotte finally gave her a small smile and May’s spirits went up. Lottie was the embodiment of kindness and she hated to see her sad or worried. She simply didn’t deserve to feel any negative emotions, only sunshine and rainbows. “I’m going to see them later if you want to get them something.”
“That’d be great! I need to find something first though, what are you doing after school?” She asked, already trying to think of ideas.
“I have to work at the police station, it’s my first day.”
“Congratulations! I should get a job too, I feel guilty every time I have to ask my mum for something.” May smiled. “I’ll just drop by the station when I’m done.”
The teacher opened the door, telling everyone to come inside and they went their separate ways. It had become natural for May to sit next to Isaac in any class that didn’t have individual tables, and even then they made sure to stay near each other in case a particularly clever comment came to their mind. The class in question required partners so they paired up without even asking the other.
“I saw you talking with that British girl earlier. Isn’t she friends with the girls who got attacked?” Isaac asked, flipping though the pages of his textbook.
“One of them is her half-sister.” She sighed. “They’re having a hard time, I wanted to make sure she was okay and see if I could do anything. I’m going to go into town after school to buy something for them.”
“That’s cute.” He grinned at you and you rolled you eyes in response. “It’s not ‘cute’, it’s called being a decent human being.”
“You’re going into town alone?” He continued, ignoring you comment.
“Well yeah, why?”
“I don’t know, I mean…it’s dangerous out there, you probably shouldn’t walk around alone. Also, I’m not doing anything after school.” He shrugged.
She had to use all her willpower not to laugh at loud. “You can tag along if that’s what you want, but I’m pretty sure I’m more likely to kick the killer’s ass than you are.”
Isaac huffed, pretending to be offended. “Hey, I can kick ass!”
“Sure you can.”
—————————–
“What about this?” Isaac turned to her, brandishing the ugliest doll she’d ever seen.
“Stop it!” May shoved him playfully. “You’re not being very helpful you know.”
“What? I think it would make a very nice gift.”
She ignored him and walked out of the shop. “I have no idea what to get them. Food would have been a good idea but Charlotte is already taking care of that. What do you give someone who’s just been through a traumatic experience?”
“I don’t know, a hug?”
“Not. Helping.” She looked around, scanning the street for some miraculous source of inspiration. “Wait, nevermind. I know!”
“You know what? May?” Not getting any answers, he followed her to the small record shop on the other side of the road. When he came in, she was already rummaging through the boxes. “What are you looking for?”
She turned to him with an exclamation of triumph, holding a folk vinyl. “This! I think Lydia has a vinyl player and this album always calms me down when I’m anxious. It might help them too, who knows?”
After paying for the record, she said goodbye to Isaac and walked to the station to give it to Charlotte. The place didn’t look too busy so she stayed for a few minutes to keep her company before wishing her good luck for the rest of her shift.
When she got out of the station, she had a missed call and a message from her mother saying she was stuck at work and would be home late. May decided to buy takeaway and bring it to the hospital so she at least got a decent meal. If her mum came back too late, she would be too tired to prepare anything.
The receptionist at the hospital directed her to the right service and, a few minutes later, she was knocking on the door of the office her mother shared with her colleague.
“May? What are you doing here?”
She held up the bag in her hand, placing it on the nearest table. “I brought you dinner.”
“Oh thank you love, I’ll eat it when I get a break. I have to go now, my patient’s waiting for me.” She kissed her daughter and walked out of the room.
May was about to go home when she heard a commotion in the hallway. One of the nurses seemed to be arguing with someone, and she recognized the voice almost immediately. “Derek?”
The nurse asked him to leave with a tone that barely hid her annoyance and walked away, leaving them alone.
“What are you doing here?” He seemed angry to have been interrupted.
“My mum works here, I’m the one who should ask you questions. What the hell was that? And don’t say 'none of your business’ because you know that doesn’t work with me.”
Derek raised an eyebrow at her, apparently intrigued by something. “What does you mother do here?”
“She’s an occupational therapist, she helps people with a handicap recover or adapt to it. What does that have to do with anything?” She crossed her arms. Was he really trying to get out of telling her what happened by asking about her mum?
“Do you know if Peter Hale is one of her patients?”
She thought for a moment, trying to figure out how she’d heard the name. “She doesn’t talk about all of her patients but I think I heard about him. She said he recently woke up from a coma and they’re trying to get him to move again, but that’s all I know. He’s a family member right?”
Derek nodded. “My uncle. I think he knows something…it’s complicated. I tried talking to him but he’s not giving any sign of a response.”
“I’ll try to ask my mum discretely from time to time, I’ll let you know if they make any progress.” She affirmed.
“You…would do that? Why?” He frowned.
She smiled, slightly amused by his confusion. “I told you, I only want to help.”
