chapter forty five
broken promises

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PARRISH WAS the one taking the bodies. Stiles had figured out yet another question the McCall pack had been trying to figure out. Parrish was the one who flipped Stiles' Jeep over at the Animal Clinic. Parrish was the one taking the bodies.

It had been a few days since Odessa and Theo saved Liam and Hayden and everything had gotten worse. When the blonde said something was changing, she wasn't wrong. Everything was different.

The only people Odessa talked to were her boyfriend and Lydia. No one else tried to contact her and the phone worked both ways. If they weren't going to try, she wasn't either. She just hoped Scott was happy with the fact that Theo was basically now his only friend.

Even with the two living together, no conversations were had. No dinner made by Odessa while Scott either watched or helped. No homework sessions in his room or youtube marathons. Nothing. And if that was how Scott wanted it to be, then so be it. Odessa was tired of giving her energy to people who either didn't want it or didn't try to return it.

She had a little self respect for herself.

Since the pack had basically broken up, Odessa spent her time with the two people who actually gave her the time of day, Stiles and Lydia. After finding out that Parrish was the one taking the bodies of the dead Chimera's, Lydia had an inkling as to where he was taking them. The Nemeton.

The three teens were currently wandering aimlessly in the woods trying to find The Nemeton, a tree stump that never appeared to be there when the pack needed it to be. Because nothing was simple for the McCall pack.

Odessa's feet started to ache as she looked around the wooded area after almost 2 hours of wandering the woods. She didn't really know how they would be able to find the Nemeton, but she was trying nonetheless.

"It's almost like this thing doesn't want to be found," Stiles threw up his hands in defeat, looking around the woods around him.

Lydia shrugged, pursing her lips, "maybe it knows we're late for class. Because we've been here twice."

Odessa looked at the tree beside Stiles, seeing the tree marked with two exes drawn on by Lydia to tell them where they've been since arriving here. She trailed off, sarcastically, "great..."

The Martin sighed, closing her eyes for a moment, "can we talk to Parrish now?"

"Hang on," Stiles protested, already coming up with another idea, "if the Nemeton's covered in bodies, shouldn't you be able to find them?"

"Me?"

"Yes, you. That's what you do. You're the Banshee, you find the bodies."

"Well, the Banshee's having an off day, so how about we talk to Parrish?"

As much as she was enjoying the back and forth in front of her, Odessa intervened, locking knowing eyes with her boyfriend, "we can't."

"Why not," Lydia cocked a brow at the blunt answer that didn't follow with an explanation.

Stiles took the lead in trying to explain something he knew he couldn't at the end of the day, "because one of the bodies... one of them... one of them could be..."

"Could be what?"

"A clue," the Stone improvised to save him the trouble. Though, her excuse wasn't cutting it for Lydia.

The strawberry blonde nodded unconvinced and unimpressed, "I'm leaving now, guys. I'm going to talk to Parrish and tell him he's the one taking the bodies. It's always better when they know."

Watching her go, Stiles sighed, calling back to her, "well then, he should know he owes me a Jeep."

Odessa pursed her own lips, debating with herself in her head on whether or not she was going to speak her mind. She chose to, "it is better when they know, ya know?"

Her tone was desperate to be taken lightly but Stiles wasn't in the mood, "you don't have to lecture me about telling Scott again. I heard you loud and clear the first time."

The Ember scrunched her face sourly at his attitude and caught his wrist before he had the chance to walk away from her, "uh, excuse me. Hi, hello, this is your girlfriend you're talking to. Mind trying that again with a little less attitude," her firm tone made him hang his head in shame, knowing it was wrong to speak to her like that when she essentially didn't do anything wrong, "Stiles, you need to remember that everything I do for you is what I think is best. If I didn't think Scott would understand, I would've told you to keep it from him until the time was right. But there will never be a right time. So tell him, Stiles. Trust your best friend and tell him. Before somebody else does."

As Stiles watched his girlfriend walk away from and toward her car, where she would be giving him a ride to school, he couldn't help but feel his stomach drop at her words. What did she mean by that? Before somebody else does? Would she tell Scott herself or was it a simple warning. He didn't want to think of Odessa as someone who would do something like that but anything could happen. Everything around them was up in the air without any of their control.

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After getting to school, Odessa and Stiles went their separate ways when they didn't need to. The couple would usually find any excuse have alone time with each other either in between classes or their free period but they didn't try that day. With Stiles and his over-thinking and Odessa with her offense she took from Stiles' words, they simply didn't know what to say to each other. So they left it alone. They left each other alone.

The Stone was coming out of her fourth period just as the bell rang overhead. The hallways sooner turned crowded as students began to leave their classrooms and make their way to wherever they needed to go. Through the sea of students, Odessa saw a familiar face as clear as day. She furrowed her brow in concern when she saw how troubled Malia looked as she walked dazedly down the hall.

"Malia," the blonde called, only getting her friend's attention when she grabbed her hands, "what happened?"

As a small tear left her eye, Malia answered, "I hate this. I hate losing like this. I'm not like Scott. I can't deal with another body. Another failure."

Before Odessa could respond, Malia brushed past her without another look back. The Stone watched her friend go with confusion and concern. What happened that had Malia feeling like that so suddenly? What was troubling her? She wished she knew but Malia didn't really talk to her anymore.

Biting her lip, Odessa was about to turn around again to go to where she originally was headed before she ran into Malia, only to lock eyes with her boyfriend. Stiles appeared to have watched the entire conversation between the two girls due to his solemn, sunken features. The two simply stared at each other from opposite sides of the hall before Odessa turned around and walked down the hallway, her back facing Stiles and her figure becoming smaller and smaller the more she walked away from him.

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The rest of the day was surprisingly uneventful. Odessa went throughout her classes without a SOS text from someone in the pack or having to leave class for something they needed to solve. If only she enjoyed having nothing to do except school. She would never admit it, but she missed when school was an afterthought when it came to her life in the pack. Solving problems or clues as to what they were up against gave her a feeling of rush and importance that she never seemed to feel before coming to Beacon Hills.

It was that same night did Odessa question her need to be texted when she got the notification on her phone. The blonde was currently doing her homework while trying not to think about the unfinished library book she and Stiles had pretty much neglected. There wasn't much time to sit down and read together anymore.

It was also hard to focus due to the rain falling heavily outside, the droplets hitting her windows and ceiling obnoxiously loud.

Sighing, Odessa reached for her phone that was on the edge of her bed and away from her while she did her homework. She frowned when she read the simple and vague text from Scott.

Animal Clinic. Now.

The Ember Wolf couldn't help but roll her eyes, choosing not to respond before she got herself ready. They hadn't spoken in almost a week and now he needed her for something he didn't even explain.

Driving slower than usual due to the rain pouring down on her car, Odessa pulled up to the Animal Clinic expecting Scott, but grew confused when she saw Stiles' Jeep in the parking lot. Parking her car, the blonde climbed out, instantly getting wet from the rain, and called out, "Stiles?"

The boy didn't turn around or acknowledge her at all. He just stayed rooted in his spot, staring at the closed back door of the Animal Clinic.

With his back to her, Odessa took the opportunity to silently observe him from where she stood. Her brown eyes slowly made their way down his figure, stopping at his hands that were down at his sides. One hand was empty, though tense and the other held an object—a wrench. His clutch on the metal tool was so tight that his knuckles were white. Odessa couldn't help but use her abilities to give herself a head start as to what she would be dealing with whenever he did turn around.

She detected frustration, defeat... and most of all, anger. Stiles was angry.

Really angry.

With caution, and her eyes locked on the wrench, Odessa stepped closer to him, "Stiles? Are you okay?"

Slowly, Stiles turned around, completely drenched from the rain still pelting from above. He watched his girlfriend's eyes move from the wrench up his figure to meet his eyes. And when they locked, he rasped something that changed everything.

"You're a liar."

The true anger in his voice could be detected from miles away, which was why Odessa picked up on it instantly. She almost thought she didn't hear him correctly, prompting her to step forward again, only letting out a quaint, "what?"

The wrench shifted in Stiles' right grasp, "you're a liar, Odessa," her full name. The sound of it coming from his lips made her want to throw up, "you told me everything was going to be fine. You told me Scott would understand. But you know what? He doesn't. And he won't. And it's all your fault."

Though the accusation struck her hard in the face, Odessa couldn't help but utter in confusion, "Scott knows?"

"Oh, don't act like you don't know," Stiles scoffed in disbelief, believing his inner conscience filled with rage when it told him she was lying, "don't act like you weren't the one to tell Scott what happened. Because I know you did, you told me yourself you were going to today. So don't try to deny it."

Odessa couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth, "Stiles, what the actual hell are you talking about?"

"You told me this morning that if I didn't tell Scott about Donovan, someone else will," Stiles' voice grew louder as he started to relive what happened with his best friend before she got there, "well someone told him and he couldn't even look at me. He wouldn't even let me near him! He thinks I killed Donovan just for the hell of it! So tell me, Odessa, who could've told him about it the same day you told me to tell him until someone beat me to it, huh? You told Scott and now he thinks I'm a killer or something."

Odessa didn't know if the water running down her cheeks were from the rain coming down on her or the tears that slipped from her eyes as she listened to her boyfriend's theory. He thought she told Scott about Donovan. He thought she went behind his back and did something she would never do.

With her lip quivering, Odessa's tone was soft compared to his, "you really think I would do that to you? Do you actually think... you know what? I'm too tired for this. It's not even worth it."

"What's not worth it," Stiles asked carefully after a beat of silence. Her words caught him off guard significantly. He didn't think she would give up that easily. And deep down, he was scared of her answer.

"This," the Stone exclaimed, now becoming overwhelmed, "the back and forth. The little digs at each other. Me trying over and over to help only for you to push me away or give me a hard time," with anger rising, she walked right up to him, "you have been suspicious of Theo for weeks and the one time something gets out—something he knew about—gets out, you want to blame me? Stiles, I haven't spoken to Scott in almost a week. The thought of telling him myself hasn't ever crossed my mind and the fact that you think I would shows me exactly how you truly think of me. Why you think I would do it and not Theo is completely crazy to me. But you know what? You can think whatever the hell you want to think, Stiles. Because I'm done."

For the first time since she arrived, Stiles' hard exterior crumbled a bit, "what do you mean you're done?"

"I'm done being the one people go to when they want to lash out. I'm done being yelled at for no reason. I'm done with the attitude you give me for just trying to help you. I'm done with people who don't make an effort to care about me when all I've ever done is care about them," Odessa spoke firmly and with sincerity. She didn't know she had it in her to fully admit what she had been feeling over the past month, but she did, "and most of all, I'm done with the empty promises. Promises of always being there for me when in reality no one ever is. Promises about always being good. Because we're not, Stiles. And we haven't been for a while."

Though her words cut right through him, Stiles nodded, seemingly unaffected, "so that's it, then? You're just gonna give up?"

"There's nothing to give up if you've already been given up on."

Because that was how Odessa Stone truly felt. She had been slowly given up on by all of her friends. Stiles was just the last one to do it. And he was the hardest to accept. But she had nothing else to say. So she did what everyone around did best. Leave.

Stiles felt slight panic overwhelm him as he watched his girlfriend walk away from him. It was then did he start to realize what just happened. He had just told his girlfriend, the one person who had always been there for him no matter the circumstances, that he didn't trust her. It was also her words that troubled him. How long had she been feeling this way? Why hadn't she said anything to anyone before? Why wouldn't she confide in him? There were so many problems coming to light all at once and it was imploding in Stiles' face. But worst of all, he didn't know how to fix it.

"Odessa," Stiles' voice called out in a weak whisper before coming to his senses as she grew further and further away from him, "Odessa... Odie! Please don't leave, okay? We can talk about this," he watched her unlock her car and open the driver's side door, "Odie, can you just... please tell me we're good. Just tell me we're good! Odie, please!"

The Stone did no such thing. No matter how much she wanted to, she didn't look back at him, she didn't pay him any mind when she got into her car. She tried her hardest not to listen to his yells—his pleas to her. She tried to ignore the tears falling from her eyes at the desperation he displayed. She tried not to let her true emotion show whilst still being in his sight. But when she wasn't, she let go.

Odessa drove the best she could as tears streamed down her face, her chest heaving with sobs she couldn't control. How did everything fall apart so quickly? How did they get to where they were now?

Odessa and Stiles had experienced many losses in their lives, more recently than ever before. But the loss they felt the most, painfully and deeply, was the loss of each other.

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i have no words or excuses...
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