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“Okay,” Melissa says, “I can just sense that you’re angry with me. I know you’re putting it all aside while we try to figure this out, but I think it would be better- or I don’t know, if I’m going to die, I’d rather it not be with you mad at me.”
“I’m not going to let you die.”
“You have no idea how much I appreciate those brave words, but I think that by now the reality of the situation has hit both of us.”
“You didn’t tell me what my son was involved in.”
Sighing, Melissa leans her head back. “I didn’t,” she acknowledges. “If it means anything-”
“It doesn’t,” he interrupts. “I thought we were friends, but even more than that, I thought you could and would understand how that was something I needed to know.”
“In my defence,” she says, “I didn’t know until almost the end of last year. When I found out, I reacted badly. For a week, I just went through everything on autopilot. Once I started to adjust, telling you was one of the first things on my mind. Stiles had a panic attack,” she quietly tells him. “My son, as he was helping calm yours down, kept begging me not to. Once everyone was calm and dry-eyed, they broke down the reasons I shouldn’t.”
“My sixteen-year-old son, your fifteen-year-old boy, convinced you not to tell me something that, as I parent, I have every right to know,” he answers in sarcastic disbelief. “This isn’t him wrecking his jeep or getting caught hot and heavy in an empty classroom, this is him being involved with werewolves and hunters, and apparently, a giant lizard that had something to do with Matt drowning.”
“I recognise your point, but actually, Matt being drowned when he was little was part of what caused the kanima to manifest. Jackson didn’t have anything to do with Matt being drowned either time.”
“I don’t care who the damn lizard was or why he went around killing people or even, at the moment, Matt’s drowning! I care that Stiles-” He trails off and takes a breath.
“You are my friend,” she informs him. “Or at least, I’m yours. I’m going to be brutally honest with you.”
“I’d take that over being kept in the dark,” he retorts.
“If our situations were reversed, I wouldn’t anywhere near as rational and calm about things,” she says. “Look, hear me out about before you say anything.”
“Fine.”
“I see Stiles on an almost daily basis. I don’t see you that often. And I’m sorry to bring this up, but when your wife died, you had a drinking problem.” Ignoring his flinch, she barrels on. “You got it under control, and you’ve always been a good dad. Stiles begged me not to tell you. He couldn’t stand the thought of you handling it badly or of you getting hurt because you knew and felt obligated to look into dangerous things.”
Sighing, she continues, “Stiles has literally saved Scott’s life in the past. Every time I’ve seen you, every time I’ve talked to you, I’ve felt incredibly guilty. But I kept thinking that, ‘What if he’s right?’ I couldn’t let myself be the reason he lost his dad, not after he’s already lost his mother.”
“And I know the counter to that, that you could lose him. Stiles told me that knowing you were safe at home, ignorant of all that was out there, that gave him focus. He wasn’t riddled with worry. It’s not a good excuse when I say it out loud, but let me let you in on a secret: I suck at parenting. I suck at being a mom. Over the years, I’ve made one mistake after another.”
“Melissa-”
“Quiet,” she orders. “When Scott and Stiles kidnaped Jackson, I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t punish my own son properly for committing a very serious crime. When I found out he was a werewolf, he needed me to be there for him, and I wasn’t. Not at first. I stuck around with my ex-husband for way too long, and Scott suffered in the process. So, yes, in the end, I decided that your sixteen-year-old son probably had a better idea of whether you needed to be told or not than I did.”
“If we manage to get out of this and you want to hate me for it, that’s fair. But please, don’t take this out on my son. Scott has always thought the world of you. And I’m begging you, don’t take Stiles away from Scott. Our boys need each other.”
“Done?”
“Yes.”
“Okay,” he says, “I’ve seen you go off on people who’ve questioned your parenting ability, and that suits you more than this does. I’m probably going to be angry for a long time, but I could never hate you, and I’d never hurt Scott. Right now, we need to put everything aside and figure out what do to. Will you trust me?”
“I always have.”
He gives her a wan smile. “Now, what do you know about whatever or whoever took us?”
“It’s called a Darach. Apparently, druids are actually…”