The Second Coming (Sequel to Taken)

Chapter 18

Later on, I'm sitting in the bleachers at the lacrosse charity game wearing Liam's away jersey, since I'm his girlfriend now. I see Theo walk up the bleachers, and he sits beside me.

"Can we talk?" he asks me.

I sigh. "You can talk, but don't expect an answer."

He turns to face me, looking at the jersey. "You moved on fast, didn't you?"

"Well it didn't take much, when you hate someone and don't love them it's easy to get with someone that you do."

"You love Liam?"

I sigh again. "Theo, whatever we had," I motion between he and I and continue, "it's gone. And whatever it was, it wasn't love."

"It was to me."

"What did it feel like to you?"

"I always wanted to have you around me, I always wanted to hear your voice. Your presence makes me feel like I can be a better person."

"That's not what I felt for you. Whatever we had, it wasn't anything real."

"It was real to me."

"But not to me. You're a senior, you're getting ready to go off for college and settle down eventually. I'm just a sophomore, I'm more into the date now and nothing serious thing. I think you're looking for something a little more serious with someone who truly loves you."

"If you don't love me, why'd you keep picking me?"

I sigh. "I thought it was safest. When you flipped that coin I didn't feel relieved, I felt safe. And then you tried to make me put that mask on, and we argued about the talons. I didn't feel safe anymore. But with Liam, I do."

"It's because he's a real werewolf, isn't it? Or is that he hasn't killed anybody?"

I sigh yet again. "It's nothing like that. I just don't feel the way about you that I feel about him. I'm sorry."

He sighs. "I don't suppose this'd be like a movie, where I could just kiss you and you'd come back to me?"

"That's what you've been doing for nearly two weeks."

"And you keep coming back."

"But I won't anymore," I say as I play with the ends of Liam's jersey. "I'm with Liam now, I'm in Scott's pack."

"There's no place for a chimera there."

"There's no place for a chimera anywhere. And I've learned to accept that. Now that you're out of my life, I'm gonna try to go home."

"Home? Home? Echo, those people aren't your family. You don't have a home."

"Shut up."

"Echo-"

"Shut up!" I see Liam look over to me and he quickly starts running towards the bleachers. "Go now or you're dead."

He gets up to me and takes off him helmet. "You wanna gimme a good luck kiss?"

"Nice of you to steal y girlfriend," Theo says.

"She didn't love you. She never did."

"Maybe if I just had a bit more time with her-"

"Stop." He turns to me. "I'll see you after the game." He starts to put his helmet back on, but I grab his arm.

"What happened to that good luck kiss you wanted?" I ask.

He smiles and kisses me lightly, then puts on his helmet. "Love you."

"Love you too. Good luck." I smile at him as he runs back down to the field and the game begins.

"You should've been saying that to me," Theo sighs.

I roll my eyes. "Leave me alone, please."

"I'm not giving up. I love you, I'll always love you. I'll love you when the sun falls from the sky, and when hell freezes over. I'll love you until time ends, and even after that."

"Theo, heartbreak is inevitable. There's no way to avoid it and no way to recover from it. So just put yourself out there and realize that the first few won't be the one you spend forever with."

He stares at me silently for a minute, then speaks up. "What hurts the most is that no matter how many times you hurt me, I'll always come running back. I'll always care. I'll always love you, and I'll always be there when you need somebody. Even if that somebody isn't me."

I shake my head. "I don't want you to do that, Theo. I want you to be happy. I'm just not the happiness you're looking for." I sigh and stand up. "I gotta go."

"Where are you going?"

"I've got work to do. Goodbye, Theo." I walk off the bleachers, not looking back because I can feel him staring at me. I have to stay strong. I'm with Liam now. I love him. I can't be changing sides every ten minutes.

--

Right towards the end of the game, Liam runs off the field, which really worries me. He jumps into the air, only to collide with the Beast.

"LIAM!" I yell while running towards him. When I get there he's laying on the ground, looking pretty bloody. I grab his arm, put it over my shoulder, and start bringing him inside.

"E-Echo?" he asks.

"Shh," I say. "Yeah, it's me. Don't talk." I bring him into the school, into a classroom, and lock the door. I guess Stiles followed us in, because he knocks everything off the teacher's desk.

"Put him here," he says.

I slowly lay Liam across the desk and take a step back. "God Liam, why?" I ask, not really wanting the answer. "Stiles, go find Scott."

I don't hear a response, but I hear the door open and close again.

I sit in a chair beside Liam, who's gasping in pain. I can see a lot of blood seeping through his shirt. "Liam, I gotta cut off your shirt so I can look at your stomach. Okay?"

He doesn't give any reply, so I grab a pair of scissors and quickly cut the shirt and peel it away from his skin.

I quickly grab a first-aid kit from across the room and start using anything that I think will help him. "I wish I could take away pain, like you can." Wait... what if I can? I slowly lean down and kiss him, and I feel some pain spreading from him to me. After a moment I pull back and look at him. "Any better?"

"Much," he sighs with a slight smile. "Thank you."

I smile at him and grab his hand. "That's what I'm here for."