"Are you all settled?" I asked Alex, I could hear he was still moving stuff around in his new dorm. He'd probably put the phone on speaker.
"Yes, I'm settled alright. You don't have to worry, and you don't have to call me every half an hour. I'm not gonna be done unpacking until Christmas if this continues!" he tried to hide his irritation, but I could sense it even though we were speaking on the phone.
"I know.. I'm just…" I missed him and I already worried like hell. I should never had let him apply to a college that far away. Was I evil for having hoped he wouldn't have been accepted? A little wishful thinking hadn't hurt anyone before, right? My selfish thoughts disgusted me and I tried to push them away. He was clearly happy and I was more than proud of him getting accepted into such a fine school.
"You're worried, I know, but I'm 20, soon to be 21, and I'm gonna be fine. Remember, you're not my mother you're my sister." His argument wasn't totally valid. I'd consider myself a hybrid of the two because.. I wasn't an ordinary big sister. At least that was what I've been told.
"I know.. and I'm seriously gonna leave you alone now. I promise. We won't talk until you call me." I excused myself.
I found myself in a horrible state. I felt vulnerable, purposeless, and… bored. I'd never been acting like a total wuss before and my behavior made my insides turn. Grow up, woman. You're 27 and you're gonna get through this.. like you always do.
"Like you're gonna keep that!" he teased and I imagined him smiling. He had the most adorable puppy smile.
"Have I ever broken a promise to you?" I dared him and his tone changed.
"No.. never.. I promise I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" the thought of him calling me tomorrow gave me a slight moment of comfort, but I knew the minute he hung up my fingers would be itching to call him back.
"You better. I love you, popsicle." He huffed like he always did when I called him by his embarrassing nickname.
"Right back at you, sis." The line was dead and I was all alone.
The two bedroom apartment felt like an abandoned castle without him. There was only me, the TV, and my thoughts. At least that was what I thought when someone knocked on the door. I wasn't the most social person. The only person I was truly close with was my baby brother and he wasn't even in the same state as me anymore. Neither had I ordered any food so it was with a mind full of wonder when I opened the door.
"Hello. Is your name Abigail Adams?" a man wearing a suit under a beige colored trench coat asked me. His blue eyes were lit up by the light coming from my apartment. For a second I mentally accused him for being a robot, his monotone way of speaking and stone face reminded me of that movie from the 80's called Terminator.
"Who's asking?" no way I would give up my name to a stranger.
"My name is.. Cas." His hesitance gave me the feeling he was lying.
"Cas? That's.. not a name you hear that often." At first I felt bad about commenting on his name, but who was he to show up at my door? What did he want? Did he run away from a mental institute?
"I know. I didn't choose it." The lack of emotion in his voice and body language was so strange to watch. He seemed more and more robot-ish to me.
"We usually don't. But you know there are ways to change that. If that was all I'm gonna wish you a good night and good luck finding your true name.. Clint would probably suit you, maybe you should give it a shot?" I was still holding onto the door and was just about to close it when I detected a change of emotion in his face. He frowned. A robot wouldn't frown, would it? My amazement and surprise stopped any movement in my body.
"Why would I change my name to Clint?" he asked.
"Uhm.. you're probably right, it was a long shot.. Why am I even discussing this with you? Listen, whatever you came here for, it's not here. Have a good night mr. Cas." My door was half way closed when he quickly slammed his hand on it pushing it open again. He didn't look downright threatening though, only extremely determined.
"Are you, or are you not Abigail Adams? The sign on your door says this is her current residence." His deep voice echoed in my ears.
"What do you want?! If you don't leave right now I'm gonna call the police!" I threatened grabbing the door tighter with both hands ready to push the man back before he got the chance to step into my apartment. Not that I had a lot of faith in the police, but to most people they were a threat. This guy unfortunately didn't seem like he was a member of the 'most people club', but it was worth a shot. What people don't do in a moment of panic?
"You don't seem to grasp the importance of the situation. I need to speak to Abigail Adams, it is an emergency!" his piercing eyes looked right into mine trying to convince me to give up my name.
It wasn't until then I noticed the blood stains on his coat. He was physically hurt. Why would he be so eager to find me? I hadn't seen the guy, yet somewhere inside I got the feeling I should know him… or had heard about him at least. I shut down my thoughts and shook my head.
"She isn't home! Okay?! When she gets here I will tell you that… Cas 'what's his name' stopped by. This is the last time I'm asking this, leave now or I will seriously call the police. You look hurt, so go by the hospital and fix yourself up. Goodbye!" I was just about to forcefully slam the door into his face when removed his hand from it. Did he give up?
"I'm not Cas 'what's his name'. My name is Castiel and I'm an angel of the Lord." That was it. He obviously had escaped a mental institute. I felt a little sorry for him and started considering calling all the mental homes in the area and ask if they missed 'an angel'.
"Sure… you are.. I'll make sure to tell Abigail that an angel is looking for her." I promised trying to keep myself calm.
"Thank you. Goodbye. I apologize if my visit was of any disturbance." Did he just apologize? He was seriously the stranges person I'd met in a long while, and I'd met many weirdos.
"It's.. fine.." before I could say anymore he turned around and started walking down the hallway with his coat waving furiously behind him.
Further down the street…
Castiel dropped a coin into the pay phone dialing Dean's number. He hadn't used a phone for a long time but unfortunately his current situation made the task inevitable.
"Hello?" Dean's deep voice asked from the other end of the line. He was chewing on something.
"Dean, I have a question." Castiel asked directly.
"Cas?" Dean was clearly surprised and Cas could hear him swallow whatever he was eating.
"Yes, it's me. How do you distract or debilitate a person without incurring that person a head trauma?" He went straight to the point because he knew he might not have much time.
"Uuuuh.. if you wanna do it the sissy way I guess… pepper spray?" Dean answered hesitantly like he still considered his answer.
"Okay. How do I use it and where do I get it?"
"You spray it into people's eyes? It's available in any drugstore and... why am I even telling you this? Cas why are you even using a payphone?" Dean had been so startled by the phone call it wasn't until that far into their conversation he started feeling skeptic about the whole situation.
"I don't have time to explain. Thank you for your help, Dean."
"CAS! Whe.." Dean didn't get a chance to demand any further explanations before Castiel had already hung up the phone and rushed out of the phone booth.
He needed to find a drugstore fast. Luckily he was in the center of the city and didn't have to walk far before he found a drugstore that was open 24 hours a day.
The light in the store made him squint. Everything was white except for the pill containers and the signs and commercials hanging on the walls. A guy wearing a white doctor coat and a pair if distinct black glasses greeted him with an acknowledging nod before he returned to the paper work lying on the desk in front of him. Castiel had no idea what a pepper spray looked like so he started browsing the shelves one by one. At last he decided to ask the man behind the counter for advice just to be sure he found the right product.
"Hello. Do you have an object called a pepper spray?" Castiel asked politely.
The man looked up and took Castiel in for consideration before answering.
"Uhm.. yes we do.. which one do you want?" the merchant asked looking surprised that a man asked for a pepper spray while he pointed at a shelf behind him showing a variety of different small plastic containers Castiel figured were sprays. Maybe it was for his daughter, the merchant thought.
He noticed the wound on Castiel's hand too and the blood on his clothes. The merchant had an inner discussion with himself on whether he should ask about the blood, or not. Had the guy been attacked and the pepper spray was for his own safety? Considering he wore a suit he didn't look like the violent type so that was a possibility too.
"I am afraid I don't acquire the knowledge and experience to tell the variation between the different sorts of pepper sprays." Castiel started doubting asking the man for advice was a bad idea. People tended to react in strange ways when he asked them questions he thought was relevant. Dean and Sam usually pointed that out for him too, but he never understood why he was being 'inappropriate' as they told him.
The man in the white coat raised his eye brows clearly surprised by Castiel's choice of words before he answered, "Just to be safe I would recommend this one, it's the most popular brand on the market these days. It's 10% which is the highest available on the market. To have the proper effect you need to be within 6 feet of range from the person you are aiming at. The rest of the instructions are written on the label." The merchant handed the spray to Castiel while pointing at the instructions on the side of it, "And maybe a pack of these too, perhaps?" the merchant added grabbing a pack of bandages from a shelf behind him placing it on the counter while pointing at Castiel's wounded hand.
Castiel put the spray up in front of his eyes to examine the 'weapon' further without taking notice of the bandages on the counter. He was amazed about how small it was and he struggled to believe that such a small object would inflict enough pain to cripple a person momentarily. He needed confirmation before purchasing the device before he was convinced the pepper spray was what he needed.
"And how do I operate this device?" he asked looking from the spray to the man.
"You see that red button on top of the spray? That's the trigger. If you push it down you'll… AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Castiel watched the man fall back into a shelf behind the counter causing a lot of small boxes to fall to the floor while he furiously rubbed his eyes while screaming in pain. The angel curiously analyzed the pepper spray again finding himself surprised and satisfied by the result of his test.
The merchant was swearing and yelling behind the counter waving his arms in the room tripping over and stepping on the many boxes and tried to feel his way through the room. One would be lying to say he shared the same admiration and contentment about the object serving its purpose as Castiel was. The merchant was aiming for the phone with his blinded eyes and Castiel saw it as his queue to leave.
"Thank you, mister. I am very satisfied by the product of your recommendations. It fulfilled my needs to the fullest. Here, I have money." He quickly placed a bolt of dollar bills on the table before rushing out of the store putting the spray and bandages into the pocket of his jacket very satisfied with himself. The plan was working smoother than he'd expected.