"I'll call you later," Dean pushed open the motel door, his brother silent behind him.
As the door began to swing shut behind him, Dean was overcome with the strongest sense of déja vu. When he looked up, it wasn't the parking lot of the dingy motel that he was staying at, but the dusty road outside Ellen's bar. And it wasn't his brother's voice he heard from behind him, but the soft, broken sound of Jo Harvelle.
"No you won't."
He remembered the promise he had made. It wasn't a huge one.
Just a phone call.
But phone calls came with implications: that he was okay, that he was safe.
Jo Harvelle had known that he was always in danger, and forever anything but okay.
"No you won't."
Three words that showed she knew him better than he could ever have imagined.
Jo had been gone for more than a year now.
It still stung when Dean thought about it, like a ghostly slap in the face.
She had died for nothing.
Maybe for a dream. A hope that she could at least give her Winchester boys some safety.
Some peace.
Two things she knew they hadn't had in a long while and probably never would again.
The weight of the broken promise pushed down on Dean, even now.
He realized how much he was tired of disappointing people. And even more of them having no expectations for him in the first place.
Before he knew what he was doing, his phone was in his hand. He scrolled through his contacts until he came to one that simply said "J.H."
He needed to fulfill his promise. Needed to hear her voice one more time. To tell her that he was sorry for who he was and that he'd try to be better; for her. Or at least hear her mocking him, calling him an old softy. He was a hunter, he shouldn't be worrying. Of course, he would gladly accept the sarcasm, if it meant he could make her smile.
Pushing the call button, he held the phone up to his ear.
It didn't even ring once, "The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected."
But he didn't hang up as the line fell silent. Instead, he listened for a little before he began to speak.
"Hey Jo. It's Dean. Just callin' to let you know that Sam and I are doin' okay." His voice grew gruff with tears he couldn't shed, "Sorry it's taken so long."
He didn't say anything else for a long while.
"I miss you."
And the phone clicked shut.