The Charm Bracelet.
Alexia was sitting at her window in her apartment watching the world below. People were rushing to work and school, there were cars and lorries and taxis starting to slow in the morning rush hour. She pulled the woollen wrap tighter around her shoulders and shivered. She always sat here, he didn't understand why she had the couch, she sat here the first time he had told her he loved her;
She was sitting in her apartment going over the books from her father's bar. The storm was raging outside and she pulled the wrap further around her shoulders and sighed out loud. The door rattled. Alexia looked out at the blurry window. It was the dead of night and stormy. Who in their right mind would come out in this weather? She pulled herself up out of the chair and shook her head. She unlocked the door leaving the chain on and slowly opened it. He stood there soaked to the skin, the worn leather jacket was dripping, making a puddle on the ground, his eyes glowed green, she gasped and closed the door opening it wide and throwing her arms round his shoulders and caught his lips in a magical kiss.
"I should leave more often," he smirked when she eventually let him breathe. She playfully smacked his arm and pulled him inside, locking the door at his back. He dropped the duffel bag and slipped off his jacket. She watched as his muscles rippled beneath the tight black top he revealed when he removed his over shirt.
"Oh that's right, strip in my hallway, nice one" she laughed as he kicked of his boots, pulled his top over his head and unfastened his belt.
"You complaining?" he raised his eyebrow seductively and flashed her his trade mark grin. His voice was making her shiver under her flannel pyjamas and wrap. He moved towards her and dropped his head until his mouth was level with her ear. "Can I take a shower?" his voice had dropped another octave, all Alexia could do was nod. He grinned and walked towards her bathroom. She shivered again and went to make some hot chocolate. He remerged in her tiny pink towel and she laughed, he shook his head and picked up the duffel bag and took out a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. He placed a little box on the table, it had a light yellow bow on it ,her favourite colour, but she played it cool, if he wanted to give her the present he would have to do it himself. The box stayed on the table as he dressed and drank the hot chocolate, watching her as she tidied away the books. He got up quietly as only a man of his experience could and stood behind her pulling her into his arms and nuzzling the top of her head. She leaned into the touch and her tiny hands gripped onto his arm that surrounded her tiny frame. He kissed the top of her head and placed the little box into one of her hands. She wriggled free and moved over to the bay window and sat down as he followed. She carefully and painstakingly slowly un-wrapped the little box, she looked right into those eyes, and opened the box. It was a charm of some sort, she gently picked it out of the box and ran her fingers over it. "It wards off possession," he told her as she removed the silver bracelet from her wrist and added the charm beside the other twenty he had given her. Most girls would have been pissed that their boyfriend of three years hadn't bought them a ring yet, but Alexia wasn't. He wasn't that type and besides just him coming home to her once a month was a miracle in itself. She put the bracelet back on and kissed him passionately, "Just doing my bit to keep you safe as I'm not here all that often," he told her pulling her to her feet.
"Just keep coming home to me once in a while though yeah?" it was more of a command than a question but her tone of voice softened it. He kissed her again. "Ok I promise". she pulled him in for a kiss, satisfied for the moment. Alexia nearly fell over when he pulled her into a hug and whispered those words. "I don't want to lose you Alexia, it would be the death of me. I can't protect you all the time. He will come after you, always does. I need you and I--" he stopped "I love you." Alexia melted into him and a stray tear that she had been holding back fell down her cheek.
"I love you too," was all she could muster back before she began to sob and he kissed the top of her head, and cradled her close
"And with the charm bracelet I'm always here always with you," she pulled him down once more for another gentle kiss .
Slowly she got up and walked towards her couch. The clock chimed seven and Alexia sighed and made her way to the bathroom. She turned the shower on and let it run as she took off her wrap, her pyjamas and her glasses, letting her hair down before she went in. the water was quite cold as it always had been since he had left her. She washed her hair slowly and carefully, mindful of the scars and the sensitive area of skin at her hair line. She let the water run over her as she slowly bent down to pick up the body wash. Her ribs and her hip were still sore and she had cuts, bruises and sensitive flesh all over her body. She slowly climbed out and wrapped a large, warm towel round her still frail body. She wrapped another towel around her wet hair and looked at her reflection in the mirror; her tanned skin had yellow and purple marks all over it and one of her big blue eyes was still slightly swollen and bruised. She had a scar running from just above her right eye to her right jaw. Her full lips were split and stitched and her nose had a cut across the bridge. She sighed again and picked up the toothpaste and toothbrush gently brushing her teeth as her jaw was still tender from the collision. She walked into the bedroom and gazed at the un-made bed. When he was here, before he died, he would be in that bed and his mossy green eyes would look up at her and he would pull her into bed. He was often gone too long, so moments like that were special. The mattress dipped with her weight as she pulled on her underwear and jeans, followed by her socks and trainers then her massive green hooded top that looked like it was one of his. She never wore anything sexy or short anymore. Not since he died. She had no reason to. He was gone and there was no way of him ever coming back to her now. She stood up and shuffled towards the dresser where her make-up and hair products were. Untangling her hair from the towel and combing it gently, her head throbbed. She glanced into the mirror and there he was, leaning against the head board, his massive cocky grin and his mossy green eyes that were begging her to come to him. Alexia smiled and closed her eyes, if she eventually got this far in the morning it was a miracle, but he usually got his wicked way with her at this point. She opened her eyes and all that was there was the unmade bed, a tear slowly fell down her cheek. He had died six weeks, four days and, she looked at the clock on the wall, seven hours ago. It took her longer than expected to blow-dry her brown shoulder length hair. It curled slightly but she brushed it back into a high pony-tail just leaving the fringe down to cover her face. She felt his hand trail down her spine and couldn't help but lean into it, nearly falling off of the stool. She heard his deep voice whisper softly in her ear, "your beautiful you know that babe?" she swallowed hard and opened her eyes. He wasn't there. She was all alone in a harsh place without any one to protect her now except the little charm bracelet. Sure he was gone most of the time but when he was here, at home with her in her dingy little apartment it was special. He was totally at ease with her. He dropped the bravado he held around his father and brother and let her all the way in. she got up and made the bed. I need to get out of here, she told herself and opened the closet to get her coat, and there it was. The leather jacket. It hung very proudly from the hanger like it did from his shoulders. Another tear fell. She hadn't touched it since he died. His brother had given it to her and her best friend had put it in the closet. She touched it now, running her hand down the sleeve, and into the pocket where he would always hold her hand when she complained it was cold. There was a box there and she took it out. It was the same size as the charm boxes he gave her. She walked slowly back into the living room and sat at the bay window. She slowly opened the ribbon and swallowed hard before opening the box. It was a ring. A solitaire diamond ring. She remembered that night in the car.
They had destroyed or partially destroyed the thing that killed their mum. Well she had opened the door slammed it shut and the black cloud stuff had went through the ceiling. He was lying on the floor in a pool of blood, his dad had a bullet wound in his leg and his brother was moving between them. She dashed for him, kneeling beside his head she ran her fingers through his short brown hair, tears streaming down her cheeks, joining the puddle of his blood on the wooden floor. He raised his eyes slowly locking with hers. "Hold on baby," she gasped as his brother put his dad in the car. He took her small hand in his large one,
"it's in the left hand pocket," he just managed to get out.
"shhh, it's ok," she stroked his head, he squeezed her hand tighter but it felt like a Childs grip, not like his strong manly grip that he had used to protect her from anything, especially the spider in the shower.
"Jacket…Alexia…please…I..lov-" his voice broke, she ran her finger over his bottom lip removing the blood and pressed her lips gently against his. He used the little strength he had left to kiss her back and his little brother came back into the room. Alexia stood up allowing the younger man to lift him into the back of the car. She opened the door then raced round to the other side and took his weight against her.
"Hold on please…please don't leave me," she whispered into his ear,
"I wont.. Marry me?" his voice was no louder than a whisper and she wasn't sure if she heard him right,
"Did you just ask me to marry you?" he turned his head with great effort and looked her in the eye,
"Alexia Knight will you marry me?" a stray tear rolled down her check and she silently nodded. She lent down for a kiss and when she pulled away, his father and brother were arguing in the front.
"SAM LOOK OUT!" she yelled as the large lorry ploughed into the Impala sending it into a ditch.
She shuddered as tears freely fell for the first time since he had died. She placed the ring on her finger and brought her knees up to her chest. As she sobbed quietly she thought about waking up without him and feeling empty and being wheeled into his room.
Her face was a mess and her mouth was dry but she had that feeling, something was wrong. Sam looked up from her beside and she blinked a few times. "Where is he?" she stuttered panic creeping in. His face was wet and his eyes glittered with tears. "Dad's dead," he whispered slowly, she reached for him and he leaned into the touch.
"What about--" she burst into a fit of coughing and a nurse entered the room. "I want to go see him! I need to go see him!" she spat after she finished the water the nurse had given her. About twenty minutes later they wheeled her into his room. He lay there perfectly still. The room was silent except for the machines that were keeping him alive. She took his limp hand in hers, "I love you." she began to sob. Sam held onto the door frame before his legs buckled. The man laying in the bed didn't look like the gorgeous man that had ordered the jack that night at the bar, he was still, there was no glow from his green eyes. She tightened the grip on his hand "whatever battle your fighting in there you can stop now," Sam walked over to the bed and took his other hand, "Don't worry I'll un-salt the door until you come in then re-salt it so you can't get back out." Sam and Alexia half laughed at the poor attempt at a joke. "I'll look after Sammy, don't worry and the million charms and the Latin crash course will keep me safe." a single tear dropped down her cheeks. "when I said don't leave me I never meant don't die. I meant don't leave me alone," she kissed his hand as Sam broke down in silent sobs at the other side of the bed. "I love you Dean Winchester, always have, always will. And if you don't mind I'll be using your last name form now on. You can let go now Dean." she whispered as she kissed his lips passed the tube going down his throat. The machines started to beep and the nurses and doctors came running in. "LEAVE HIM!" she yelled and the nurse turned round and stared at her. "Get her out of here now!" the nurse ordered but Sam stood up "She told him he could let go if her couldn't fight it any more and he did let him go in peace". the nurses and the doctors stopped. "Time of death 1.30 am" One of the doctors said before turning off the machine. Alexia held Sam as he cried that night.
"Morning," Sam's voice caused Alexia's head to jerk up. "Oh my god Alexia, you ok?" Sam rushed over to her then noticed the ring on her finger. "You found it," he brushed a stray strand of hair out of her eyes as a crouched down in front of her. "He told me where it was that night I just…I just…I never listened to him," she was sobbing violently and shaking when Sam pulled her into his arms. "It's ok Alexia he knew, he knew you loved him hell he waited for a good bye before he left." Sam soothed into her hair as tears rolled down his cheeks. They sat like that for a few hours talking about him and crying until the door rattled and Sam jumped up. Alexia wiped her eyes and whispered that she would go. The postman handed her two letters and smiled. She returned the smile and closed the door walking down the hall. They were birthday cards. She had forgot her own birthday. But two other people obviously hadn't. One from her Aunt Beatrice and the other was from…. She knew the handwriting but couldn't quite…No way it couldn't be. When she returned to the living room Sam had put a card and a little cake with a small candle on it on the coffee table. She sat on the table and looked at Sam. "Aww Sammy you remembered even though I never!" she stood up and walked over to the younger man and hugged him mindful of both her own and his bruises . She opened the big card with the scroll like writing on it. It looked like a card for an eighty year old woman not from but Aunt Beatrice never did have any taste what so ever. She laughed slightly as she sat it on the table and opened up the card that Sam had gotten her. It was very neatly written had had a beautiful verse on the front. She smiled at him and he smiled back then she turned her attention to the mystery card. The writing was neat but not girl-obsessed-with-making-it-look-pretty neat more like want-to-make-it-special neat. It was addressed to Mrs. D. Winchester. She carefully discarded the envelope and a single tear rolled down her cheek as she gasped. It had a drawing of two people, a man and a woman sitting on the beach at sunset with the words "Happy Birthday to my Darling Wife." on the front. She slowly opened it up. It had a few blank pages then the centre page was a golden rose and a lovely poem. At the bottom was a simple message:
To Lexie,
That charm bracelet will keep you safe at all times but remember I won't be far. You'll just have to un-salt the door first.
Missing you, All my love always and Forever
Dean xXx
She gave a sad smile at the last part and handed it to Sam. He smiled after he read it and placed on the table next to the others. "God," she sighed wiping her eyes "My parents and mates will be over soon best get this place sorted huh?" Sam knew that this was a way to get him out of her head for a few hours at least.
It was about eleven thirty but Alexia was ready for bed. She stood at the doorway of Sam's room and watched him sleep. She often watched Dean as he did this when he was here. God, she thought to herself for the millionth time Dean's gone, Han solo's really gone. She silently closed the door and made her way to her room. She didn't bother turning on the light she just manoeuvred her way around the room from memory doing the little checks; the windows were salted, there was holy water and rosary beeds close by the little Latin notebook that he had given her. The shotgun of rock salt and the pistol of silver bullets were hidden just under the bed. She pulled back the cover and climbed in shivering at the cold. She pulled the sheet up to her neck and snuggled down on her side. She felt an arm move round over her and a large warm hand leaned on her own small one and gripped it tightly. His amulet dug into her shoulder and she shifted slightly moving into him. She felt his breath on her neck and a stray tear made it's way over her nose and onto the pillow. A textured finger reached over and brushed it away, "shhh Lexie, it's ok sweetheart I'm here, I'll never leave you, you made me promise remember?" his voice soothed her and she snuggled deeper into him. "No one except you ever called me that" she whispered "No, sweetheart no-one ever calls you that but me" she almost felt his mischievous grin against her shoulder. Just then Metallica sounded in the distance and she knew he was home and he would never leave.