Cas dragged his feet up the broken wooden steps of the creaking Victorian, his left hand clutching so tightly to the railing he thought he might get splinters. The door was slightly ajar, and within Cas could just see the dark foyer. He used his shoulder to push the door open enough to slip inside of it, praying he wouldn't have to go far to find Anna; even though she'd been set free, she considered herself condemned to the house in which she was murdered.
He didn't bother to close the door behind him; he really didn't give a shit. The house was as dark as ever, and upstairs he heard a distinctive crashing of furniture toppling over on itself that was probably produced by one of the house's many…. patrons. Cas collapsed on his knees just in front of the stairs, his athame in a death grip in his right hand. There was a lump in his throat that refused to go away, and his eyes were hot with tears he refused to let fall.
Suddenly, two cold hands came and rested on either of his tense shoulders. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Anna's figure behind him, her dark hair and her beautiful dress. She wove a hand in to his hair, and rested her head against the back of his neck. Cas took a deep breath, thankfully less shaky than he thought it would end up being, and turned around on his knees to look at his goddess. She wore a sad smile and soft eyes, which made the room feel a little less like it was closing in on him. Her hand brushed his, the one holding the athame, and his grip loosened on it by a fraction of an inch.
"Cassio" she whispered, almost like a question. Cas brushed his lips against hers lightly, the tightness in his chest slowly unwinding with every moment he spent with her. He slowly broke away from her, standing up as he did so, and slid the athame in to his back pocket; though it took a bit of extra effort to uncurl the tight fist he had been holding the blade in. Anna could almost feel the waves up pent-up emotion Cas was radiating—feelings of anger, sadness, guilt… it was unsettling, even for her. The silence that had heavily fallen around them was slightly broken by the tapping of rain against the roof and windows; though from within the house it sounded eerily distant.
Cas almost inaudibly sighed, and watched her as she rose to float slightly off of the ground so she was exactly eye level with him. "I'm sorry" Cas mumbled, not one to usually be giving apologies "Things have been pretty trying for me lately" She smiled in understanding and wrapped her arms around him "I know" she told him. For a while he just stood there in her embrace, feeling safer than he had in a while. Anna kissed his cheek as she pulled away, and took him by the hand "It isn't good for you to stay in this place" she told him, leading him towards the still open door. He didn't want to leave her, but he knew she was right. She walked with him to the front porch, giving his hand a quick squeeze before she let him descend the stairs.
Anna watched as Cas strode down the driveway, only looking back at her when he got to his mother's car. She smiled at him and turned back into the house, the door shutting behind her. Cas sighed and got in to the car; starting the engine and driving down the desolate road, watching the house disappear in the rear view mirror. She always told him not to come back, that the house was bad for his wellbeing, that he should move on with his life. But he always came back, and neither of them would have it any other way.
