Chapter 1 by leahk80
Breaking
Sam sat quietly at the bar, watching the light play against his glass of scotch. Replaying the evening events over in his
mind.
They dragged themselves back to the dingy motel along the nearly deserted highway and just as nearly deserted town, after
a hunt that almost killed them. Ever since their dad died, Dean was intent to drive them to exhaustion. Going on hunt after
hunt with no down time in between hunts. Sam knew his brother was doing it to keep from thinking, from feeling the anger
that raged just below the surface. He was shutting down, not caring at this point if he gets hurt. He was also shutting Sam
out. Sam can't help but to feel abandoned by Dean. They barley spoke anymore. Instead Dean snarls commands and Sam
keeps quiet out of fear. Not so much a fear of Dean but of what Dean might do. Especially after the episode with the Impala.
Sam knew that he had pushed his brother to do that. He knew that Dean kept things so under wraps that eventually they
raise their ugly heads and Dean loses control and Sam didn't want to be the cause anymore. But walking on eggshell around
Dean was talking a toll on him. No matter how hard he tried or how quiet he was, Sam always ended up taking the brunt of
his brother's anger. He absently traced the bruise along his jaw with his fingertip. He sighed as he realized what he was
doing and lowered his hand. It was only recently that Dean struck out at him in anger. Usually when Sam himself pushed to
hard, so now he just shuts up and try to stay in the background.
Sam hated this distance that came up between them. He really missed his brother. He sighed and took a drink. As he put his
scotch down he sensed something. Now on full alert, Sam scanned the bar, but nothing seemed amiss. But for some reason
his gaze kept returning to the back of the bar where he spotted a girl sitting at a corner table with the soft amber light of the
track lighting shown down on her like a halo. His thoughts on Dean were replaced with a deep sadness. Sam shook his head
and looked at the girl again and his breath caught as he watched a lone tear slide down her cheek.
He wanted to reach out and wipe away that tear and wrap her in his arms to sooth that sadness away. He blinked, confused
as to why a total stranger invoked such a strong reaction in him. He took a deep breath trying to calm the incoherent
emotions running thru him. But before he knew it he was standing in front of her table, looking into her shimmering green
eyes. She stares at him and he realized that she is afraid of him. He wanted to let her know that he wouldn't hurt her but he
couldn't find the words.
She got up and Sam watched her thread her way thru the crowd and out the door, while he stood there frozen before he
gave in to the internal debate to go after her. So Sam makes his way to the door and as he stepped out he was nearly
knocked of his feet as a invisible wall of pure despair slammed into him, almost overwhelming his mind with jagged edges of
emotions not his own. Sam staggered away from the bar, his heart pounding wildly as he looked around for the source.
'What the hell in happening to me' Sam pushed this thought away as he spotted the girl. He followed after calming down and
his acute observation ability told him that the girl was the cause of the sadness he felt earlier as he felt another wave of
sadness come at him, adding to his own troubled emotions. He felt crushed by it. He tried to calm his racing heart and slow
down his breathing as he followed behind her. He kept telling himself that nothing out of the ordinary was happening here,
but a nagging feeling at the back of his mind said otherwise. As they came upon a old wooden bridge spanning across a fast
moving river far below, a jolt of fear ripped thru him as Sam realized what she was planning to do. He didn't understand how
he knew she was going to jump or what he was feeling or why it was so overwhelming, but he knew he had to stop her. He
quickly approached her. She turned at the sound of his footsteps. Tears welled up in her eyes as she watched him.
Sam stopped, not wanting to spook her. He tried to come up with something to say, to stall her but his thoughts were all
jumbled and he could feel the beginnings of a nasty headache. He decided to trust his instincts and he reached out and
gathered the girl into his arms. She tensed up before relaxing into his embrace. He could feel her silent sobs against his chest.
He gently leaned his chin atop her head and tightened his arms around her. Sam held onto her like a lifeline, a way to keep
him tethered as he tried very hard to keep from breaking.
