Chapter Two

When Zoey finally pulled into the driveway of her stately Victorian house, she managed to make it to the sofa in the den before she broke down. She felt as if her world had crumbled and there was nothing she could do to fix it. "Zoey?" Her younger brother's voice filtered through her ears. "Where are you?"

"I'm in the den, Connor." She said, trying to keep her voice steady.

He walked slowly through the doorway and she got up, leading him to the sofa. "You've been crying." Though his clear blue eyes were blind, he had an eerie ability to read people. "What's wrong?"

"How'd you know I was back?" She changed the subject.

Connor's mouth twitched; he knew what she was doing. "I heard your car. And, since I don't hear Sam, you two broke up."

"I broke it off." She admitted.

"Zoey Bloodworth, why would you do such a thing to that poor hunter?"

"We got into this awful fight and he said some things. It made me realize why we avoid relationships with them."

Connor sighed, giving her a hug. "That doesn't sound like him. He was head over heels in love with you."

"Maybe he decided he wasn't, okay?" She snapped. "Look, I know where you're going with that, and he wasn't possessed. I'd have known."

"Okay, then. I'm sorry. I was just trying to help."

She got to her feet. "I'm going to the store and check inventory."

The apothecary her mom left to her was Zoey's first love and the only one who hadn't let her down. She knew that going there for a while would drown her sorrows better than drinking herself to sleep. While she'd been hunting with the Winchesters, she left the store in the capable hands of her best friend, Nicole, and her brother. When she unlocked the door, the familiar smell of vanilla and leather reached her nose and instantly calmed her down. Zoey took out a notebook and began to write down the potions she was low on and how many she needed, as well as the amulets and other things she offered at her little shop. She paused at the black leather protection amulet she'd sold to Sam the first time they ever met.

Sam Winchester placed the leather amulet on the counter, trying to avoid staring at her. She smiled sweetly, her heart racing as she looked into his sparkling hazel eyes. "This all for you?"

"I think so." He said, digging around in his wallet for the cash. "These work, right?"

"If it doesn't, you'll probably be dead." She quipped, laughing at the look he gave her. "I'm just assuming you're going against something powerful or you wouldn't feel the need to buy a protection amulet."

"Yeah, something like that." He chuckled. "Thanks."

He turned to walk away but Zoey called after him. "You forgot something, sir!"

"What?" He asked, puzzled.

"You forgot my number." She handed it to him. "My name's Zoey."

"Sam." He said, blushing slightly. "Sam Winchester."

"Have a great day, Sam! Come back again."

He turned around, halfway out the door. "You know, I think I will."

She wiped a tear away and proceeded with the inventory check. In the storage room, she found new bottles for every potion she needed, so she set them out on the shelves before calling it a night.

Connor was sleeping when she got back. Changing into her pajamas, she popped open a bottle of Captain Morgan and drank, eyeing her phone. It rang four times; each call was from Sam, but she ignored it. Slowly, her eyelids began to droop and she fell into an uneasy sleep.

The next morning, she woke, drenched in sweat. Apparently, her nightmares had come back. She groaned, shaking her head to clear it. "Come on. You're Alexander Bloodworth's daughter. Quit moping around because of a stupid mortal and do something productive." She gave herself an early morning pep talk.

"Am I going to have to take you to the asylum?" Connor teased, a cup of coffee in his hands.

"No." She yawned. "Sorry for snapping at you yesterday."

"It's fine." He held the cup out toward her. "Thought you could use this."

"Thanks." Zoey took a long sip. "Go get dressed while I get breakfast underway. Then, we'll go to the store."

Connor nodded, walking carefully up the stairs. Zoey changed into her normal work attire, a black tulle skirt and a white t-shirt with green Converse. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, finally deciding against any makeup.

Thirty minutes later, she sat behind the counter, waiting on her first customer. Connor had slipped to the antique store a couple doors down to hit on the owner's daughter. She sighed, thinking wistfully of the days she and Sam would send meaningless texts to each other throughout the day. Suddenly, she remembered Sam's behavior right after he came back from the bathroom at the bar was different. It was almost like he was soulless again, so why did she write that off? "God, I'm stupid." She quickly typed in the name of the bar in Miami, Florida, where they'd been, in the search engine and began to look for anything odd going on down there.