Chapter Three – Can't Think Straight

Renee walks out of the building and lets out a heavy breath. She'd finally gotten a break with this company. They finally wanted to use her pictures. She can't help but smile as she approaches her car. This is amazing; there isn't much that could make this moment better. She just hopes she doesn't screw anything up. She can't afford to do that. This is the break she's been looking for since she started in the freelance end of photography.

She's about to open her driver's door when someone grabs her. They turn her around quickly, shoving her against the car, and covering her mouth. She stares wide eyes at the man standing there.

"So I finally get to see you up close and personal." His accent is thick, unmistakable to Renee. The man combs his fingers through Renee's hair. "I'm going to drop my hand if you promise not to scream. Promise?"

Renee nods. She licks her lips nervously when he does drop his hand. "What do you want? Who are you?"

"Doesn't matter who I am. I want you to listen to me very closely. I don't wanna hurt you. But I will if I need to. Ambrose can't have any distractions. I need him to keep focused on what I need him to do. You, such a pretty little bitch, are a distraction. I don't like distractions. Especially when it involves pussy. If you keep distracting him, I will not play nice next time. Do you understand me?"

She nods slowly. "Yes."

"Good." The man backs up.

Renee watches as he walks away before she gets in her car. She quickly locks the doors and covers her face. What is going on? Who was that and how did he know about her seeing Dean? She wipes her eyes, hating herself for letting the tears flow. "Get ahold of yourself, Renee," she mutters before starting her car. She knows what she needs right now. So she pulls out of the parking lot and heads toward the park to take pictures.

Nearly an hour later she sits down on one of the benches; this time she doesn't let her camera go. She smiles to herself as she puts her camera back in her bag. She won't make the same mistake as the last time.

"You aren't making it easy this time," Dean says sitting down beside Renee.

Renee looks at him quickly. "Dean…" She licks her lips and looks around.

"We seem to keep bumping into each other."

"Looks that way." She runs a hand through her hair.

Dean frowns. "You okay?"

She nods. "Yeah, I'm fine." She zips her bag and stands up. "I should go."

"Renee…"

"I'll see you later, okay?" She starts walking toward the small parking lot.

"Hey, wait a second." He catches her easily and falls into stride with her. "What's going on with you?"

"Dean, I don't think this is a good idea."

"Don't think what is a good idea? We're just talking." He watches her closely, realizing that she has tears in her eyes. "Hey." He grabs her arm to stop her from walking. "Renee, what's wrong?"

"Please just leave me alone. He can't see us together." She flinches when she realizes what she had just said. "Forget I said that. I have to go."

"No, I won't forget it. Who can't see us together?" He can see her looking around with a panicked look on her face. "Renee…" He holds his hand out. "Gimme your keys. I'm not letting you drive like this." He's a little surprised at how easily she gives up her keys. "Come on." He rests his hand on her lower back as he guides her to the car. Once he has her settled in the passenger seat, he walks around the front of the car. He takes a look around before climbing in behind the wheel.

Renee frowns when she looks out the window to see that they're getting close to her place. She looks over at Dean. "How do you know where I live?" she asks.

Dean smirks. "I doubt it's hard for you to figure out."

"You followed me home?"

He shrugs. "I guess you could call it that." He glances over at her. "It was late one night when I saw you walking alone. I wanted to make sure you got home okay. Where do you park?"

"In the back." She shifts so she can see him better. "When was this?"

"Couple weeks ago. I wasn't following you to begin with. I was running an errand and that's when I saw you."

"And by errand you mean job."

"Sure." He chuckles as he shuts the car off. "Come on, let's get you inside."

Renee walks into her apartment with Dean behind her. She shouldn't let him in but can't seem to tell him not to. "Thank you for driving me back," she says as she turns toward him.

Dean nods. "You're welcome. Now, what was that all about?"

"Some guy stopped me today. He um… made it clear that he would do something to me if I kept distracting you."

He frowns. "Guy? What guy?"

"He didn't give me a name. But he had an accent."

"Accent?" He frowns. "Dark haired guy?"

"Yeah."

"Wade." Dean sighs. "Listen, don't worry about it. I'll take of him."

Her eyes widen at that. "What are you going to do?"

He chuckles. "Relax, nothing bad. I'm just gonna talk to him." He taps her chin. "Lock the door behind me, Baby Girl." With that Dean leaves.

Renee licks her lips as she locks the door. What just happened?

Renee is lounging on her couch with a book in her hands when there's a knock on her patio door. She frowns as she glances at the clock. It makes her nervous that someone is at her patio door; especially with the way it's been storming. She stands up and moves over to the door carefully. She pulls the curtain back enough to look outside, gasping when she sees Dean standing there. She moves the curtain, unlocking the door quickly.

"Dean," she says. She can see him shivering from the cold rain, all while holding onto his side. "Get in here." She pulls him inside and closes the door.

"Lock it," Dean mutters. He stumbles over to the couch.

Renee does so and closes the curtain once again. She turns toward Dean. "We need to get you out of those wet clothes." She walks over to the couch and holds her hand out. "Come on." She curls her hand in his when he reaches out. As he stands up, Renee takes note of the slowness in his movements. Whatever happened wasn't good. She leads him down the short hall to the bathroom. "Sit." She points to the vanity, thankful her bathroom was actually big enough for something like this. She grabs a towel from the closet and shakes it out as Dean does as he's told.

"I'm sorry for stopping by like this," Dean finally says. "I just… didn't know where to go."

Renee rubs the towel gently in Dean's hair. "It's okay." She meets his gaze when he looks at her. "Get out of your clothes. You're going to freeze to death. You're still shivering."

"I don't have anything else."

"I might have something. Get out of your clothes while I go look."

Renee returns a minute later, carrying clothes for Dean. She looks at him, sucking in a deep breath at the sight of his bare chest. "Here. They may not fit perfectly, but at least they're dry."

Dean takes the clothes. "Thanks."

"Leave the shirt off. I'll take a look at your scratches."

He simply nods as he slips off the sink. He smirks when Renee quickly turns around as he drops the towel. He pulls the boxers and shorts on. "Okay, you can turn around."

She turns and motions for him to sit down once again. "What happened, Dean?" She trails her fingertips over the cuts on his side, pulling back quickly when he hisses. "Was this…? Was it him?"

"No. Wade didn't do this. It's nothing, really." Dean can't stop shivering and he isn't sure if it's because he's still old or the fact that Renee is touching him.

"Let me put something on them." She grabs her ointment from the medicine cabinet. This may sting a little."

He simply nods as he moves his arm out of the way. He hisses at the stinging that occurs when she carefully dabs some of the gel on him. When she finishes, he grabs the shirt and pulls it on. "I can go now. I just…"

"You aren't going anywhere but to bed. You need to get under the covers."

Dean follows Renee out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. "Thank you." He watches as she pulls the covers down. "Are you a good little girl who always makes her bed in the morning?"

Renee smiles at him. "I'm not even going to answer that. Climb in."

He does as he's told; this is the first time he's taken commands from anyone like this in a long time. "Renee?"

"Hmmm?"

"Stay with me?"