I didn't bother to tie my boots just jumped in, grabbed my coat and was out of the door a second later. It had started to snow again and getting snowed in was quite a possibility by now.
I followed Sam's footprints down to the lake. At least his big feet were good for something, even in the swirling snow he was easy to track.
I found him standing at what might be the shore of the lake or maybe just a snowdrift, it was hard to tell. Fists in his pockets Sam was facing the lake and had his back turned to the cabin and the warmth and his friends. He looked isolated.
"Sam?" I asked softly when I approached him. He didn't look in my direction or even acknowledged my presence in any way.
"Cole's an ass." I said because with that you can never be wrong. Don't get me wrong, Cole was a great guy but he could be an ass.
Sam hmmed and rolled his shoulders.
"What did he say this time?" I prompted not sure how to do this. Sam was my friend but we haven't seen each other in a while and what I'd found out earlier today …
Let's just say, I didn't actually know how to proceed.
"It's not just him." Sam finally spoke eyes never leaving the lake. The trees around us groaned with the snow weighting on them and the constant wind howling through the branches. For a second I wondered if one of the branches would give under the weight and drop on our heads.
"What do you mean?" I stepped closer so that we stood shoulder to shoulder now.
"I mean." He started and broke up with strained laugh. "You are great, all of you, and I really like being here with you. It's great." He fell silent and shook his head.
"I sense a but coming." I watched the snowflakes swirling in the air, casting strange patterns and for a second even something like a human silhouette but out of the corner of my eye I watched Sam. He looked sad. Lost.
"Everybody is asking me to come back." He finally said with a sigh. "I mean, I know you mean well but ..." Lost for words he stopped again. "It's just too much. I don't think it was a good idea to come here. Maybe I should call Dean and ..."
"No!" I interrupted him louder than I intended but I didn't want him to bring Dean back to this. Bring him back into his life. At least not before I'd talked to Sam about what I saw.
He looked at me as if my reaction was exactly the reason he wanted to call his brother. Like he was more comfortable with the person who abused him than with his friends. At least with Dean he knew what to expect, I guessed. Us, especially Cole, pressing the subject of him coming back wasn't the smartest move on our part, I got that. But this was probably our only chance to talk some sense into him.
"Sam, look." I backpedaled. I had to do this right or he would just disappear on us again. Leaving with his brother. For good this time, I had no doubt about that.
"I don't say you have to come back to Stanford." I didn't look at him and he didn't look at me but he was listening. "But I want you to know that you have options. You have friends here who are willing to help you. You don't have to stay with Dean." There, I said it.
"What?" Now he looked at me confused.
"You can stay at my place if you want." I offered. "As long as you want. You can get away from him. I'll help you. We can go to the police together if you want." Okay, that was maybe a bit too much too soon but I was running out of time. I had only the weekend maybe less to convince him that he deserved a better life than the one Dean was giving him.
"What are you trying to say?" Sam asked in a low voice. All of a sudden he sounded dangerous.
"Sam." I said softly. "I saw the bruises, I saw the scars. I know." I paused to let the words sink in. "You're strong. You got away from your family once, you can do it again. You don't have to stay with your brother. You don't have to see him ever again if you don't want to."
For a second he stared at me as if I was speaking Chinese.
"You think …?" He gaped at me and staggered back. "You think Dean is hurting me?" He said it as if that was the most alien thing he'd ever heard.
"Sam, I saw imprints of his damn hands on your arm." I pointed out. "You didn't fall down some stairs. Someone did this to you."
He stared at me with his mouth literally hanging open. "I can't believe this."
Running a hand through his hair he made a few steps but was in my face the next second.
"Dean would never hurt me. Never." He emphasized every word with a stab of his finger at my chest. Even through my coat I felt the strength behind that.
"How can you even think …" He shook his head. "I know you don't like him. Nobody here likes him, I get that. But you know what? Your loss." He glared at me and I wasn't sure if I'd ever known this man. I was almost scared of Sam.
"He's a better man than you'll ever be. Better than Cole and Brenda and all of you." His voice raised with every word till he was screaming at me. Apparently done with me he turned and walked away.
"Dumbest idea ever." He mumbled to himself. "What was I thinking?" He patted his coat and jeans searching for something.
"Sam, wait." I hurried after him. "I just want to help you."
Now he stopped and once again glared at me. "I don't need your help. What I need is my phone."
"Your phone?" I repeated like an idiot. "What for?" As if I didn't know.
"I'm calling Dean. I'm leaving." He continued his walk back to the cabin. "Sorry for interrupting your little weekend."
"Sam, please wait." But he shut the door in my face. I kicked it. "Fuck!"
