054. Air
They had decided to drive straight to Missouri. Well, it wasn't exactly a mutual decision. After their little debacle at the rest stop, a word hadn't been spoken between them. Despite this Meg knew that going to a hotel for the night would not end well for her.
So, she was driving to Missouri at about 2 o'clock in the morning. Staring straight ahead, Meg didn't even chance looking at Castiel. She knew that he was still aggravated with her. It was strange seeing him angry, but also a little terrifying. She had always known that he was powerful, but scaring her was something she didn't think was possible. Backed up against that tree with him right in her face had actually scared her. He could have killed her in an instant, and she was still trying to figure out why he hadn't.
"We can stop for the night," Castiel said suddenly.
"Any specific place in mind?" Meg asked.
"No," he said shortly.
Nothing was said after that and it almost felt like they hadn't talked at all. The air hadn't shifted; it was still just as steady as before.
Meg turned onto the nearest exit and drove down the ramp. After driving into town she scoped out the area for a decent hotel. Eventually she found a standard Comfort Inn and drove into the parking lot. As soon as she parked the car Castiel was opening the door and stepping out. He opened the trunk and took out both of their duffle bags. Meg had just opened her own door when he approached her and shoved her duffle bag into her arms.
"I'll get a room," he said.
She was still sitting in the front seat with the duffle bag in her arms as she watched him walk briskly toward the front doors. After sitting there for a few more seconds, Meg grabbed her purse and got out of the car, locking it in the process. When she entered the hotel she saw Castiel talking to the girl at the front desk. Meg walked over casually and instantly noticed that the woman was flirting with him.
"So, one room?" she asked, typing away at her computer. "All by yourself?"
Castiel was about to respond when Meg appeared, looping one of arms around one of his.
"Have you gotten the room yet, sweetie?" Meg asked, batting her eyelashes at Castiel.
He looked down at her with a confused expression when the girl shoved two keycards at him. "Here. Enjoy your stay."
"Thank you," Meg said, giving her a false smile before gripping Castiel's arm tighter and dragging him toward the elevator.
Meg jabbed the up button with her free hand. She looked back at the girl at the front desk who was watching them bitterly.
"Looks like someone wanted a piece of you, Clarence," Meg said, looking up at Castiel. "Can't say I blame her."
He didn't respond. Apparently he was still mad at her.
The elevator arrived and they both entered. Castiel pressed the button for the fourth floor and pulled his arm away from her as soon as the doors closed. The ride up was awkward to say the least. It was a relief that they were there at such a deserted time, making the elevator ride quite short since it didn't have to stop.
They reached the room and Meg stood aside as Castiel opened the door using the keycard. He walked in first and switched on the light. The room was nice, looking almost identical to the other hotel rooms they had occupied. Only the comforter on the bed and the wallpaper appeared to be different.
Castiel sat down on the bed and placed his duffle bag on the floor, shrugging off his overcoat as well. He appeared to be only slightly at ease since his eyes would dart to her every few seconds.
"Should we… talk about what happened?" Meg proposed after several long minutes of silence.
"What happened?" he asked, attempting to act confused.
"You yelling at me at the rest stop," Meg clarified.
It looked like he was about to say something, but words didn't come out of his mouth. Blood did. Meg watched in slight alarm as he placed his hand over his mouth and more blood started to spill out.
She had no idea what to do. Did angels usually spew blood everywhere? She made her way toward him, placing her hands on his shoulders. More and more blood was coming, splattering onto his pants and shirt.
"What's going on?" Meg asked even though she was sure he couldn't answer her.
He tried to speak, but all that came out was more blood and a harsh sounding cough. This wasn't going to kill him, only a few things could kill an angel. There was no sword or incantation involved with this. Whatever was happening was a spell all by its own.
Then she knew exactly what to do. As Castiel continued to cough up blood, Meg went straight to his duffle bag and started to rifle through it. There was nothing out of the ordinary though. She looked around the room frantically before seeing the overcoat he had discarded on the bed. Meg stood up and reached into the pockets of the coat, quickly finding what she was looking for.
She didn't have time to think about how the hex bag had gotten in there though. Shoving her hand into her pocket, Meg grasped her lighter and pulled it out, flicking it on.
Seconds away from burning the bag, Meg met Castiel's eyes. He was obviously in great pain, but there was something else there. Was it relief? She didn't know.
She held the hex bag to the lighter and it burned bright blue. Castiel had stopped coughing up blood and was sitting with his hands on his knees, his head bent, and breathing in air. His eyes were snapped shut and he looked exhausted. Just because a hex bag couldn't kill him didn't mean that he wasn't affected by it.
Meg sat down next to him on the bed, moving her hands up to the buttons of his shirt. She unbuttoned them one by one before pushing the stained piece of clothing off of his shoulders.
"You okay, Clarence?" she asked, wadding up the ruined shirt.
"Fine," he responded, his voice sounding more gruff than usual. "I think I'll take a shower."
"Good idea," Meg said, watching as he stood up.
He took his duffle bag from the floor and headed toward the bathroom. Pausing in front of the door, he looked at her.
"Thank you," he said.
It was said so softly that she thought that the air around her was whispering to her. But his lips had moved and there was sincerity in his eyes.
As soon as he closed the bathroom door Meg looked down at the hex bag remains before sighing.
"I think we have a witch on our hands!" she shouted at him through the bathroom door.
