Sam lay asleep on the only couch in the motel room. His deep breathing filled the air with an emptiness that made me shiver. After our narrow escape from the ghost, Josh told us where he lived and we dropped him off at his door; telling his mother that we found him lost on the road.
I now sat at the motel room table watching Sammy's back rise and fall rhythmically. Dean hadn't moved from his spot at the end of the bed for over half an hour. He just sat there on the carpet with a blank stare. I wanted to say something, anything really, just to put a smile on his face.
"What if it had been a bullet?" Dean said, breaking the silence.
"It wasn't," I replied. It broke my heart to see him struggling with this burden on his mind.
"But it could've been."
I left my seat and slowly walked towards him. He lifted his gaze and looked me directly in the eyes. I could see the pain behind those eyes; he wasn't trying to hide it anymore. I lowered myself to the floor beside him and took his hand in mine. It was soft, not like I had expected it to be after years of hunting.
"It was an accident Dean," I said. "You couldn't have known there was going to be a boy there."
"I just…the door opened and there was something there, I never thought…I just assumed it was Jamison." Dean stumbled.
This was new to me, I had never before heard Dean stumble over his words.
"It's okay, you're human Dean. The important thing is that Josh is fine and we all made it out of there okay."
"I know," he answered. "I just feel guilty…I mean, the way he looked at me."
"I don't know what to say, it wasn't your fault." I said, softly. It was probably around 3 in the morning and sleep was starting to wash over me. My eyelids began to droop and my head nodded. Stay awake god damnit, Dean needs you. Unfortunately, Dean noticed the tiredness in my eyes before I could conceal it.
"Hey, it's okay," he whispered. "Sleep." He lifted his arm and put it lightly around my shoulder. He was still wearing his leather jacket and I felt so warm in his arms. He just sat there and gently rocked me back and forth, before I knew it I had fallen asleep with my head resting against his shoulder.
I woke up expecting to be all cramped up but I was surprised to find a pillow under my head. I could feel the covers snug over top of me, but one side was kind of tight. I opened my eyes to find Dean lying beside me on top of the covers. I guess he must have carried me to the bed and then fallen asleep himself. I crawled out of bed trying not to disturb him and decided to go for a much-needed run. I hadn't gone forever and I was probably a bit out of shape.
The sound of my shoes hitting the pavement at a steady pace was a refreshing sound. I know everyone always says that running totally clears their mind and it's the greatest thing because it's just them and the road. I know how corny that sounds, believe me, but they do say it for a reason, it's true. It's like tunnel vision, all you're focused on is your destination and everything else…just melts away.
Anyways, when I got back to the motel Sam and Dean were still out so I decided to wash all that sweat from my body and take a shower. After that I pulled on a green tank top, some black jeans and I let my hair down, I thought I looked pretty good. Which was unusual because I was always frustrated about how I looked, especially now that Dean saw me everyday.
I sat down at the table and pulled Sam's laptop in front of me. He'd probably kill me for touching it, but what else was I supposed to do? I wanted this case down with, so it was time to hit the books again, or in this case, the net.
I had been searching for around 30 minutes but so far no luck, it was all things I'd read before, nothing new. Until finally I came across the scan of an ancient looking newspaper article. It had come out a few days after Jamison's death. It wasn't really anything important, but it got me thinking. Jamison must've built that shed not too long after he killed those kids, and I know he died no long after that…maybe he was buried somewhere next to the shed! That would explain why he just appeared now, what with all of the new housing developments popping up.
I snapped the laptop shut and glanced over at Dean. He was still sleeping, but I guess I couldn't blame him, we all had a late night and I bet he was exhausted. Well, I wasn't going to just wait around until they woke up so I slipped into the bed next to Dean. Don't worry, I kept it clean, he was still on TOP of the covers.
He stirred a little, "Everything okay?" he mumbled. He didn't wait for an answer though, he wrapped is arm around me and went straight back to sleep.