Hey...it's been awhile. Mostly because I wrote myself into a ditch that I haven't had the motivation to get myself out of. That said, here's the next (fairly short) chapter in Nora Winchester's saga. There are more chapters written out, but I'm not particularly happy with them, which is why I haven't been posting them, but hopefully we can breeze through this rough patch and move on to better chapters. Thanks for bearing with me through this.
Days passed by slowly at the Singer residence, now more than ever. By the end of the first week, Bobby and I already had our routine down. It had been a little over a few weeks now that Sam and Dean had been out on the road. I hadn't put up anything resembling a fight when they gently announced their decision to leave me behind. I knew just as much as they did that it was safest option for all of us. I couldn't remember what had happened that night in the sewers. Not even after they told me how I had tried to save the dragons they were fighting, how I had spoken to them in fluent Latin, how I had looked at my brothers like I didn't even know them.
The last thing I remembered that night was falling asleep in the motel room, but I had to believe that Sam and Dean told were telling me the truth. The way they all looked at me confirmed it. The pitiful stares from Sam, the concerned glances from Dean. There was what seemed to be a permanent crease between Dean's eyebrows. And all because it happened and we didn't have a single clue as to why, I was considered a major risk. Had I been under someone else's control? Was it a witch? Demon? Had I been a pre-programmed, evil robot from birth? None of it felt too far out of the question.
Bobby had been looking into it, calling friends to ask casual, non-committal questions and borrowing books from obscure libraries, but he didn't have much to show for it yet. Cas had checked me over, soul-check and all, but by the time he made it to us, everything seemed to be completely fine. No trace of angel. No trace of demon. No trace of supernatural intervention or possession whatsoever. And for the time being, things were fine. Normal. Boring, even. I split my time between Sam's assigned school work and researching possessions, mind control and every possible supernatural association that may explain my actions that night. I hadn't had a vision in weeks, no sign of the mysterious woman. I didn't hear the voices, even though a part of me wanted to hear them again, things had been quiet. It was just me and Bobby and the occasional visit from Castiel. For the first time in a while, it wasn't really a lie when I said I was fine. I was focused on school work and helping Bobby around the house. Bobby had even been helping me learn to drive one of his old junkers. Still, I was bothered by not knowing what had happened, bothered by the fact that I was a liability to my family, bothered that it was weeks later and we still didn't have any answers.
Bobby made an effort to make it seem like this was a normal stay. We cooked, we went hiking in the woods, we read, we worked on cars. He even worked on teaching me to drive, but there was an odd feeling in air that neither of us could quite shake. The odd feeling crept into our moments of silence, making them awkward where they had once been comfortable. I kept looking up to see Bobby studying me over the top of his book, his glasses pulled down to the tip of his nose. I couldn't blame him. I was a piece of lore to be sorted out these days. A potentially dangerous problem to be solved. And while I couldn't blame him, I couldn't handle the looks either, so instead of nestling myself in the window seat of Bobby's office, I took up residence at his kitchen table or the porch swing for most of the day.
"Bobby, what do you know about calculus?" I stepped through the door and into his office absently, textbook still in hand. Bobby looked at me briefly over his glasses as he looked up from his paperwork and we both let out a long withheld laugh, easing the tension from the long hours of near silence.
"Well, I guess I'll just have to call Sammy then."
"Yeah, I guess you'll just have to call him." Bobby's tone was playful. Though we usually kept calls to a minimum while the boys were busy working, he hadn't tried to sway me once. With a subtle roll of my eyes, I headed back to my spot at the kitchen table.
"Agent Lannister."
I coughed on my water and let out a little laugh at Sam's choice of alias. For a fleeting moment I considered asking which Game of Thrones house lent itself to be Dean's alias, but from the sound of Sam's tone, I could tell he wasn't up for that kind of conversation.
"You busy, Tyrion?"
"Uh…no, Nor, yeah, no, go ahead...Tyrion...clever."
"Uh...How's the case? Everything okay?"
"Case is fine. What do you need?"
Sam had been what I could only describe as distracted during the last few days, avoiding conversations that delved into his own feelings. It wasn't uncommon for Dean to skip key aspects of a hunt, but he had been downright vague for the last week or so. Dean had barely filled me in on the hunt in Rhode Island, meaning that things obviously hadn't gone well or at least, not according to plan. Dean insisted they were both okay, going as far as to snap at me for pressing the issue. I could hear it in their voices during the couple of minutes worth of phone calls they had clocked in over the last few days.
"Sammy, are you okay? Really okay? You sound-" I repeated.
"Nora- I'm fine." Frustration crept into his voice. "What do you need? Did you figure-"
"Just calculus help." I interrupted, in a tone that came out as more of a frustrated mumble than actually words. I didn't want to disappoint Sam with another negative response. Bobby and I weren't any closer to figuring things out than we had been when Sam and Dean left for the East coast weeks ago.
"Oh, alright."
I barely got two syllables of the word "integrals" out before Sam started in on his explanation, more alert and engaged than he had been in days. He was a full couple of sentences in before I stopped trying to understand what he was saying and just listened to him stammering on, glad to hear the interest in his voice.
"Whoa, whoa down boy." Dean spoke the words, stopping Sam in the middle of his enthusiastic math lesson, "Hey kid, you actually catch any of that?" Dean had taken the phone and for the first time in days, I could tell by the intonation in his voice that he was smiling. Dean was barely holding in a chuckle.
"Not much," I answered honestly, a smile pulling at the corners of my lips.
"Didn't think so. Speak English, Sammy. She's in high school, not getting her PhD in nerd."
"Shut up, Dean."
"Guys, just forget it. It's too hard over the phone. When are you guys coming home?" I asked.
"Soon as we're done with this hunt, kiddo. Couple of days at most," Dean answered. "Bobby treating you alright?"
"Bobby treats me like royalty. He takes me out driving everyday..."
"Yeah, well don't think you're going to be driving my baby anytime soon, princess."
"I'm probably just as good as you and Sammy. Bobby taught all three of us how to drive," I answered, "Maybe even better. Bobby's got more experience as a teacher now."
"Yeah, he's an old man now. His eyesight isn't so good," Dean chuckled.
"You want me to tell him you said that? Bob-"
"Eleanora Ca-" I felt a "full name" lecture coming on and decided to nip it in the bud.
"Fine, fine. My lips are sealed."
"Be good, kiddo. We'll be home soon. I'm putting Sammy back on."
"All kidding aside, are you okay? Anything new?" Sam asked as he pulled the phone back from Dean's grasp.
I nodded before realizing they weren't here to see it. "I'm fine, Sam. Just like you."
Sam's answer didn't come quickly. I could almost picture him putting a hand through his hair, pushing it back from his face as he exhaled. If he got to act like nothing was wrong, so did I.
"We're heading your way after this hunt, kiddo. Just hang in there a couple more days."
Hours later, I still sat at Bobby's kitchen table, the light from above the sink barely illuminating the room enough to read the pages of lore in front of me. Lisa's name flashed across my phone screen beside the book and I had to glance at it twice before it sunk in. Lisa? I hadn't thought about the Braeden's in months. Dean and I both had been too busy to dwell on all that we had left behind in Indiana.
"Lisa?" I whispered as I answered the call and immediately stepped out onto the back porch, closing the screen door slowly to avoid its usual squeak.
"Nor, its Ben."
I felt something sink in my stomach at hearing his tone. Ben's voice was quiet, but rushed as he spoke into the phone, his voice a bit deeper than I remembered.
"Ben? What's wrong?"
"It's my mom," he answered.
"What happened, Ben?" His silence made my heart beat hard in my chest. "Ben, you gotta give me more here."
"I don't know. She won't talk to me. You have to come here. You have to come home."
"Ben, calm-" I started, feeling my heart break at his tone.
"Nor, she locked herself in her room. She hasn't come out in days. She won't talk to me. I need your help. You're the only person I could call." Ben seemed on the verge of tears, though his sentences were clear and concise.
"Alright, Ben, calm down. I'll call Dean and-"
"No, Dean won't listen. He keeps ignoring my calls. I've been calling him for days and haven't gotten through."
"Alright, alright, don't worry. I'm coming."
I hung up the phone and pushed my hands through my hair as I looked out to the junker minivan that Bobby had been using to teach me to drive. I didn't have it in me to sneak out without telling Bobby. I honestly didn't trust myself out there alone driving across the country. Who knew if I would lose control again? I didn't want to be alone if it did happen.
"Coming where?" Bobby stepped out onto the porch. By the time I pulled my eyes away from the driveway to meet his, he had already followed my gaze to the rusted minivan.
"Indiana? Ben and Lisa are in trouble."
Bobby raised an eyebrow, his arms folding across his chest as he leaned against the door frame.
"Before you say no - Dean's not answering Ben's calls. He says that Lisa has been locked in her room for days. He's scared, Bobby. Ben's still just a kid."
"Go get packed. We'll pay them a visit."
"Thank you, Bobby," I said as I planted a quick peck on his scruffy cheek, feeling the light scratch of his beard.
"You're driving, princess," he called after me as I ran up the stairs to pack a bag.
