Hey guys, I'm really sorry this was supposed to be posted yesterday but something came up so it was delayed. However, I've made a schedule of weekly updates for all my stories so expect an update for this story every Wednesday (Thursday by the latest)!
(Dean's POV)
The case was over, the evil bitch was gone but we had one problem...
"Where's Natalie?" I ask Sam, looking around the abandoned house.
"I thought she was with you?"
"No, I thought she was with you-" Suddenly I stop, hearing the sound of faint thumping.
"Do you hear that?" My brother asks, looking around for the noise. "Oh shit," Sam huffs with a chuckle, quickly moving over to the trunk of my baby and popping it open.
"Finally!" I hear Natalie exclaim, standing up of the trunk and stretches. "Bitch locked me in there."
"Wow Nat, you suck," I chuckle, gaining a glare from my sister.
"Oh shut it, if Sam cleaned out his damn ears he would have heard me!"
"Hey, excuse me for almost getting my heart ripped out!"
"Whatever," Natalie huffs rolling her eyes at the two of us trying not to laugh, I just wish she'd let go of the past and enjoy having Sam back with us…even if it's just for this one case.
"Hey Sammy?"
"Yeah?"
I crouch down to look at any damage done to my car before looking back at my younger sibling, sure I wouldn't kill him necessarily…but that didn't mean I wouldn't maim him for busting up my baby.
"If you screwed up my car, I will kill you."
"Oh shut up, you're the one who shot Casper in the face!"
"It saved your ass."
"Can you two morons stop bantering and just get in the car, this please is giving me the creeps," my little sister says before climbing into the car.
"I second that," I add with a grin and jump into the driver's seat, Sam entering the passenger's seat right after.
It wasn't long until we back on the road, Natalie seemed to be dozing off in the back and I couldn't help but note how tired she's been lately. Then again I couldn't blame her, not with everything that's happened…she was still having nightmares almost every night and it worried me that one of these days her lack of sleep would catch up to her on a job.
"So dad left his journal behind huh?" Sam begins, looking over at me.
"Yeah, with these coordinates," I reply, pulling the journal out and handing it to him. "I told the cop it was my high school locker combo."
"Good save, Dean," Natalie comments sarcastically from the back seat.
"Oh shut it Nat, what else was I supposed to say?" I reply with a grin, looking back at her through the rear view mirror.
She was smiling, it was faint but it was still there so I took it as a win.
Sam opens up the glove compartment and pulls out a map, trying to match up the location and being the genius he was, it didn't take long to find.
"The coordinates are to a place called Blackwater Ridge Colorado, it's about six hundred miles."
"Sounds charming, if we drive through the night we can get there by tomorrow."
I felt kind of stupid even suggesting it, I knew Sam wouldn't go but a part of me was hopeful…but since when was hope ever enough in our lives?
"Dean, you know I can't…"
"Right, the job interview…" I sigh, nodding not wanting this night to turn into an utter shit-cake I just agreed.
"Back to Stanford it is then."
(Natalie's POV)
I could hardly keep my eyes open but that didn't seem to stop my mind from whirling around with questions, Sam had a job interview? I didn't voice my questions, though, I knew this was a onetime thing and a part of me was happy to think it would be just Dean and I back on the road again, it was a life I had gotten used to. However, that wouldn't shut up the small child in me yearning for Sam to stay, repeating that things could get better between us and we'd just go back to the way things were.
'Things will never be the way they were,' I repeat to myself, which was a reality I had finally gotten used to.
Nothing would ever be normal again, nor would they would they ever be the same again. However, logic didn't seem to snuff out the hope within me, the small flam of damn hope that was burning me up inside. Before I'd realized it, Dean had parked the car and was wishing Sam goodbye, when had I fallen asleep?
"Goodbye Nat," Sam says softly, glancing back at me for a moment before exiting the car.
I remained silent, not trusting myself enough to speak in fear of what might come out.
Once Same had left the car Dean sighed, "Nat despite everything he's still your brother and this may be the last time we see him, so just say a proper goodbye to him, for me," my eldest brother urged, looking back at me with pleading eyes.
"Fine," I sigh, sitting up I get out of the car.
I hesitated for a moment before jogging up to my brother.
"Sam wait," I call out, halting him in his tracks.
"Nat?"
"Don't call me that," I bite out, he didn't like being called 'Sammy' by those he didn't like and the same applied for me.
"Nat-" Sam began but sighed, "Natalie, I'm sorry for whatever I did to make you hate me so much."
"Whatever you did?" I parrot, feeling my anger rise.
I knew Dean wanted me to be civil and just say goodbye, but it soon became clear that wouldn't be the case when years of resentment came flooding to the surface.
"What you did was leave me behind, Sam!" I barked, balling my fists up.
"Natalie I didn't mean-"
"Mean to what?" I interrupted, feeling my chest tighten as I spoke. "Mean to leave Dean and I behind without so much as a phone call? Not even a damn text to know how your day was going? That you were alive or even that you were happy?!"
I couldn't help it, once the floodgates had opened, there didn't seem to be a way to stop it all.
"I get it, I get that you didn't want any part of this life but I thought we were fucking family, Sam! But it's clear you don't even know the fucking meaning of the word…"
"That isn't true and you know it Natalie, I've always cared for you!"
"Oh right, you mean the day at the station when you promised to call every weekend? The same way you fucking promised to keep in touch and 'promised' to always answer any calls or emails?" I bit back, feeling my eyes sting. "Your promises mean jack-shit to me, Sam."
There was a moment of silence, it was thick and uncomfortable, I knew I should have just ended this now, but I had to know why… just had to.
"Are you embarrassed of us?" I ask quietly, my voice sounding pathetic to my own ears.
"What?"
I looked Sam dead in the eye and repeated, "are you embarrassed of us?"
"Natalie where is this coming from?"
Of course he couldn't give me a straight answer, but I knew it…I knew he was.
"Forget it," I sigh, wiping my face. "Just forget it, Sam."
I swallow thickly and force a smile onto my face, "Have a nice life."
Turning I wanted nothing more than to run back to the car and just drive away with Dean, but of course Sam wouldn't allow me to leave crying. Did he care? No, Natalie get it through your thick head, he doesn't fucking care about you.
"Natalie wai-"
"No Sam," I interrupted, looking up at him pleadingly.
'I can't do this, I fucking can't…he doesn't care for us yet all I want is to beg him to stay with us, it's selfish and I know that painfully well…this has to be the end.'
"Sam I mean it, have a good life…you can't have that if you stay in contact with us, so good luck on your job interview and be happy, be happy with Jess."
Sam looked taken aback by my words, and in all honesty so was I.
"Thank you, Natalie…" he replies, releasing my arm.
"Goodbye, Sammy," I say weakly, rushing over to Dean's car.
I jumped into the car and curled in on myself, thankfully Dean knew better than to ask my anything and just drove off. I don't know how long I had been crying for, but my cheeks were still wet with tears when it happened. When I saw the fucking bitch again, my stomach practically fell out of me and I screamed bloody murder, Dean swerved and brought the car to a sudden halt at the side of the road. However, I couldn't get the image of her out of my mind, the screaming…it was deafening and no matter how hard I clamped my hands over my ears or how loud I yelled it didn't drown her out in the least.
"NATALIE!" Dean shouts, gripping my wrists and pulls me to look at him.
"W-We have to go back!" I exclaim, my body violently trembling.
"What? Why? Natalie what's wrong-"
"I-It's Sam, he's going to die, Dean!"