"Mum, you promised," I muttered, refusing to leave the car. I gripped tightly onto my seatbelt as my mum sighed and lowered herself to my level.
"I know, sweetheart. But I'm so close now, I can't give up. This thing got your dad and brother; I can't stop until its gone," she said quietly, and I swiped at a tear that had threatened to fall.
"Fine," I conceded, and she smiled sadly at me and kissed my forehead.
"There's my big brave girl," mum said, grabbing my bag as I got out of the car. The house in front of us was a familiar one that I had visited frequently in my short span of 8 years. Blue weather-worn walls looked strangely fairy-tale like as the morning rays glowed gently on the house of Bobby Singer. Stacks of broken cars littered the surrounding area like the trees, but it had been my playground since mum first started bringing me here when I was 5. Since then, mum began to hunt more aggressively knowing I was somewhere safe. It didn't mean I didn't miss her when I watched her car leave each time.
I stared at the floor as mum knocked, and it only took a few more minutes before Bobby's face appeared. "Morning Kate," he greeted with a grumble, before he offered me a small smile. "Morning kiddo," he said to me, and I gave a smile in return.
"I know it's short notice, Bobby, but I wondered if you wouldn't mind letting Alexa stay for a while?" mum asked, getting straight to the point. She was desperate to get hunting again, I thought with sadness and anger.
Bobby noticed my frown and grabbed my bags off mum. "Of course, she'll be alright here," Bobby replied, before taking my stuff to the spare room on the second floor. When he left mum once again, like many times before, crouched so she was level to me and hugged me tightly.
"I'll try not to be gone too long, sweetheart. Be good for Bobby, and I'll call every day to check in," she muttered, and I relished the moment for as long as possible before she pried my hands off her and walked back to the car. I stood silently as I watched her race off, and the thought of that being the last time I saw sprang to my mind. Like it always did.
"Come on in, kiddo," Bobby said, waiting at the door for me. I threw one last look to where my mum had just gone before I gave him a small smile as I walked past him into the house. Bobby's place literally was my home – I don't think anyone can class motel rooms as your typical 'home sweet home'. Bobby's house was my house, and the only place I felt happy and safe.
We were happy once, before we moved to America. It was going to be an amazing opportunity, to move from rainy England to America. I was so excited. Mum and dad had vowed to stop hunting after I was born, and not long after the move to our new home, my little brother Peter was born. He was 6 months when he and dad were killed.
I shuddered from the memory, and focused on where I was. Bobby had moved past me into the kitchen, and I smiled at the familiarity of the action.
"The usual, Alexa?" he asked, already getting my favourite cereal from the cupboard. I nodded, and contentedly munched on the food as Bobby continued his usual of answering the different phones on the wall. I cleaned up after I was finished, and with a glance at Bobby who just smiled at me, I grabbed one of the many books from the living room and went out the back door to the salvage yard. It was my favourite place in the world, because it was so quiet. Strange, but quiet. When I first visited Bobby's house, I was crazily scared of him, and hid amongst these cars. Now when I come it's a refuge away from the real world.
The sun lazily rose in the sky as I perched on the hood of a car, reading about the best way to trap and kill a demon when a familiar laugh sounded nearby.
"Lexie!" Sam Winchester shouted, barrelling through the cars to me. I put the book down before jumping off the hood of the car, able to meet him in a hug when he reached me. Sam was just a year older than me and was one of my few friends (Bobby was another). His father was a hunter, and Sam himself had only recently found out about the supernatural world. In his excitement, he picked me up and swung me around, making me squeal in delight. I was so happy to know Sam would be here at the same time as me that I completely forgot about his older brother.
"Alexandra," a voice said behind Sam and me, unamused by our greeting. Sam gently let me down and I turned cautiously to see Dean standing with his hands in his pockets. It was no secret that Dean and I did not get on – I much preferred his caring, sweet brother instead.
"Dean, how many times do we have to tell you? She doesn't like being called that!" Sam said, as Dean walked round us to nosy at the book I had been reading.
"It's alright, Sammy. Dean just doesn't know when to stop being an idiot," I countered, and Dean threw his hands up in the air.
"Big words for you, aren't they?" Dean replied with a smirk. I stuck my tongue out before grabbing the book out of his hands. Sam flicked his head between us nervously, but was used to our bickering. Whenever the Winchester brothers came to Bobby's, it usually ended in in Bobby having to separate us until a parent arrived to pick us up. For Sam's sake, I tried to keep the bickering to the bare minimum. But for an 8-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy, that's wasn't an easy feat. I motioned to Sam to follow me back to the house as I started walking back.
Sam, as always, shared a look with his brother before he followed me in. "Sorry about Dean, Lexie. Dad told us we might be going to school soon, and Dean isn't very happy about it," Sam told me as we walked back in Bobby's house. Bobby was furiously searching through a book and writing down notes at his desk, so Sam and I went up to the spare room. It wasn't large, but Bobby has somehow managed to fit a double bed and a single bed in the room, along with a broken telly in the corner.
I sat crossed legged on the double bed as Sam laid down next to me. Sam started playing with my hands, which turned quickly into a thumb war which he 'let' me win. "How is everything, Sammy?" I asked quietly after my victory. Sam sighed heavily, laying his head against the wall.
"The world suddenly seems a lot bigger than what a 9-year-old should have to deal with. I don't get how you and Dean managed to keep it quiet for so long," he laughed, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. I sighed deeply, before laying down next to him.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, Sammy. Mum said it wasn't my place," I muttered, my mood darkening as I thought about my mum. She could be states away, and probably didn't even think about me. Sammy and I lay like that for hours, before Bobby shouted us down for food.
XXXXXX
That night, Bobby went to bed early with a bottle of whiskey in his hand. It was a common occurrence after he'd been working all day, and none of us minded. Dean would usually go outside and sit on the porch while Sam and I watched the classic film collection Bobby had. What was more shocking was that Dean decided to stay with us.
"Nothing with clowns in it," Sammy begged, and I scowled as Dean went straight for a scary clown film. It was only on for 10 minutes before Sam paled and excused himself to bed.
Throughout the rest of the film, I glared at Dean. "Why do you do that?" I asked when the credits rolled. It was around 1 in the morning, but neither of us moved to go to bed. I was used to staying up late, nervously waiting for mum to return from a hunt.
Dean smirked as he looked at me. "He needs to grow out of it, I'm just trying to help him," he said, following me as I put some plates away in the kitchen. Dean knew he annoyed me; I think he thrived on it. And nothing annoyed me more than how he treated Sam.
"He's only just getting used to all this, Dean. Lay off him," I muttered, barging my way past and running upstairs, determined I would get the bathroom first. Shutting the door so not to wake Bobby or Sam, I stared at myself in the mirror for a moment. Sam's words from earlier had haunted me all day about how we shouldn't have to deal with this sort of stuff. Girls my age would be regularly attending sleepovers and going out with friends. I tried to ignore these facts, thinking about how one day I could save people like mum did. Normal wasn't for me.
I didn't take too long in the bathroom, and I found Dean lounging against the wall next to the door. Ignoring his look, I speedily crept across the corridor to the spare room. Sam was already asleep in the double bed, and I quietly settled myself on the single bed. His snoring didn't bother me, if anything it helped me feel better to know someone was with me. I thought Dean would wake Sam up when he came in, but he silently slipped into the double bed with his brother. It took a moment to realise we were staring at each other. Even in the dark, his green eyes sparkled as he stared at me, as if I was a problem to be fixed. Suddenly nervous, I turned away from him to stare at the wall for the rest of the night.