Hello, guys! :) Time for a new chapter.
Since I'm going on a little holiday next week and the possibility of not having internet is about 100%, I'll make sure to compensate and post again this week.
Happy reading, you all! :)
"No, I'm curious," I say as I check the bacon in the frying pan, "I realize you left Sam in the bunker to make sure Kevin and Ben won't kill each other. But how did you find me?"
I don't get an answer and roll my eyes. After a couple of more seconds, I know he won't tell me, so I turn back to the stove. Absentmindedly I hum a melody that's stuck into my mind.
"That's how I found you." Dean's voice startles me, and I almost drop the bacon on the floor while I try to put it on a plate.
"What?" I ask confused.
"You know, Bobby once said your mother loved humming and singing while cooking." there's a smile on his face.
"So?" I put the plate in front of him, "How..."
"The last time I called Jody, I heard you humming the Imperial March. I bet you were cooking."
My jaw drops.
"The Imperial March gave me up?" I ask in disbelieve.
Dean shrugs.
"You got it from your mom. You either sing or hum something while cooking."
Then we hear the front door. I'm almost sure it's Jody coming back from her night shift, but Dean and I simultaneously sneak to the hallway with knives in our hands. Only to be met by the muzzle of a gun.
"Really?" Jody sassily asks, lowering her gun, "In my own house?!" she shakes her head, "You two are unbelievable."
"I made breakfast." I bashfully say, grinning at her.
"Oh, God be merciful" she rolls her eyes "You're lucky it smells delicious" she wrinkles her nose, I can sense it,too, "Well, not so much..."
"Damn, the eggs!" I exclaim and run back to the kitchen, quickly removing the pan from the hot plate.
But it's too late, the eggs burned, and the bottom of the pan scorched.
"I'm not cleaning that." Jody states and sits in front of Dean's plate, "This is great!"
Dean's face, while she's eating his breakfast, is priceless. I laugh so hard tears prick in my eyes. I put a hand on his shoulder.
"When we get back home," I laugh "I'll make you the most glorious breakfast you've ever tasted. I promise."
"Wait, this was yours?" Jody asks innocently, which makes me laugh even harder.
Jody walks Dean and me to the car. She holds a couple of food boxes.
"Here." she hands me all of them, and Dean curiously looks at them "Some chicken, mashed potatoes, and two tubes of sauce, so you and Sam don't fight over it."
"Awesome!" Dean beams happily.
"Okay, for what it's worth, I'm cooking for you, too." I point out, trying to soften the edge in my voice, "And you look like you've never seen a decent homemade meal..."
Dean, completely confused and trying to figure a plausible explanation, opens and closes his mouth a couple of times, which only makes me arch my brows. After a second, he manages to speak.
"We've been relying on Kevin's cooking skills the last week." Jody and I exchange knowing looks, "You've got no idea how..."
Jody and I burst into laughter.
"Here." Jody points to the food boxes, trying and failing miserably not to chuckle, "Decent meal."
Dean shakes his head and thanks her before getting in the car. I turn to her.
"Thanks for letting me stay." I smile at her and hug her, "Thanks for everything."
"Any time, darling." she nods at me with a smile, "Go now. And drive safe, kids!"
The weather is sunny and beautiful. The Impala rumbles down the road as music blasts from the columns. I sing along while Dean taps in rhythm on the wheel, casting me what he thinks are secret glances. I pretend to ignore him and sing my lungs out, deliberately changing the lyrics a bit.
"...the time is now, to sing my song
I'm goin' round the world, I got to find my boy, on my way.
I've been this way ten years to the day, ramble on,
Gotta find the king of all my dreams."
Dean smirks and his eyes dart to me, so I wink at him before the next part of the song.
"What? A girl can't dream for her king, huh?"
"Oh, keep dreaming, sweetheart." Dean mocks me, "But when we get home, I'll make sure you'll never need to dream about a king again."
"Oh, is that so?" I slide closer to him, sneaking my hand up his thigh, whispering in his ear, "Lucky for me I already found my king." then I kiss his neck and nip his ear.
"Okay, if you keep going like that, I'll have to pull over," he warns me.
"Fine." I laugh and get back in my half of the seat, "Fine. But I mean it. I don't know if you remember what I told you the last night we were at the bunker..."
The way his entire body stiffens for a second before he gains back his posture, tells me that no matter how drunk he was that night, he remembers. He tries to keep his face straight but I know him too well - his eyes are wide, he swallows, his mouth is tight shut... He's all nervous and I shake my head. He's overreacting, it's not like I told him I'm pregnant or something...
"Relax," I chuckle, "I'm not gonna hold it against you. I just wanted you to know." I shrug but he doesn't seem convinced, "I've got a question, though."
"Shoot," he says too quickly.
"Did you talk to Ben?"
"Wait... What?" the change of topic catches him off guard, which will distract him from the previous one.
"Did you tell Ben?"
"Yeah." he sighs deeply.
"I assume he didn't take it very well."
"You've got no idea..."
"Oh... So we've got a rabid teen on the loose?"
"It's not funny, Braeden!" Dean glares at me.
"Sorry." I shrug, "How bad is it, really?"
"He spends most of his time locked in his room, mad at the whole world. And if he could, he'd be going through walls to avoid me..." he sighs, his wrecked emotions poured into it, "He hates me."
"No. He doesn't." I shake my head and rub reassuringly his shoulder, "He loves you. And he's hurt. That's why he's putting all this tantrum. And he's a teen... Remember what we were back then?"
"Rather not."
I laugh.
"Does it have something to do with the fact you screamed in front of the whole school, you're a hero and they have to be thanking you?"
"Oh, don't remind me. I hated that school."
"Right." I sigh, "What I meant was he needs time. He'll come around eventually."
"Yeah, if I'm alive when he's thirty."
"Dean!" I exclaim, "Don't be like that! It's all gonna work out."
"This life, the hunting, all the kills... I'm no father material, Braeden, and you know it."
"Stop it! Stop it right now!" I furrow, "Cut yourself some slack, huh? You're not your father, Dean. You're better than him, stronger. You raised Sam all on your own and you did a damn good job. You and Ben..." I shake my head, "You used to have such a strong connection. He still adores you, I can guarantee you that. Just give him some time. You two will be just fine."
As I take the steps down the bunker, I notice Kevin in the war room, reading a book.
"Hey, Kev!"
"Braeden!" he exclaims and jumps off his seat, giving me a tight hug.
I chuckle.
"I hear your lasagna wasn't appreciated."
"Yeah, there was no meat, and they..."
"How do..." Dean looks at me perplexed.
"I tend to keep tabs on every one of you." I shrug.
"You what?"
"You and Sam aren't exactly the kind of guys that's gonna pick up the phone and say: hi, we're still kicking and fine, don't worry about us, how are you..."
Dean makes this bewildered expression, his lips moving while he tries to say something but just a moment later he gives up. I roll my eyes and shake my head.
"So you talk to everybody you know?" Dean raises his brows.
"Yeah." I put my bag on the table and open it, "I try to keep in touch, to give them a call once in a while."
"And you give them a phone call when exactly?"
"Whenever I can. "
"Really?"
"Yeah, really." I firmly nod while rummaging my bag, "That's how I know Garth's in Wisconsin, after a shifter. Charlie's on a rough patch with Penny because she had to bail her out. Meg and Cas are dying of boredom, though Cas isn't hunted by angels anymore. Not since Naomi's death. But Crowley's still a threat for both of them." finally, I find what I need and pull it out, and hand Kevin the disc box "That's for you."
"No way!" he exclaims and grabs it, "That's the Legendary Edition!" he throws himself at me, squeezing me tight.
"You're suffocating me, kid." I hoarsely say, and he immediately frees me.
"Sorry."
Dean tilts his head, reading the title on the box in Kevin's hand.
"The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Legendary Edition..." He questioningly looks at me.
"It's a game."
"Thanks, Braeden." Kevin beams happily and runs down the hall to his room.
"I never seen him that happy." Dean quietly says and sneaks his arms around me, his lips on my neck.
"Not now." I chuckle and step away from his embrace, "I've got presents for Sam and Ben, too."
"What about my present?" Dean pouts, pretense offend in his voice.
"You got it in advance." I laugh and taking the presents from my bag, head to Sam's room.
Taking a deep breath, I knock on the door. Sam's a kind soul but I'm not sure how he feels about me ditching them. Again. The door's opened with a swift move, Sam, a bit taken aback, stays on the threshold.
"Oh, it's you..."
"Yeah... I'm back." I bite my lip, and quickly before he can close the door, I push the present into his hands.
He looks surprised as his eyes drop down to the book - GRRM's "A Dance with Dragons".
"Is that an apology?" he asks, his brows furrowed.
"No." I shake my head, "I know you never bought it no matter how excited you were when it came out." I shrug, "So I bought it for you." I look down, "I know you're probably mad at me for leaving so..." I take a step back.
"I'm not." he simply says.
"Why not?" my head shoots up.
"Wait, you want me to be?" he chuckles.
"No." I shake my head "I'm just surprised you're not."
"I knew you'd come back." he smiles at me, "You're my best friend. I know you well enough. I knew you needed time..." He wraps an arm around me, "And since me and Dean aren't the sharpest tools in the shed when it comes to feelings... I knew it was just a matter of time for you to disappear for a while. Dean doesn't get it, but I do. It wasn't about him or me. It was about you." I nod against his chest hugging him tight, "I hope you got things figured out. And you're better."
"I am now." I say and pull away, "You're the best, you know?"
"I've been told." he giggles when I poke him in the ribs.
That's when I notice Ben. He's at the end of the corridor, right in front of his room. The moment our eyes meet, he huffs in annoyance, a grim expression on his face. Then as quickly as possible he hobbles into his room, the crutches clumping. His door flies firmly shit, the bang echoes around. I sigh deeply.
"He still hates me."
"He'll come around."
"Yeah, right." I shake my head, "Anyways, it's late. I'll let you rest."
"The book's awesome. Thanks."
"Night, Sam."
"Night." he closes his door, and I head down the corridor.
I stop in front of Ben's room and sigh. I knew he'd never let me speak to him, so I have to arm myself with loads of patience. I leave the black T-shirt with "AC/DC for those about to rock" written across it neatly folded on the floor in front of the door. As I walk away to Dean's room, I think of the note I just left attached to the shirt, saying: "I know we started on the wrong foot. This is in no way a bribe or something. I know u used to like them, so when I saw it I had to buy it for you. Hope you'll like it."
I'd be happy to know what you think of the story so far. Drop me a review and tell me. :)))
