Hi guys, so here's the next chapter. I've re-written bits of supernatural history here, sorry about that, but I couldn't let one of my all time favourite characters be dead. And the Roadhouse, I love the idea of it... So you're all gonna have to use your imagination here peoples :) hope you enjoy it! :)
Chapter Twenty-One
The Roadhouse
I entered the bar to find it deserted, not one customer or member of staff to be seen amongst the scattered wooden furniture. Surprisingly the place was clean and didn't smell too bad to boot. Behind the bar were fridges that held an assortment of cold drinks that made my mouth water with thirst.
"Hello?!" I called out as I made my way further into the cavernous room, my voice bouncing back at me off the wooden walls.
"Well hi!" Came a bright voice making me spin around and face the bar again, though not jumping for once thankfully.
"Hi." I said in almost blatant relief at the pretty woman behind the bar. She must have been mid forties with blondish brown hair and a nice smile which set off a twinkle in her light brown eyes. The woman both made me relax completely and have my guard up at the same time, there was just something about her. And it didn't help that my mind was completely foggy from lack of sleep.
"What can I do for ya honey?" The woman asked, her eyes holding more than a twinkle as I approached the bar. They were assessing me as I approached, and they also had that familiar feel, of somebody who's seen too much in her life. I knew the look but couldn't place it.
"I was hoping you had some rooms going?" I asked with a wan smile, my eyelids dropping as though to show just how tired I was.
"Sorry hon, we don't do rooms, just drinks and food." The woman replied with a small, almost disappointed smile.
"Oh, ok. I'll take a orange and a pack of those chips then." I pointed at a pack behind the bar, which I was given quickly and with another smile. After I had paid and taken a sip of my orange I perched myself on a bar stool. "Hey look, do you mind if I crash in your parking lot. I promise to buy something else after I've had a couple hours?" I asked the nice bar lady in my best innocent voice.
"Where you coming from?" The woman asked me without answering my question, her voice not changing much, but I could hear the suspicion in it from a mile off.
"Er..." I struggled to remember which town I'd stopped in last. "New Hampshire." I answered, the last place I could actually remember, even though the memory was laced with pain.
"What were you doing there?" What was the twenty questions? I was starting to feel a little uneasy.
I thought hard for a second of something that I'd done there which would be an acceptable answer. "I met up with friends." True, the Cullen's were my friends and I'd met with them briefly for the battle against the other vampires.
"What's your name honey?" The woman asked me, leaning closer to me and looking me up and down unashamedly.
"Why?" I asked as I hurried down my chips, I was really getting uneasy now and was thanking my stars I had my gun on me.
"You're a bit young to be travelling that far on your own aren't ya sugar? Someone must be worried about ya." Something was off with her answer.
"Nope. No-one's worried about me." I answered bluntly. No-one even cared where I was, let alone was worrying about me.
The woman assessed me once more before leaning over the bar and offering a worn and calloused hand. "Names Ellen Harvelle." She was obviously trying to win my trust, which worried me even more.
"Bella Swan." I said taking her hand and shaking it, watching her carefully for any reaction to my name. All the evil crap I faced seemed to know me, if this woman gave a start I'd be ready with my gun and I'd bolt.
"Bella? You wouldn't happen to know a Bobby Singer would you?" Ellen asked me, her eyes widening the smallest amount. My hand instantly retracted from hers and went for the gun concealed at the small of my back. "Whoa! Hold your horses girl, I ain't what you think I am." The woman said stepping back and holding her hands in the air, her eyes hardening in a second.
"And what would I think you are?" I asked, my voice stone cold.
"I don't know, shifter, ghoul, reverent, demon, take your pick honey." My mouth dropped open at her words, who was this and what the hell had I got myself into? "Don't worry, this place, it's safe. Or as safe as a bar that hunters patronise ever is anyway." Ellen grinned at me. Still my hand didn't let go of my gun as I assessed her words for honesty and truthfulness. It rang clean, but I was still sceptical, seemed a hell of a coincidence to me. "If you don't believe me, give Bobby a ring."
My hand dropped and my body sagged. She was telling the truth, there was no harm meant here.
"Sorry I gave ya a fright honey." The woman said, putting another orange in front of me as I drained my last bit of my first juice. "On the house." She declared to me with a motherly smile that twisted up my gut. My mom's death still weighed heavily on me.
"Thanks." I muttered while looking down at my juice. I didn't want to look up at this woman and see a substitute mother, I didn't, but her attitude and caring was making me yearn for it.
Ellen sighed a deep, almost pained sigh which made me look up at her. She was smiling that maternal smile down at me again. "I'm probably gonna regret this but... I got a couple rooms out back, you can crash for the night if you want."
"Really? Thanks, that's really nice of ya." I said, my voice coming out as sceptical as I was feeling. People didn't just help others out because they could, there was always a price attached.
Instead of getting pissy with me Ellen chuckled. "Don't worry I don't want anything for it." After that sentence her voice dropped, as did her eyes and mouth, she looked almost as sad as I felt. "You look like you could use a bit of good luck. And any friend of Bobby's... Well normally gets me and mine in a boat load of shit but I'll risk it. That all your stuff?" Ellen asked me while nodding to my pink bag.
"Yeah, that's all." I replied, everything else I'd owned - which consisted of three guns, a sword and a dagger - was still in the trunk of the Impala, I didn't think I'd be seeing it again.
"Grab it then and follow me." Ellen said turning her back to me and allowing me a glimpse of her own stashed gun. She'd meant for me to see it, a subtle 'I might be being kind but don't take me for a ride'. Nice, but oddly enough made me trust her all the more.
I followed Ellen behind the bar and then up some dark stairs that led directly off the bar, my legs feeling heavier with every step, my yawns coming fast and thick.
We arrived at the top of a well lit landing decorated in a plain and neutral beige, the carpets matched, the smell of new paint still lingered tickling my nose. Coming off the clean and homely landing were seven doors, the upstairs was obviously quite big, all the doors were closed, denying me the opportunity of scoping out my surroundings.
"This one here." Ellen announced stopping outside of the second door on the left.
"Thanks Ellen. Do you want some.. Er... Some money?" I asked awkwardly, I didn't have a problem paying, but the way she'd treat me so far was more like an old friend than a paying lodger and I didn't want to offend the odd, but very kind woman.
"Hush yourself!" Ellen barked at me, sounding like the female version of Bobby which made me smile sleepily. "You get some shut eye." Was all she said before she left the hallway to go back down to the empty bar.
~0~
It took me a few minutes to work out where I was when I opened my eyes. The walls were a cream colour, the floor a nice tan carpeted number, the furniture clean and modern. And the bed... God the bed... It was the comfiest thing I'd slept on in months. No springs stuck in my back, nothing dipped in the wrong places, it wasn't too hard or too soft. In the words of goldy locks 'it was just right'. I felt more well rested than I'd been for a little while. Despite that I'd only slept for five hours. The longest I'd gone for days.
Remembering where I was I got up and changed into some fresh clothes, taking full advantage of the en-suite bathroom facilities so that I wasn't stinking of road any more.
Feeling clean and well rested, but with a pain in my chest that wouldn't go away no matter how long I slept for I quietly made my way back down the stairs to the bar.
The bar was a lot more lively now, fifteen or so people were sat around the room, all of whom had that look on their faces. The same one I'd seen in Sam and Dean, the look that was my own in the mirror now. The look of a hunter. I was slightly ashamed that I didn't notice it in Ellen's eyes this morning, but I blamed my sleep deprivation.
"You look like you could use another few hours." Came a voice from next to my ear which made me jump a little. I turned my head to see Ellen leaning against the wall nearest the doorway to her private accommodation and assessing me shrewdly.
"That's the longest I've slept for two weeks I think. That beds amazing by the way." I smiled widely at the woman to convey my thanks.
"Yeah, gotta have something half decent to come home to, make up for those motel beds. Always give me a crick in the neck." Ellen smiled back at me. "Take a seat, I'll bring ya some food." Her head nodded towards the bar stool I'd propped myself up on earlier.
"Thanks Ellen, I really appreciate it..." I started saying, but I was going to say no, I had to get back on the road, keep going, find a hunt to take my mind off things. Off of him and the fresh wound in my chest, the one which my heart had been ripped through. See all Ruby would have had to do was wait for Dean to do it for her. Bet she wished she'd have known that.
"No thanks necessary, just park your butt." Her voice was firm, no point arguing with her, she was going to win. It was a done deal.
I walked from round the bar, head held high and eyes forward despite everyone in the bar watching me suspiciously. Hunting was all about confidence and since I'd started hunting I had an abundance of confidence, something I'd never had before. But I'd learnt the secret from Sam. Pretend you are confident, act like you are and it'll come naturally, he was right, it had.
I'd been sat at the bar for five minutes before Ellen returned with a huge sandwich I didn't think that I'd ever be able to eat.
"Get that down ya, you need some meat on your bones." Ellen declared as she put it down in front of me with another fond smile. She then pulled out a beer and slammed it down in front of me with another smile.
"Thanks." I smiled back before tucking into the sandwich.
"So what's your plans now then?" Ellen asked me kindly.
"I don't know." I said with a shrug after I'd swallowed a mouthful of my delicious meal. "I guess I just go on hunting and look for my dad." I wasn't thinking about what was coming out of my mouth, I felt too relaxed talking to Ellen. A rookie mistake.
"Your dad?" Ellen asked looking thoughtful for a second. "Charlie? Charlie's missing?" Her hand went to her chest and she looked dazed, I had no idea that my father was so well acquainted with this woman. Awkward.
"He's hunting, but I haven't heard from him in six months, I'm trying to track him down, make sure he's ok. Don't suppose you've heard from him at all?" I asked half hopefully.
"I haven't heard from Charlie in... About eight, nine months. Sorry honey. But I'm sure he's fine. Your daddy, he's one of the best." Ellen reassured me, but the worry in her eyes told a different story.
I tucked back into my sandwich, hungrier than I realised as I ate with a gusto. The beer going down much too easily as well.
"Hang on. I've got an idea." Ellen said, looking happier with herself now. "Ash! Ash!" She shouted down the side of the bar. "If anyone can find Charlie Ash can." She explained proudly to me.
"You called?" A man asked walking around the side of the bar with forced nonchalance, either that or he was really stoned.
Ash was not what I was expecting. At all. He was a weed of a guy with a mullet, a real life mullet. His voice was a slow drawl, he looked liked a stoner geek rather than someone who could actually find my dad.
I'd spent too long with two brothers, much too long. I spoke my mind without checking my tongue first, something that in their company was celebrated rather than frowned upon.
"He can find my dad? No offence Ellen, but if Bobby's hitting a brick wall then no way is that Lynard Skynard roadie over there gonna be able to help me. No offence dude." I addressed the last bit at the man himself.
The man, Ash, smiled widely at me, his eyes heavily hooded which added to my whole stoned theory. "No offence taken hot stuff." Really? Hot stuff? Oh no. "You know a guy called Dean by any chance?" Ash then asked me with a smile, his name sending a wave of pain through me like no other. Instinctively I wrapped my arms around myself, my knees curling further into my chest, a defensive mechanism. Ash and Ellen saw all of this through sharp, studying eyes. "You know what, never mind. What did ya need?" Ash asked Ellen and me.
"Ya know Charlie Swan?" Ellen asked Ash, her eyes darting quickly towards him before looking back at me with worry. I knew I needed to pull myself together, but I couldn't, it hurt too damn much. He'd just gone, he'd not even told me why, not really, he'd just told me that I was a job and that was it. And Sam didn't even say goodbye. All together it stung, it worse than stung it was a blunt rusty blade carving my heart out day by day, second by second. The pain was getting worse not better as the numbness left me and in it's place pain wracked hold of my heart.
"Yeah, decent guy. Brough me a brewskie once." Ash's words brought me out of my own personal hell and back to the present which was no less painless.
"He's gone AWOL." Ellen told Ash bluntly, trying to hold back her own pain from her words and not succeeding. What had gone on there? I wasn't sure I wanted to know to be honest.
"Missing person hey? And you called me for that. Pfft! That's almost insulting." Ash drawled.
"I'll buy you ten brewskies." I offered with a hesitant smile. I had no faith in this guys abilities but I didn't want to pass up any chance I had to get my real dad back. Not now.
"You have a deal little lady." Ash told me while looking over his shoulder as though he was conducting a risky business transaction in a shady bar. "What have you got so far?" He asked me quietly while taking the beer that Ellen passed him.
"Nothing. I wouldn't be asking for help if I had three solid leads to go on would I? I thought you were suppose to be smart?" I said but smirked at him as I did to take the sting away.
"Touché. Fine. Give me a couple of days to get a lead." Ash told me before raising his beer bottle at me, flicking the back of his mullet of his shoulder and walking back off the way he came from.
I turned back to face Ellen, my own face slack with surprise.
"He's a genius." Ellen told me simply with a shrug. I raised my eyebrows at her in response. "Early admittance to MIT, he'll find your dad, pin point location."
MIT, ok that was a bit of a commendation, and raised my hopes slightly. Maybe this weird looking but seemingly nice guy would be able to do what Bobby and his legions of hunters had been unable to do? I guess I just had to have a little bit of patience and a lot of faith.
"You're welcome to crash here until Ash's got something if ya want Bella?" Ellen asked me briskly.
I thought it through for all of a second; I had no where else to go, no-one else to turn to, no lead on a hunt, and I felt the urge to sit and lick my wounds for a little while. "I'll take you up on that, thanks Ellen." I smiled my appreciation at the older woman.
The night passed fairly quickly, I sat at the bar for most of it. Drinking way too much, which did nothing to help the feeling of utter loss and hurt in the pit of my stomach. But Ellen was a bit of a balm, she kept me talking, and smiling if not laughing.
It was getting to be kicking out time and some of the hunters had got a bit rowdy, not that it bothered me, but Ellen was keeping a stern eye on them.
Two of the men, both older, both scarred and beaten looking started arguing next to the juke box. A row over the best way to kill a shifter.
Ellen who hadn't taken her eyes off the scene in a while called out in a loud voice. "Hey! Take it outside!" Neither of the men listened though, and despite every eye in the place being trained on the two arguing men no-one intervened.
The first punch was thrown and Ellen shouted louder. "Hey! Outside now!" Her voice was strong and commanding, but lost in the din of the two men now out and out fighting.
I got up out of my seat and went over, more than wanting a decent fight. The alcohol and hurt pumping through my veins, creating a formidable anger.
I stormed over to the two men and pushed them away from each other, a surprisingly large amount of strength needed for the task. "Hey! The lady said to take it outside! So shove off!" I called, my voice hard and angry.
Unfortunately for them the men ignored me just as they had done Ellen. They dived round me to get to each other, my reflexes now though we're second only to Peter Parker's. I stuck out my foot for one of the men who tripped over it and he went crashing to the floor. The second man, who was still moving with a raised fist I sent a back handed fist in the face too. He went down with a pain ridden groan, his nose gushing with blood. I think I'd broken it.
"I told you to take it outside!" I said in a loud voice as both men looked up at me from the floor.
The man I'd tripped over stood up and advanced on me. "You shouldn't have done that little girl, you're dealing with men now." I rolled my eyes at the pathetic threat and stood with my arms crossed, waiting for him to make a move.
Suddenly the man stopped, his eyes darting from me to something over my shoulder. With a huff he turned and walked from the bar. I turned my head briefly to see both Ellen and Ash stood behind me with guns out at the ready and hard smiles on their faces.
The other patrons of the bar quickly left after that, no-one saying a word and no-one giving us so much as a backward glance.
"Well that was stupid." Ellen growled out at me as soon as the door had shut on the last hunter. "Starting a fight in a bar full of hunters, what you got, a death wish or something?" Wow, thanks was pretty hard to come by these days right?
"No, just needed to blow off some steam and those guys just didn't wanna listen to you. So I made 'um." I said back, my arms still folded my eyes hard. The anger coursing through me hadn't faded during my none fight.
"So what is it then? A guy?" Ellen asked me as she and Ash made their way back to the bar.
"What do you mean?" I replied with a sigh.
"Well somethings got you good and fired up. In my experience it's either one of two things, a guy or a guy." Ellen said while sticking three beers on the bar.
"There is no guy." I bit out, my voice hard, warning her not to follow this line of questioning.
"But there was right? Come on share." Ellen coaxed. "Right let me guess, your prince turned into a frog when you kissed him?" She smirked at me after I'd sat in silence for a few minutes.
"No, the prince was a prince when I kissed him. Only problem is prince's fall in love with princesses, not twenty year old hunters." I sighed while taking a long drink of my beer.
"I'm gonna pretend you said twenty-one there." Ellen said with raised eyebrows before she carried on. "Men, sugar, they have two emotions, horny and hungry. A species so simple is always gonna break your heart. Always. You just gotta make the decision not to let it break your spirit too. It's not easy but you gotta just keep on. And one day you'll wake to find your heart ain't broke no more, just bruised." Ellen told me while laying a kind hand on top of mine.
"So what Dean do then?" Ash asked while me and Ellen were having our warming heart to heart.
"Ash for a genius you're an idiot." Ellen smiled at the strange guy, her eyes rolling as she did and taking her hand away again.
Ellen placed a couple of shots in front of me after I said nothing for a while. His name still inflicting deep pain throughout my body.
Three hours later, and sobbing, my mind mushy from alcohol, the room spinning, I told Ash and Ellen everything. My words coming out slurred and almost drowned out by my sobs.
~0~
I woke up with a splitting headache, every small movement made the pain worse and made my stomach heave like I had a bad case of sea sickness. My memory from last night was a big black hole full of pain and alcohol. I could remember nothing after telling Ash and Ellen about Dean, I hoped I'd just passed out then. The amount of alcohol I'd consumed made that theory highly likely.
It took me half an hour to make my way downstairs, dressed and not smelling like puke.
"Well you look like shit." Ash told me as I made my way round the bar, retching as I passed the alcohol, actual bile biting my throat as I saw Ash drinking his beer.
"Thanks." I mumbled passing him and sitting on 'my' bar stool. "How are you still drinking?" I moaned at the man, every syllable making my head pound harder.
"Hair of the dog! Makes the morning feel just fine! You should try it hot stuff." Ash said to me with a smile.
"No! I'm never drinking again!" I mumbled with my face in my arms. Was the light extra bright today?
"I've heard that one before, funny how people forget the next day!" Ellen said, her voice sounding like she was smiling. "Here get that down ya, it'll make ya feel better trust me." I heard a plate crash down in front of me and peaked out from my defensive fortress of arms. A big cooked breakfast was piled on the plate, and despite the rolling of my stomach it smelt delicious.
"Thanks." I murmured before sitting up and pulling the plate towards me. It tasted just as good as it smelt, and Ellen was right, it did make me feel better.
"How ya feeling now sugar?" Ellen asked me when I'd devoured the plate in about sixty seconds flat.
"Better thanks." I smiled, my head now down to a dull thud thankfully.
"I'm not surprised you were feeling rough, you can drink girl." Ellen told me with a smile. Oh dear.
"And you can dance too hot stuff!" Ash added with a wink that made me chuckle despite wanting to groan.
We sat talking for a while, not about anything important or life changing. Just music, bad times when drinking and embarrassing moments. Nothing heavy, just things that were light and had all three of us smiling.
The moment was ruined though by the ringing of the phone which cut through my tender head like a chainsaw cuts through a tree; painfully.
Ellen got up and answered the old looking phone. "Yeah...? Depends on what you want..." Ellen said with a hard voice into the phone while shooting me a worried look. I didn't think that I wanted to know who was on the other end of the conversation or what they wanted. "Yeah, she's here... I'll pass it on... Yeah of course she is, she aint stupid!" Ellen barked at into the phone. "Yeah, yeah. Sure... Ok... Yeah bye."
Ellen hung up the phone, her back to me and Ash, her shoulders tight. She took a deep breath before turning back round, a forced smile on her worn yet beautiful face. "That was Bobby, he's been looking for you Bella." Her voice was light, holding back some emotion that I couldn't get a read on.
"What does he want?" I asked bluntly, I didn't think he was looking for me to check up on me somehow. To make sure I was safe and happy.
"He wanted to make sure that you were ok, hadn't got yourself into any fool trouble." Maybe I was wrong. "And he also told me to tell you to check your goddamn messages and ring him back." No, I wasn't wrong, what a surprise.
"Nice of him to check in." I said nochantly while taking a sip of my now lukewarm coffee and holding back the shudder the tepid liquid gave me.
"He sounded a bit..." Ellen trailed off, apparently not able to find the right word. "I think you should check your messages Bella, he wouldn't have asked if it wasn't important. Hey, he might even have a lead on Charlie."
"Impossible." Ash said with a snort. "Or statistically unlikely anyway. If I haven't turned up anything yet then the older timer wouldn't have found something." After getting to know Ash a bit better I thought that he was probably right. I'd never met anyone smarter before in my life, sometimes I didn't understand whole sentences that came out of the mans mouth.
"Thanks Ash." Ellen snapped before turning back to me. "Still, I think you should check the messages hon."
"I'll do it after I've helped open up." I told Ellen, I'd only be doing it for her I told myself, she almost sounded like she was pleading with me, and after everything she'd done for me so far I couldn't deny her this small favour. I had no desire to get back in touch with the man the brothers considered an adopted father, as much as I liked the man, his 'sons' were on my list of people I never wanted to see, talk to or talk about ever again. The hurt ran much too deep.
"Ash and me can open up, you go check your phone sugar." Ellen smiled at me.
I nodded once at her before heading up to my room. Since I'd been at the Roadhouse I hadn't even looked at my phone let alone checked the messages. Everyone I wanted to speak to was in this building or had gone AWOL and didn't have my number anyway.
When I eventually found my phone stuffed at the bottom of my bag I was shocked to see that I had fifty missed phone calls, ten messages and twenty voicemails. Someone had wanted to speak to me real bad.
I checked the text messages first; not having to hear anyone's voice might be easier to deal with. The first one was from Bobby.
"Boys told me you are going it alone you idiot. Ring me and let me know what is going through your head girl!"
Ok, that didn't ring true. Surely the brothers would have just told Bobby that I'd found my dad and was heading home? As far as they knew that's what I was going to do right?
The second one was also from Bobby, great.
"Rufus found the shifter. Ring one of us back and let us know you are ok!"
I didn't know if I should read the rest of the messages, Bobby obviously knew I was ok now, eventually he'd get the message that I just didn't want to talk to him right? But then all the trouble he'd gone through for me came rushing back, almost like one of those cheesy flashback moments in films. No I'd read a few more, then I'd ring him, I owed him that much and probably more.
There were six more, all from Bobby which carried on in the same vein. Except for the last one, that just said;
"Ring us"
Other than that there was one from Alice, hers was one of comfort, telling me that when I wanted to talk she was there for me.
The last one, was from Dean. As soon as I saw his name in black and white my heart contracted painfully, my chest hurt, my head throbbed, I could feel my stomach drop twenty feet and the blood rushing to my ears.
I couldn't do it, I couldn't read it. So I moved onto the next thing. The voicemails.
Again the majority were from Bobby and a couple were from Alice, they were again all on the same lines as the text messages. All except the last two from Bobby.
"Bella, it's Bobby. We..." I could hear an audible sigh on the saved message before he continued speaking. "Just ring me back, please. It's important." His voice in this message was fed up and strung out. As though he'd finally reached the end of his very long tether.
The last message, was... Well it put me in motion. I hurriedly packed my bag and rushed down the stairs. My heart beating fiercely and a pit of dread buried deep within me.
"Bella, it's Bobby again. I guess you aren't gonna ring less I tell you..." Again another sigh, his voice was sombre. "It's Sam, he's... He's bad. And Dean, he's falling apart... They... We... Bella I think you should come here. Wouldn't ask if I didn't think ya needed too." He wouldn't have either, I knew that. I knew it must have been bad.
so... What did ya think? Questions, comments, good, bad I want them all :) until next time; love always Tametiger xx