The moon was glowing bright that night. The thin curtains did nothing to hide it. I was estatic that Anna had found me a place to stay for the night. I had fallen into the stool I had sat in a few hours ago, sweaty, dirty, and exhausted from walking such a distance. Anna took one look at me, noticed my computer and bag, and shook her head.

"In my seventeen years of life I have never seen someone as messed up as you, Sam," she replied. I saw her reach for a dishtowel.

"Yeah. It's sorta been a long morning." Reluctantly I took the towel and wiped my face off, jumping alittle when I ran it over my chin. That bruise wasn't going to go away anytime soon.

"I'm guessing things got worse between you and that guy?"

I nodded. As much as I didn't want to get into my life issues with someone I'd just met, I needed a place to stay, and this was increasing my chances of getting help.

Anna smiled. "So, did he leave you for dead in this town and take off, or did you just come back to talk to me?" Her hands fiddled with her apron.

"We had...an arguement. I said some pretty harsh things to him." Actually I had completely put him down and ripped his heart out. "I decided to get out for awhile. Give us a chance to think things over."

An older woman in her late fifties walked out of the kitchen. She was a plump lady, with curly gray hair and long fingernails painted red. Her face had a kind feature to it. She looked up from the clipboard in her hands and smiled at me, showing perfect teeth. "Oh, hello!"

"Mom, this is Sam. He was the one I told you about," Anna answered.

"Oh! So your back for a second round, are you?" the woman chuckled.

I had to laugh. She seemed like a sweet enough lady. "No m'am, my brother kicked me out. Decided to get a bite to eat before I go looking for a place to stay."

Anna's mother looked concerned. "You don't have a place to stay?"

As I shook my head once more, Anna began to whisper with her mother. I only caught snatches of their conversation, but it was enough to know my persuasion skills were getting me somewhere. After a few more minutes of debate, the two woman turned to face me.

"Sam," Anna was smiling. "My sister left for college a few years ago so there's an unoccuiped room...if you want it."

I chanced a quick look at her mom. She was flushed, but didn't look upset by the idea. "Um, thanks. Yeah, that'd be great actually. And, don't worry. I'll just be there to sleep and research. Won't be in the way at all."

"Well I hope you are!" the woman exclaimed. "If you're sleeping on my bedsheets then you better be using our shower, and I ain't gonna starve you either, you already look as if you haven't eaten in weeks."

I knew they were going to be good company. "Thank you, really. Any way I can pay back, just say."

"Nonsense! If we invite you to stay, you don't go saying you can repay us back! If I wanted you to pay, I woulda asked you!"

I began to laugh. "You're right, sorry, Mrs. Um..."

"Mrs. Claire Davenport. And you've met my daughter, Anna, of course."

That was several hours ago. After getting my housing situation taken care of, the Davenports introduced me to Mr. Davenport, a bulky man with an unpleasant habit of htting me too hard in the shoulder. I guess he saw my bruised jaw and assumed I was as strong as him. But if he didn't stop soon, I would have a matching one on my arm.

The house was a fairly normal one. Two stories, painted white, just like the diner, a wrap-a-round porch with a swing hanging from one side, even blue shutters on the windows. It would have fit into any suburbon housinh areas.

My room was on the second floor, acroos the hall from the bathroom. My eyes dropped when Anna opened the door to show it off. The walls were painted a bright pink, the wooden floor covered in a pink carpet, and the queen sized bed had a pink comforter on it, with pink pillows. Of course, her sister couldn't have been a tom boy. For a moment I thought of Dean seeing me in the room. He would have teased me unmercifully for it.

"Melanie was a cheerleader. We wanted to change the room, but she asked us not to."

If I wasn't depending on them for food and sanitation, I would have made a sarcastic comment back, but instead I held my tongue and dropped my bag on the floor. Setting my computer on the desk I realized Anna was still watching me, her arms folded, frowning.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to see if you'd still look into, you know, the murder case."

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, of course. Just give me some time, okay?"

That, too, was so long ago. The day continued to crawl by. I spent most of the afternoon studying up on the Carnell case. It seemed like a normal homicide. But I knew from experience that I person's instinct was not something to blow off. With that I searched old newspapers from the town, and the obituaries from years past.

The only thing unusual I found was the story of Lacy Wilson. She was a seventeen year old girl who went to the same high school as Tommy and Michelle about ten years ago. She was in an abusive relationship and the reporters say that she died of continious head blows. Lacy was an A student, prom queen, had her life organized.

Ever since her murder, there was an unusual pattern of young, teenage boys getting killed by a similar cause. Immediatly I grabbed my phone, planning on hitting speed dial. To call Dean. Then I remembered.

I was on my own for this one. Even as I proccesed this my stomach tightned up and began to do sumersaults. On my own. I'd never been on a hunting trip alone. That was all Dean.

Still, I had to inform him about this. He'd need to know I'd be staying for a few days. Clicking his email address I silently prayed he'd go to the library and check his mail.

An hour later I recieved an email back from him. My heart had hoped he was being the bigger man and there was an apology in the letter. That was a farfetched idea.

Sam,

I don't really know what to say to you right now.

So, I let my past talk. Anna's bringing you a package, should get there soon. I want you to read a certain part. 12/12.

Tell me if you think I'm such a freak after that.

As for the ghost hunt. You're on your one. You went to college, you got the smarts to kill that thing, you don't need me, obviously.

Dean

"Figures," I mumbled, closing my laptop. When I needed him he wasn't there. But, then again, I wasn't there for him for 4 years. He had to fight bad things while I was escaping them. Guess I was getting a piece of my own medicine.

Just as I was wondering about the package, Anna walked into the room, dressed in a miniskirt and a halter top. My eyebrows raised. She noticed.

"I'm going out with my boyfriend. Is that a bad thing?"

"No. Of course not, I was just surprised, that's all."

"Yeah, most people don't see me out of my work uniform. Guess they believed I was born in a balck top and a matching knee high skirt." Anna smirked. "Here, your bully told me to give this to you. He said you knew what it meant." She threw a package on the pink bed and walked out of the room, closing the door.

The package was covered in a white cloth. One of Dean's. Upon taking the fabric off I finally realized what was inside.

Dean's journal.

That goddamn journal. The thing that started all the problems in the first place.

My legs gave out on me. I thudded onto the bed, sinking a great deal. He wanted me to read his journal? I thought he hated me for doing so? Why'd he want me to do it again?

Was it Dean's way of testing my trust? Maybe he wanted to see if I would do it again, or if I'd just give it back. Dean was weird that way.

But then why would he give me a date to look at? He obviously wanted me to read something about him. Hell, he might be trying to tell me something.

I flipped through the pages, not even daring to glance at the entries. Eventually, about halfway through I got to December.

With bated breath I began to read.