"Like I said, Sam and I lost our mother twenty two years ago. But it wasn't an accident. She was murdered by a yellow-eyed demon. This sounds crazy, I know. It's all true. Our father has dedicated his life to tracking it and other creatures down. We do the same, we're hunters. Our father went missing a few weeks ago, and we've been searching for him. Along the way we've been hunting down vengeful spirits, wendigo, demons, you name it. We think something supernatural is what killed your mom and brother, Tessa," Dean paused for a moment, an odd softness taking over his face. "Let us help you. Our job is to save people, that's all we're trying to do here."
When he stopped speaking, Tessa realized exactly what Dean was trying to do. He was trying to use damn charm to persuade her to indulge in his craziness. Tessa didn't believe it for a second. Demons and hunters? Ghosts and whatever the hell a wendigo is? He and Sam, if those were even their real names, must have escaped from an insane asylum. "You're crazy," Tessa breathed, backing up. Dean's deep green eyes met hers for a split second, and she immediately regretted her words. Something in his eyes was so raw, so vulnerable that she couldn't help but believe every single honey-drenched word that dripped from his lips.
"Look at this, Tessa. See this hand print? And you were right about the blood on the walls. The police would never had noticed it. We think a spirit is haunting either this house or your family, we aren't sure which one yet. Do you think that you could tell us a little more about your family?" Sam said, settling down on the edge of the bed. Tessa found herself nodding, still trapped in Dean's eyes.
"My dad might come home at any minute now. We're supposed to be staying with my Uncle Karl tonight, but he has to grab a few things before we go. We can talk in my room," Tessa said, taking the dark stairs two at a time. "But no louder than a whisper, okay? I can't, and won't, imagine trying to explain this all to my dad."
Dean and Sam murmured agreements before following Tessa. On the second floor, they took a right in a long hallway and entered a small, brightly lit bedroom. The walls of the room were barely visible, as every single surface was covered with a poster of a classic rock album. From what the two brothers could see, the walls were painted a light blue. Tessa busied herself with opening the two windows of the bedroom while Dean and Sam sat down. Sam chose the only chair in the room, leaving Dean to sit gingerly on the edge of Tessa's bed.
"Shoes off, by the way," Tessa said, glancing over her shoulder. Sam and Dean quickly removed their shoes, muttering apologies under their breath. With a small grin Tessa perched herself on her bed, sitting with her legs crossed. She took a deep breath and smoothed the bubble skirt of her black dress before speaking. "What do you want to know?"
"You're a fan of the classics?" Dean raised an eyebrow and gestured to a poster of a Led Zeppelin album. He hadn't taken Tessa for that sort of girl, but it did explain her immediately catching his use of Steve Perry and Neil Schon's surnames earlier that day.
"My dad raised me on that stuff. I'm guessing you're a fan too, Mr. Perry?" It took Dean a moment to catch the teasing tone of Tessa's voice, but when he did, he couldn't help but grin at her.
Sam cleared his throat. "Anyway, Tessa. Could you start off by telling us about your parents? Where they were born, how they met, that sort of stuff."
Tessa nodded. "Yeah. My mom, Hannah, was born in Austin, but she always loved small town life. When she was sixteen she left home and came here. She basically searched for the tiniest, most unknown town that she could find. Dad was born and raised here in O'Brien. He grew up a few blocks over and has lived here ever since. They met when my mom applied for a job at the supermarket. Dad was assistant manager at the time, and they immediately hit it off. They got married when they turned eighteen. They were a really happy couple, from what people have told me. I don't remember much."
Dean and Sam conferred in low tones for several minutes. Tessa was watching raptly, picking up a few words here and there. "You can't think of anything odd in their past? Something they tried to hide?" Dean asked.
"No. They were the most normal couple in the world. I can't imagine either of them doing something bad. Why? Do you think one of them could have?" Tessa frowned. She scanned her memories for anything that her father may have let slip, but nothing came to surface. Her dad was the perfect father, he couldn't harm a fly.
"Usually a family is haunted by a spirit when they were somehow involved in the person's death, or they did something to anger the spirit while he or she lived. If the spirit is connected to the house, though, we may be dealing with something different. Sam will head over to the library and look through some old records. I'll stay here and watch the place," Dean said, exchanging a glance with his younger brother.
"I think you should salt the room, just in case. We don't know when it's planning on attacking again. I'll call if I find anything out," Sam held out his hand, and Dean dropped a set of car keys into his open palm. With one last grim smile to Tessa, Sam left, letting the back door slam closed behind him.
"What the hell? I just vaccumed!" Tessa yelled, watching with wide eyes as Dean poured salt in front of her door and windows. He turned around and smirked before returning to trashing her bedroom. "Hello? You're the stranger in MY house, standing in MY room. Now, are you going to listen to me or not," Tessa snapped. She grinded her teeth together in frustration.
"It's to keep the ghost out. As long as there's a line of salt blocking the entrances, it can't get in. Now, sweetheart, are you going to move and let me finish my job or not?" Tessa huffed but stepped out of Dean's path. She plopped down on the floor, picking at the worn, tan carpet. Dean glanced at Tessa quickly before settling down inches away from her.
Out of the corner of her eye, Tessa watched him. In the moments when he thought he wasn't being watched, his face was drawn, looking as if he'd aged ten years in a matter of seconds. He was attractive, though. Tessa couldn't deny Dean that. His eyes were a gorgeous shade of green, and that body... Tessa blushed. She looked a few seconds to long, and when Dean glanced up, their eyes met. She quickly averted her gaze, instead focusing on the frayed black curtains hanging from her windows, waiting for the color to fade from her cheeks.
After a few minutes of silence, Tessa began fidgeting. The air was thick with her unasked questions, and they were suffocating her. "Dean?"
It took him a moment to respond, and when he did, he sounded weary. "Yeah?"
"Why do you do what you do? I mean, do you enjoy it? Or is it just your life?" Tessa didn't know what had possessed her to ask Dean that; it was way too personal of a thing to tell someone that you'd just met. Unsurprisingly, Dean's face, which had been visibly relaxed, tightened slightly, as did the set of his shoulders, and Tessa knew that she'd lost him.
"It was necessary. I'm going to stay outside, alright? Don't leave this room," Dean said gruffly, and he then stood up and stalked out of the room, closing the door a little too hard behind him.