Well it's Sunday, which means update time ! First of all thanks to all those who sent me a review; each and everyone is always appreciated. Now after reading this chapter, I promise you that the coincidences inside of it are just plain flukes! This chapter was written all the way back in July:o)
Thanks for reading and your words of encouragement !
On with Freaks…
Chapter Two- Freaks
Sam shuffled into the living room the following morning, to find Dean sitting at the small kitchen table, a bowl of cereal in his hand laughing loudly at the small TV that was in the kitchenette area. On seeing Sam, Dean sent him a smile, which was never returned.
Instead Sam gave him a wave and went to the kitchen sink, his back now turned to Dean.
"Want some breakfast..?" Dean mumbled, "I got cereal in, and some bread…"
Sam picked up the cereal box that sat next to the sink and studied it with a sniff,
"Lucky Charms..?" Sam asked raising an eyebrow as he kept his back to Dean, "Do you have any idea how much sugar is in this stuff..?"
"Come on Sammy, I'm a big boy.." Dean said a grin, "I'm a bit past the whole cavity scenario.."
"The marshmallows alone could rot your teeth and your mind..." Sam said with a click of his tongue as he placed the box back onto the counter.
"I think my mind is already rotten and I don't have any problems with my teeth thank you very much..." Dean said sending his brother's back a toothy smile, "See these teeth, a million dollar smile my friend..."
"Is that what your dentist told you…?" Sam said with a sniff.
"I don't do dentists..." Dean muttered, "Having someone else's hands running around my mouth with rubbery latex gloves…" Dean said with a shudder, "I can't think of anything more inhumane..."
"Ever had a toothache…?" Sam said with a small smile, "Now that is inhumane.."
Dean studied his brother's back, and made a face.
"You sleep ok last night..?" Dean asked as he listened to his brother's voice.
"On and off.." Sam said with a shrug, "You..?"
"Like a log…" Dean admitted, as he placed the bowl on the table and stood up, the chair nosily scratching on the beech coloured wooden floor. "You were busy last night though…"
"Huh..?" Sam asked in an innocent voice as he took a glass from the drainer and filled with water from the tap, he carefully turned his body away from Dean as his elder brother came towards him.
"Well, I stepped in salt again this morning…" Dean said with a nod, "Imagine my surprise when I find it on every window and door to the apartment…"
Sam chuckled nervously and walked away from Dean and back through the living room and onto the veranda. Sam stood leaning against the rails staring at the beautiful view in front of him. Sam groaned when he heard Dean open the sliding door.
"Dude, I was having a conversation with you in there…" Dean muttered as he placed his mug of coffee down on the small table and chair set outside. "What's with the salt Sam..?"
"Just being cautious Dean…" Sam said never looking at elder brother, his eyes staring at the ocean, his back continuously to his older brother.
"Cautious…?" Dean said with a sniff, "You're like a blasted sodium freak..!"
"It doesn't hurt being prepared…" Sam said his voice vacant as he sighed.
Dean stared at his brother's back.
What the heck was Sam up to..?
"So ermm, what are your plans today..?" Sam asked never looking over at Dean, "Anything interesting..."
A smile broke on Dean's handsome face, a twinkle appearing in his hazel green eyes, "It's funny you should mention that, cause I do have something fun lined up.."
"Like what..?" Sam asked as he hunched over the balcony.
"Well, there's a carnival Sammy, with get this…" Dean said coming over to Sam now so he could see his brother's reaction. "With a real freak show..!"
"What..?" Sam muttered as he rubbed the sides of his aching head.
"I know I could barely believe it when I read it on the flyer…" Dean rambled, "I mean we got to go to it, just to see it, and the best part, I won't even bring a shot gun with me; that's what you call a vacation..!"
"Sounds interesting.." Sam said with a sigh, "But..-"
"Don't worry I got everything planned out for us, given us little missions…" Dean said laughing, "You got to get the number of the bearded lady, and I'm gonna try and get a number from a trapezes..."
"Dean, it sounds great…" Sam admitted, "But I was kind of hoping that, I could take it easy today…"
"Oh.." Dean said trying to hide his disappointment, "Maybe we can go tomorrow or so.."
"Dean it's your vacation as well, there's no reason you should miss out..." Sam said as Dean gave his brother a funny look, "Just call it our day off from each other…"
"You're serious aren't you..?" Dean said as he watched Sam shuffle away from him on the deck, and suddenly it dawned on Dean.
"Sam..?" Dean called as he stood there with his hands on his hips. "Sammy..?"
"Why do you always insist on calling me that…?" Sam muttered as he kept his back turned.
"Because I've noticed lately it seems to have the desired effect on you…" Dean said walking up to him and watching as Sam concealed his face again. "It seems to piss you off…"
"Congratulations…" Sam muttered, "Glad you're enjoying yourself.."
"Look at me..." Dean said in a flat tone.
"Dude, what is wrong with you…" Sam said squinting in the sun, "I think I'm gonna see if I can catch up on some sleep…"
"Rough night last night…?" Dean asked as he cornered Sam by the steps and grabbed his wrist. Dean stared down at his brother's limp wrist in his; he was stunned at the fact that he could wrap his hand around the entire width of Sam's wrist. Swallowing at how frail Sam was becoming he yanked his little brother to face him.
"I said...-"Dean never finished the sentence as he finally laid eyes on his brother's face for the first time that morning. "What the hell happened..?"
Sam swallowed nervously, pulled his hand away from Dean's and hurried back into the living room. Dean flew in agitated behind him, nosily closing back the sliding door.
"Sammy..?" Dean snapped as he cut his brother off, who was promptly trying to get to his room. Instead Dean grabbed him by his shoulders and guided him back to the sofa.
Defeated Sam crumpled into the sofa, with Dean hovering over him.
"Did you think you could hide it from me all day..?" Dean demanded as he angrily dragged the coffee table in front of the sofa and sat down on it.
He then held Sam's face steady in his hand and prodded the huge gash just at the side of Sam's face. His entire right eye was black and blue and the bruising made Dean's stomach twist. As Dean poked at the bruising and cut, Sam winced at Dean's probing fingers.
"Did you really think you could hide that from me..?" Dean demanded, as he looked heatedly at Sam.
"At least until tonight…" Sam said in a feeble voice.
"Why tonight…?" Dean asked in a confused tone.
"It would be dark…" Sam said in an innocent naïve tone.
"God, you're an idiot…" Dean said as he got to his feet and poured some hot water from the kettle into a bowl and with a clean t-cloth headed back to Sam who was curled up on the sofa.
"When did this happen? How did it happen…?" Dean asked, trying to calm his agitated voice down.
He couldn't understand it. How Sam could have got hurt while he was still in the house; he was supposed to be looking after him. The idea that he'd already messed up was screwing with Dean's head.
"Last night…" Sam said as he sat up to take the cloth from Dean's hand. Instead Dean clamped the hot compact on Sam's face himself. " I must have slipped or something…" Sam said with half a smile.
"Slipped..? Where exactly..?" Dean asked having calmed down a decibel.
"Bathroom…" Sam explained, "When I woke up, I just felt like my head was gonna explode, I didn't even look in the mirror…"
Dean's hand fell from Sam's face.
"You knocked yourself out..?" Dean asked in a deadpan tone, "You knocked yourself out and you weren't gonna tell me..?"
"I'm telling you now, besides what's the big deal, I'm clumsy and stupid…" Sam muttered taking the cloth from Dean, "And the real reason why I didn't tell, was to avoid this, and that…"
"What..?" Dean asked shaking his head.
"This whole weird conversation where you get all paternal on me and then you get that look on your face…" Sam muttered with a sigh.
"What look, I don't have a look on my face..!" Dean snapped as he stalked around the room.
"I just didn't want to ruin your day, guess I couldn't even do that right…" Sam said with an unhappy chuckle.
"Is that why you didn't want to the carnival..?" Dean asked as he scrubbed his face with his hands, "Because you thought I'd see that..?"
"Maybe, but I am really tried Dean…" Sam admitted, "I don't know, maybe everything that's happened in the last few weeks is just catching up on me.."
"No you're right, I shouldn't be pushing you…" Dean admitted, "But Sam, we got to get something clear…"
"What…?" Sam said closing his eyes as he lay on the sofa.
"You can't keep things from me…" Dean said flatly, "Knocking yourself out, it's not even an option Sam…"
"What do you mean..?" Sam asked curiously, " I know it was stupid not telling you, but things like this are gonna happen…"
"Not while I'm here they're not.." Dean said plainly, "You have to get better Sam, this hunting, this life we've got, we have to put it aside for a while..."
"You really my brother..?" Sam said with a chuckle which only made Dean more frustrated. "Cause my Dean, there's nothing more important to him than hunting…"
"Yeah, well, not anymore…" Dean said with a sigh, "Look, the truth is, you had a brain haemorrhage that blew your ass into a coma, you're sick and you need rest. Any bashes to the head Sam, it could cause a relapse, and..-"
"Ok…" Sam said with a nod, "It was stupid, I should have told you, I'm sorry…"
"Good…" Dean said with a nod as he came and sat back down in front of Sam. "Now are you going to tell me about what really happened to you, and what's with all the salt; and don't give me that crap about you slipping in the bathroom…"
Sam gave his brother his most genuine smile.
"Really Dean, I slipped…" Sam said with a rueful nod, " The medication makes me feel a little odd at times, I'd just taken a couple of tablets and they made me feel a bit out of it…"
"Humm..." Dean said with a sniff not knowing whether to believe him or not, "And the salt…?"
"Like I said last night, just being over cautious…" Sam said smiling at Dean again. "Come on; nothing wrong with that now is it..?"
"No, I guess not…" Dean said with a suspicious look as he studied Sam's face. "Look, you'd tell me if something was going on right..?"
"Same way you were supposed to tell me about what was going on at the hospital..?" Sam countered which obviously rattled Dean.
"That's not even funny Sam…" Dean muttered as he got off the coffee table and walked into the kitchen.
"Neither is you keeping secrets from me..?" Sam said simply.
"Oh so I get it…" Dean said angrily, "You won't tell me what's going on, until I tell you what happened..?"
"Well I wasn't gonna go for the whole trade deal with you, but yeah, you tell me, and I'll tell you…" Sam said with a nod, which Dean cringed at.
"So you are lying…?" Dean said hotly, " Something did happen last night, and that boxer like skid mark you got plastered on your face didn't happen by you just slipping, something did that..?"
"Now that is one big dose of paranoia there Deanie…" Sam said with a teasing smile. "I never said anything happened…"
"I'm not having this conversation with you…." Dean muttered angrily as he walked towards his bedroom, "You want to act like a friggin jerk Sam, then go right ahead…"
Sam chewed his bottom lip in annoyance as he heard Dean muttering under his breath as he rattled around his room.
"What time does the circus start..?" Sam asked as he eased himself off the sofa, knowing that Dean was mad at him." I don't ever think we've been to the circus, have we..?"
"Not for fun at least…" Dean mused as he sat on his bed, "Last time we went, I was about eleven and dad was hunting a shape shifter…" Dean said with a nod, "You got ratty cause dad wouldn't let you pet the tigers..."
"Too busy wanting to shoot a hole thought something huh..?" Sam said with a chuckle, "What do you remember..?"
"That I fed my cotton candy to an elephant…" Dean said with a grin, "Then dad went berserk because he wanted to know how I got near the elephant and where I got the cotton candy came from…"
Sam laughed, "Where did you get the candy from..?"
"I don't even remember..." Dean said with a shrug, "Must have nicked it…"
"Dad said he'd never ever take us back to the circus for as long as he lived…" Sam said with a grin, "He said that about a lot of places…"
"Yup…" Dean said with a nod as he counted them off his fingers, "Zoos, malls, fairs, amusement parks…"
"We must have been two funny kids for him to raise…" Sam said musing at the memory.
"I was funny; you were just funny looking…" Dean said with a grin.
"What time does it start..?" Sam asked again as he lent against Dean's door frame.
"Circus acts start at 2pm…." Dean said quietly.
"Well, its only 10am now…" Sam said with a nod, "I'll try and grab some sleep now, and maybe we can head off…"
"You're still not gonna tell me what happened last night are you..?" Dean asked stubbornly, "Cause I'm supposed to be protecting you…"
"Where did you get that idea from..?" Sam asked with a curious look.
" It's just the way things are, big brother's take care of the little ones…" Dean said pointedly.
"Must have not got that memo in the mail..." Sam said with a grin, which only seemed to annoy Dean further. "Look, if you're busy trying to protect me, then who is looking after you…?"
"I don't need protecting, me, I can look after myself…" Dean said hotly.
"Let's just leave it ok…" Sam said with a sigh, "We take care of each other, that's enough isn't it….?"
"Oh God, kill me now…" Dean muttered rolling his eyes, "Those meds have got you in one sloppy girly ass mood you know that…"
"Yeah, I know.." Sam said with a shrug, "But I got your back, I just want you to know that…"
"Sammy, the idea of you trying to look out for me, fills me with terror…" Dean said trying not to laugh, "No offence, but a poodle could kick your ass right now..."
"Ha ha…" Sam said with a sniff, "Mock me now, but you'll be grateful one of these days…"
"I bet I will…" Dean said a laugh, as Sam walked away from the door as Dean muttered something about the poodle.
"I'm gonna lie down, yell if you need me…" Sam said as he shuffled into the living room and towards his bedroom.
"Just get some rest; the bearded lady is quite fussy these days you know Sammy..." Dean said laughing as he stood in the doorway to his room. "What do say about freaks attracting freaks…?"
"You, are calling me, a freak…?" Sam said laughing, "Dude take a look in the mirror…"
"I'm a semi-freak…" Dean argued as Sam flicked him his middle finger and disappeared into his room. "You, dude you're a total freak…"
Laughing as Sam closed his bedroom door; Dean flopped back down onto the sofa and switched on the main TV set. Channel surfing and finally stopping at the cartoon channel, Dean grinned as he watched a classic 'Bugs Bunny' cartoon.
"Freaks…" Dean muttered with a smile. "The guys a jackass…"
xxxxXXXXxxxx
Sam stood rigid in his room. His eyes trying to take in what he was seeing.
Everything in his room had been moved about. Everything.
The bed was on the wrong side of the room, the cupboard was now on the opposite side, the desk now facing the wrong direction.
His breathing hitched as he walked towards the bed and peeped under it. The knife he had under it was gone.
Grabbing the handle to the bedroom door he had just entered and promptly found himself walking into the closet.
"What the hell is going on..?" Sam whispered out loud.
"He hates you….He hates you so much…..You're a burden to him…."
Sam spun around, he could hear the voice as clear as day. Shaking, Sam's hand reached for the side draw and slowly he pulled his sickle from it.
"Come out you son-of-a-bitch…" Sam whispered, his eyes scanning the room, his head swimming with the lack of co-ordination he felt.
"You slow him down….Make him angry……You're a pitiful excuse…."
"This is crazy…" Sam whispered as he moved towards the door, his hand scrambling for his bedroom door.
"It's not crazy Sam….It's just the truth…..Dean hates you….Now that's the truth….."
Sam yanked open his bedroom door, with such a force it made Dean jump. Dean scrambled to his feet.
With confused hazel green eyes, Dean watched Sam backing out his room, his knife drawn, and his little brother's eyes wild.
"Sammy..?" Dean asked in a slow voice, his own hand looking for a weapon, unsure of what to expect but knowing to expect something.
"He wished you died instead…..He wished you stayed dead….He wants you gone….He wants you to suffer for what you've done…."
Sam whirled around at the sound of the voice, but saw nothing but empty air and Dean standing there with a puzzled look on his face.
"Why are you saying these things…?" Sam asked looking at Dean, a hurt look on his face.
"You killed his mother….."
"Sam..?" Dean asked in a confused tone, as he took a step closer towards his brother, "Who are you talking to…?"
"I didn't kill her…" Sam asked as he shook his head, his left hand rubbed the side of his head.
"You deserve to die……And he will make sure of it…"
Sam's eyes widened as he stood staring at Dean's advancing form.
"Dude who didn't you kill, what's wrong with you…?" Dean demanded as he kept walking slowly to Sam.
The black wisp danced menacingly behind Dean, its eyes bright and evil as it focused on Sam.
"Say bye bye Sammy…."
"No….!" Sam shouted causing Dean to freeze in horror.
With the knife arched in Sam's hands, he swung it like a boomerang and let go.
Right into Dean's path…..
xxxxXXXXxxxx
phew Looks like Sam and Dean have got their hands full, you got to feel for Sam, the boy just can't cut a break. Thanks for reading and please leave a review if possible. Update: Wednesday.