Part 16
Dean woke in a cold sweat, the howling still in his ears. Five. Five. Five. Went the pounding in his chest. It was close enough to dawn that he could get away with rising and showering. Sam would be over in an hour for breakfast. He'd need to wake Carmen so she wouldn't panic about getting things ready.
Dean watched Carmen fill Sam in on the dinners at her parents' house. About Dean's singular ability to get a gutter ball every time he was paired with a grown up against Sari and Ritchie. Sam regaled them with tales of Ellen's brash ways with 'clients' and her sudden interest in crocheting.
Sam tried to keep a straight face. "It was almost knitting. She wields those needles like… but when she saw that a crochet needle had a hook on it…"
"Because it does more damage." Dean shook his head.
"So… I heard you took my brother to a museum." Sam turned to Carmen. "I've been trying to do that since we were kids."
"I didn't even have to twist his arm," she teased Dean. "Though… I still don't get the fascination with George Darrow. He's contemporary."
"He's been painting for over ten years… he just didn't get discovered until after he died," Dean argued back. "He's…"
"He's got a story." Sam filled in.
"You know about this guy, too?" Carmen sat back in her seat.
"Met him once."
"Really?" She sipped her coffee. "So, maybe you know what happened to him."
Dean took over the conversation. "He sold his sold to a devil for talent. He wasn't the first and he won't be the last. He was given ten years from the day he sold it. He finished his last painting before the hellhounds came for him. They ripped him to shreds and dragged his soul to hell for more of the same."
"Dean." Sam shook his head.
"What? It's the story. You sell your soul and you go to hell. Those are the rules. He knew what he had done and he accepted it. He just wanted to finish that last damn painting before his bill came due. Everyone has to accept the consequences of their actions."
"His paintings were all without hope," Carmen commented with a frown. "Maybe there's something to the story."
TBC