Wow! I cannot believe the response I got for this story. I am so excited!! Thanks for the reviews, and I am truly sorry this took so long. I just started a new semester at school :( Plus, I really hate transition chapters… I find that I have an extremely hard time writing them. I have to work on that. But, nonetheless, enjoy the chapter. I hope you like it!

Chapter 2

Twenty minutes after Dean and Adam left, Sam was putting all his school supplies away and finishing up the organization of his room. He tensed and froze when he heard the lock switch and the doorknob turn. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to be home with his brothers. He was nervous. Sam suddenly doubted himself. Dean had reassured him over and over again that Sam was capable and independent enough to go to college by himself, but he was lying. Sam had never been away from his brothers for longer than a night his entire life. How could he handle college without them? Dean had told Sam to be himself, but Sam was just as terrified and screwed up as his brothers. He could not do this.

Sam broke from his self-pity as the guy he assumed was his roommate walked into the room and placed a bag on the empty bed. He was shortly followed by two people Sam knew were the kid's parents. They followed their son, setting the bags and boxes on the floor before turning to greet Sam.

"Hi, you must be Sam. I'm Derek," Sam hesitantly reached out a hand. Sam shook Derek's hand before the boy's parents also greeted Sam. He resisted the urge to pull away from his roommate's father when he stuck out his hand. Even though it had been four years, he still had a slight fear of unfamiliar and new men. After the greeting, they left the room to get the rest of their son's bags. "Your folks leave already?" Derek asked as he unpacked his bags.

"Yeah, my brother dropped me off and he had to work later," Sam replied.

"That's cool. So, did you meet any cute girls yet?" Derek joked.

"Unfortunately, no," Sam sarcastically replied. He felt like he was going to like Derek. He seemed down to earth and relaxed, it just took Sam awhile to trust people.

"Dang, oh well," Derek said, "We'll just have to go out and meet some tonight." Derek cut off as his parents entered the room again.

"I'll let you guys have the room to yourselves. I'm just going to buy my books," Sam said, heading to the door.

"Okay, see you later, Sam."

Sam left the room and walked around campus until the sky darkened. He felt like a failure. Although he liked his roommate, he was nervous about being thrust in an unfamiliar setting surrounded by relatively normal and carefree teens without the comfort and aid of his brothers made Sam feel lost and afraid and an outsider. He wanted to call Dean and Adam, but he did not want to show his brothers how weak he was. He knew that although Dean would never tell him, he would be extremely disappointed in him for not being brave, sucking it up, and at least attempting to make friends. But as he sat on a bench and watched the hundreds of college students walking past, dressed up and ready to party, already having found their place in campus, he knew it was going to be difficult to trust people so quickly. There was a small part of Sam that wanted to go out with Derek that night to meet new people and relax before the semester began, but being around alcohol brought back bad memories and Sam really did not want to explain the reason for that on his first day of school, so he chose to avoid it altogether. He knew it was a cowardly thing to do, but he did not have it in him to think of a better plan.

* * *

The next morning, after a sleepless night and constant nerves, Sam awkwardly sat with his classmates in a circle of desks around the edge of a small classroom. Sam sighed, knowing what that circle meant. It meant that they were all going to go around the room and talk about themselves and then become "best friends." Sam quit his anxious foot-tapping as the professor walked in and stood in front of the class.

"Okay, everyone," the man said, looking at his class, "I'm Dr. Peterson. So, the purpose of the Freshmen Seminar class is to make ties, to meet people, to work on studying habits, basically, to assist you in discovering who you are to help you find your true place at Stanford. So, before we begin, why don't we go around the class and introduce ourselves: name, major, parents' names and occupation, siblings, etc. Just things like that. I'll go first."

Sam sighed as the professor talked. 'Great, one day and I'm already in an awkward moment. Hi, my name is Sam Winchester. My mom's dead and my dad's an abusive drunk." He barely listened as his classmates told the summary of their normal, pain-free lives. He nervously thought over what he was going to say, but when the time came the routine sentence he had come up with disappeared and he hesitantly gazed at his classmates, all of whom were now looking at him.

"I'm Sam Winchester. Um, I'm pre-law. I live with my two brothers. Dean's twenty-two and he repairs and rebuilds classic cars and my little brother Adam's eleven," he glanced around the room to see the reaction of his peers. He could tell they were waiting for more, but they were not going to get it. "That's it," he ended.

After speaking, Sam slinked down in his chair. All he felt were the eyes of every student in the classroom staring at him. They knew he was a freak. They knew about his past. Sam attempted to ignore the stares until everyone was finished talking about their normal lives. He relaxed as the professor stood up and all heads turned in his direction.

Dr. Peterson handed out the syllabus then began his explanation of the course, "Now, these classes are organized focus on a specific problem which we will research, discuss, and study. Other Freshmen Seminar classes are focusing on mental disorders, poverty, and other issues that affect our society, while this particular class will focus on child abuse," Sam went rigid in his seat, "Now, I am a psychology professor, so we will learn about the mental causes and effects of child abuse on the abuser and the abused, but we will also be watching movies and reading articles on the topic."

Sam sighed in disbelief. He just could not believe it. No matter where he went or what happened, the past always came back to haunt him. He had tried for years to suppress the rage and flashbacks of his abuse, but he was sure this class was going to spark the memories once again, and he really did not need that during his first year in college.

* * *

"Daddy," three-year-old Adam cautiously walked up to John who was studiously flipping through numerous books on demons, jotting down important facts into his journal. "Daddy," Adam softly whispered when John did not respond to his younger son.

"What, Adam?" John slammed his fist down onto the table, glaring at the small boy who was now shaking.

"I'm hungry," he replied looking down at the ground.

"Then go make something to eat," John growled.

"I dunno how to, Daddy, De makes lunch and him and Sammy are at school."

"Adam, I'm busy and I don't have the time to deal with you. Either you make your own lunch or you're not eating," John turned back to his research, leaving his son crestfallen.

"But Dad—" John slapped Adam in the side of the face, catching the boy off guard and making him tear up in pain.

"Don't argue with me boy and stop calling me 'Daddy.' You're too old for that shit. Now get out of here."

Adam quickly walked to the kitchen, shakily wiping his eyes. He didn't like when Daddy was mean. It made his stomach hurt and he was already hungry. Adam opened the refrigerator door and found a bowl of left over Spaghetti-O's. He took out a spoon and ate the pasta cold since he could not reach the microwave. Adam rubbed the side of his face and wished his brothers were home because it was no fun staying at the house alone. He stood up to take his bowl to the sink, but tripped over his feet and fell down. The bowl shattered and Adam stared at it before he heard the angry footsteps of his father.

"What the hell happened?" John lifted Adam roughly by his arm, squeezing the slender limb until Adam cried out in pain.

"I just felled, Daddy. 'M sorry," Adam looked at his father and knew from the way John's brow was glistening with sweat and his cheeks were red with exertion that he was very, very mad.

"I told you not to call me that! Now, look at the mess you made."

"I didn't mean to," Adam cried as his arm began throbbing in pain. His shoulder screamed in protest from his father's rough treatment, "Ow, Daddy!"

John swung Adam forward and he hit a chair with his stomach. He felt his father fumble with something, but he was unable to turn and look because of the force of John's hand on his neck. He was scared. His father had never been this scary before and Dean wasn't there to make things better. Adam was brought from his thoughts as he felt his father's belt strike his back. Familiar with that pain, Adam began panicking and sobbing, but John was strong and he held him there until the punishment was administered. John lifted his son up and Adam's stomach lurched in pain and protest to the sudden movement. Before he could stop it, Adam threw up his lunch at his father's feet.

"Damn it, Adam!" John threw Adam into the mess and kicked him in the stomach. "You made this mess so you're gonna lay in it until your brothers get home!" he yelled before storming away. Adam was too afraid of what his father would do if he disobeyed the order, so he laid in the mess, curled into a tiny ball, and cried until his brothers got home.

"De!" Dean abruptly awoke at Adam's cry. He jumped from his bed and rushed to Adam's room. The boy had finally begun sleeping in his own bedroom a year ago, but it was mostly due to the fact that Sam also shared the room. Dean had hoped it would be a longer time before the nightmares once again became nightly occurrences, but Sam's absence had ultimately started the nightmares up again.

Dean ran into the room and his heart dropped when he saw Adam pressed against the wall, crying out in fear. Dean immediately sat on the bed and drew his brother close, pulling him onto his lap. "You're okay, you're fine, I'm here," he comforted, listening to Adam's harsh sobs.

Eventually, Adam's sobs abated and he lay curled in his brother's arms, his head rested in the crook of Dean's neck. "You want to tell me what you were dreaming about?" Dean gently asked as he ran his fingers through Adam's hair. Adam hesitated and sniffed before turning his face in Dean's direction.

"He hurt me and I threw up," Adam quietly said. "He made me lay there until you got home."

"Why did he hurt you?" Dean asked. Although the nightmares were frequent, Dean found that if Adam talked about them he felt more relaxed and calm afterward. So, when Adam was over the initial reaction to having the dream, he always questioned him about it.

"Yeah," Adam sniffed, "I was hungry and I dropped the bowl and it broke and he got mad."

Dean tightened his arms around Adam, remembering the event Adam explained. That was the moment Dean knew he had to drop out of school to protect his brother. He had come home from school and found Adam still lying on the floor near his vomit, bruises on his back, and shaking in fear. He had never been angrier in his life, but it had still taken two years until he was able to go through with his plans. That was also when Adam's stomach problems had begun, and they were still trying to overcome that obstacle.

"You want to come sleep with me tonight?" Dean asked. Adam nodded in return, "Okay." Dean stood up and gently pulled Adam to his feet and walked him to the other bedroom. He followed his brother who jumped in the bed and pulled up the covers. As soon as he got in, Adam leaned close to him. Dean turned off the light and settled down, but he could tell Adam was still upset. The boy was shaking and his face was damp with tears.

"Hey," Dean wiped Adam's face, "He's not here. You're not gonna get hurt anymore."

Adam did not reply. He just buried his face in Dean's chest and clenched his shirt in his tiny hands, so Dean tightened his hold, kissed his brother's head, and attempted to fall asleep, hoping the rest of Adam's night would be dream-free, but knowing it would not be so.

I think there will be one or two more transition chapters before things really start happening. I hate this too, but I need to set the story up. Jess will be introduced in the next chapter. I will also try to throw some more flashbacks in so you at least get to read some hurt!boys.

I also had some reviews saying the Sam and Dean were a little out of character. My thinking on this though is that the boys definitely would not be exactly the same as they are in the show because in this story they're childhood was filled with extreme abuse. That's the whole point of writing this story. Take the characters as your own, but try to maintain somewhat of a balance with who they are in the show. But living through what I put them through in the story, I believe they would be slightly different. I know the part where Sam and Dean could have been written differently and I would probably rewrite it thinking about it, but I was too excited to get the chapter out.

But thanks for all the reviews. Again, I take everything you guys tell me to heart. Give me suggestions, pointers, and critics not just on the plot, but on my writing style. This is one of my passions and I want to improve my writing as much as possible.

I'll try to get the next chapter out soon! REVIEW REVIEW!!! It seriously made my day last time.