New chapter! (pause for dramatic effect) Read it and then review! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!
This couldn't be happening, Lyla thought as she walked steadily against the torrential downpour pushing against her. This couldn't be what her dreams meant. She was a small town waitress who happened to have visions. She wasn't on some 'demon hit list'. She wasn't 'meant for something'! She was meant for cleaning booths and looking after Bob. That was it! Hadn't the last three months proved that she thought, pushing back her wet hair and swatting the tears that had mixed with the rainwater in her eyes.
"Lyla!" she heard a voice call from behind her. "Wait... Please!" Sam's calls simply pushed her into a light jog. She couldn't face him. Not now, not like this. She was meant to have a normal life, her mind screamed. He wasn't supposed to be real! Sam was supposed to be the one ordinary thing in her life. Just a common female fantasy to break the monotony of her small town life.
"Lyla!" She heard him call again, from a closer distance than last time. Breaking into a full fledged sprint, Lyla pushed her body down the highway, frantically trying to put as much space between them.
"Leave me alone!" she yelled as much to Sam, as to the heavens. "I'm normal! I am a normal person!" Choking on her own sobs, she ran with everything she had. Despite being a track star in high school, the fact that Sam's legs were twice the length of her own began to take its toll and she could hear his breathing becoming louder and louder as he caught up to her. Lyla was just considering pivoting into the trees on the side of the road when she felt a great weight push her from behind. Despite Sam's obvious attempts to cushion her fall with his own body, the breath was still knocked out of her with an 'oomph' as they skidded onto the slicked road.
"Get off me!" Lyla screeched, pushing and clawing at his torso. It was useless however as it took Sam minimal strength to pin down her arms on either side of her head.
"Stop!" He yelled, trying to hold her down in the least intimidating manner he could. "I'm not going to hurt you"
"No!" Lyla yelled frantically struggling against his grip. "I won't let you do this! I won't be this person!"
"What are you talking about?" Sam bellowed over the pouring rain, still restraining her.
"I can't do this again!" Lyla said, her voice breaking. "I've lost too many already. I won't try just to watch them die!" Her breathing hitched as her fight weakened. "I'm nobody! I'm not part of anything"
Sam looked down at her, his hold softening as she collapsed into sobs. Picking her up and bringing her to his chest, he did the only thing he could. He held her. He held Lyla tightly to his own body, cushioning her against his neck and resting his chin on the top of her head as she cried.
Lyla wasn't sure how long they sat in the rain together off highway 63. It could have been minutes or it could have been hours. But sometime later, her crying stopped and she realized how cold she was. Perhaps Sam noticed too, as he gently released her and suggested they get a hot cup of coffee. Nodding mutely, Lyla followed him a little down the road to a quiet roadhouse where they were ushered into a tattered old booth and served two cups of quite possibly the worst coffee ever brewed. They sat in silence for a while. Lyla fiddled with her napkin as she felt the strength of Sam's stare from across the side of the table. She was so embarrassed. The kind of a crazy mental breakdown he had witnessed was the kind you revealed ten years into marriage, not 24 hours after meeting someone. How did someone attempt to come back and appear normal after that?
"I'm sorry" Sam heard her whisper, meeting his eyes for a second before glancing back down at the table. She clutched her napkin tightly in her hand as if for strength and met his eyes once again. "How often do you get visions?" she asked him quietly.
"I don't know…" Sam said, perplexed by the question. "I guess every couple of months or so… Why?"
"It's… different for me" Lyla said carefully "it's… worse than that." Clearing her throat she looked up at him. "Until three months ago, I had visions every night. I couldn't close my eyes without seeing blood… and death. When I realized what was happening… when I saw their faces on the news or in a newspaper, I did everything I could to warn them. I tracked them all down and tried to explain… or just… help" she said in despair, looking down at the table once again.
"How many?" Sam asked quietly, his knuckles whitening as he clutched the table between them.
"Dozens. I did save some of them," Lyla added, as much for her own benefit as Sam's, "but mostly, they just… died. I couldn't do anything"
"That must have been…" Sam didn't quite know what word to use. He shook his head and waited for her to continue.
"I couldn't do it anymore" Lyla said "So I didn't. I just stopped doing anything about the dreams. I took all this herbs and tonics my neighbor gave me and I just… stopped. The longer it went on the more I could sleep through a whole night without seeing them. I just gave up." Looking up at Sam through tear filled eyes she whispered "I let them die"
"No." Sam said reaching across the table and taking her hand in his own. "Don't do that. Don't blame yourself."
"Who else is there to blame" Lyla asked, taking her hand from his and placing it in her lap. Taking a deep breath, her expression became resolute"
"What exactly is the plan from here?"
Sam paused for a moment, studying the girl he had dreamed about for the last two years.
"Dean and I hang around for the next couple of days and we wait."
"Wait for what?" Lyla questioned, her forehead creasing.
"We wait for this demon to make a move… and when he does, we kill it"
Lyla nodded, taking this in. "And until then?"
"Until then, you don't leave our sight" Sam said determinedly.
Lyla frowned at this. "What do you mean?"
"He means…" Dean said sliding into the booth next to Lyla, "that until further notice, you will be under 24 hour Winchester security darling". Grinning, he reached for a menu and opened it expectantly.
"Do you think they have pie here?"
Lyla peered at him in mild disgust for a moment before realization hit her.
"Where's Bob?"
"Who?" Dean queried, looking up from his menu.
"My dog!" Lyla said, about to get up from her seat.
"Oh fleabag, he's fine" Dean said waving a hand for her to sit. "He's just outside"
Sam winced as Lyla got to her feet angrily, shoving past a baffled Dean.
"What?" Dean exclaimed, lifting his hands in protest as Sam fixed him with a glare. "Dog's love water!"
"We're going." Sam said snatching the menu out of Dean's hand and throwing a few bills on the table. He saw through the window that Lyla was comforting a very wet and disgruntled looking Bob and quickly made his way outside.
"Sorry bout Dean" Sam said attempting a light tone "He's never been accused of being an animal lover" Shifting from foot to foot, he tried not to notice how her wet shirt clung to her body as she leant down to pat Bob.
"He's been through worse" Lyla said with a small smile as Dean joined them outside.
"Okay, well thanks for everything" Lyla said straightening up and looking between the Winchester brothers. "I have to go home and wash this crappy day off me. I'll see you sometime tomorrow."
"Actually, I thought we would come with you" Sam said stepping closer.
"What? Back to my house?" Lyla squeaked
"That's kinda how 24 hour Winchester security works" Dean explained with a smile. "How bout Sammy comes home with you and Bob tonight and I go back to the motel. We can meet up tomorrow at your diner"
"well… I mean…" Lyla stuttered
"Great" Dean confirmed with a grin, turning toward the impala. "Jump in"
Sam smiled shyly and went around to open the door for her. As Bob jumped in without abandon, Lyla was forced to do the same. Squeezing into the back seat, across the cool leather, a whole new type of panic set in. She was going to be alone with Sam in her house. All. Night. Clutching Bob's fur for support she spent the short trip deep in thought, planning her strategy. By the time they pulled up along side her cottage, she was ready. Waving absentmindedly to Dean as he drove off, Lyla briskly led Sam up the pathway into the house. Gesturing him inside, she turned on a few lights and grabbed a few towels from the cupboard.
"Here" she said, throwing him one of them. "You can take the first shower if you want. It's just through the kitchen"
"Are you sure?" Sam questioned, suddenly feeling the need to be overly formal. "I don't mind if you want to jump in first"
"No" Lyla said quickly, "I have to dry off Bob anyway"
"oh, okay" Sam said, nodding. "I'll try and be quick" Grabbing his things be walking towards the bathroom and throwing another glance back at Lyla, closed the bathroom door. Bob looked away from the bathroom to look up curiously at his master.
"It's going to be a long night" Lyla whispered, patting his head.
Next chapter coming soon!