For the next few days Sam got me to open up a little bit to him; he would talk to me and I would mumble and stumble my way through my replies until I could talk to him fairly fluently. Whenever I stumbled across Dean, however, my throat would squeeze itself shut and breathing was a fantasy. Something about him made me uneasy—for the lack of a better word.
My alarm blared in my ear, waking me from a disturbing dream already fading. Distant voices drew me to the main living area of the bunker, but the brothers weren't there. My ears strained to hear them, and when I realized it wasn't Dean or Sam talking a knot of dread cut off my stomach from my throat.
I had no inkling of how much time passed as I stood there, head cocked to one side, eyes seeing nothing, muscles slowly relaxing as my ears reached.
It must have been for a while, because when a strong, clear voice suddenly cleared his throat and asked me what I was doing I jumped from my skin, my pulse lurching wildly.
Opening my eyes I found Dean, duffel in hand, rumpled and eyeing me cautiously. He stood at the bottom of the stairs; water weighing down his clothes and slowly dripping from his hair. "Well?" He asked. I felt my throat close up and I shook my head, tucking my arms into my sides and dropping my gaze.
He dumped his bag next to the doorway as he stepped up to me, the thud loud in the silence. "Okay, what's your deal? You'll talk to Sam but not me?"
"I…I-I-I-I—"
"What? Huh? You what? Just spit it out."
I felt something hot boiling in the pit of my stomach, dissolving the knots of dread and nerves residing there. It took control of my hands, clenching them into fists by my sides, my jaw tightened and I began to feel the rage surface. Try as I might to push it down and keep in control, it was stronger. Whatever it was.
Dean's gaze was piercing and hard, challenging. Something in my mind found it to be threatening. I slowly uncurled my fingers, crouched, back arched and teeth bared. He frowned slightly and slipped a knife into his hands.
"Bring it on." I growled, my voice smooth and clear. The surprise in his eyes registered in my brain but I discarded it. His face was set, green gaze watching my every move, seeing every muscle tense and relax. He thought I was going to launch myself at him to take him down, but I stayed perfectly still, waiting for him to move first.