Thank you so much for taking the time to read the last chapter, and a special thank you to those of you who have reviewed! Your support means the world!:-)) Hope I'm not updating too soon but I couldn't wait!
Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Goodbye Is Never Forever
Chapter Five: Lies And Goodbyes
Lawrence, Kansas — Home — 08:35AM.
A week had passed by, and it had been as though Alison was avoiding her eldest brother like the plague. She had spent as little time around him possible, and it was starting to show. He was more than aware that their parents had noticed her sudden absence, and so had Sam. Whether they thought that she was avoiding all of them or specifically him, he wasn't sure, but they had seemed to realise that something was going on with her. Dean had tried to talk to her, on any chance he got, but she always seemed to find a way around it. She would pick up more and more shifts at work, and when she did eventually come home it was a case of her going for a shower and heading to bed, barely giving anyone any time to speak with her. It felt as though none of them had seen her the entire week. And even when she was around, she would ensure that she was always sitting in a room with someone else, just to be sure that Dean couldn't start up any kind of conversation like the one he had tried to initiate when he had showed up at her work. He was becoming beyond frustrated with her.
He glanced up from his coffee as she headed into the kitchen that morning, bag slung over her shoulder, and he noticed that she looked anywhere but him.
Mary looked up and offered her a bright smile. "Are you all set?" she asked, and Dean could see the pride in her face. He felt like laughing, because if only she knew where her daughter was really going. It could have been anywhere, and Alison seemed just content in letting her believe it was California. A part of him wanted to speak up right there, to call Sam down and out her in front of the whole family, but something wouldn't let him. He wouldn't do that to her, no matter how pissed he was.
"Yeah," She nodded and shifted her bag on her shoulder. "I'll see you in a couple of days."
"Good luck." Mary stood from the table and pulled her into a hug, kissing her cheek lightly. "Be careful, honey. Call us if you need anything, okay? I love you."
Alison smiled at her. "Love you, too, mom." she said, and, no matter how much she played it down and acted as though everything was fine, Dean could see the guilt in her face. Whatever was going on, it was clear that she hated lying to them. So, why was she? Unless she had no choice. "Bye, dad."
John nodded. "Bye, sweetheart. Have fun."
Somehow, she wasn't sure how, she chanced a look at her brother, and Dean narrowed his eyes at her, as if to say that she hadn't won this one. "Good luck, Ali." There was something behind his words, and it was like he was offering her some kind of a challenge. There was a smugness in his features that didn't fill her with confidence, it was like he knew something that she didn't, like he was planning something. "I'll see you soon, kid."
Alison studied him for a moment, a slight frown on her face, but nodded. "Yeah," she agreed. "See you soon."
Dean smirked as he watched her go, the door closed behind her and he knew he had her beaten this time. He reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out her cell phone. He placed it down on the table discreetly, so that neither of his parents noticed. "Oh, hey." he said, as though surprised. "She forgot her phone."
John looked up and chuckled. "Good thing you saw it," he commented. "She'd be lost without it."
He laughed. "Yeah, I bet. I'll go give it to her." he said. "I'm actually gonna head out myself, I'm gonna go meet a couple of the guys, haven't seen them since I came home, you know?"
Mary smiled. "Have fun, honey."
"Yeah," Dean smirked to himself. "I'm sure I will."
Alison tossed her bag into the trunk of the car and slammed it closed. She twirled the keys around her finger and smiled as she reached for the handle to the door, and, for a short moment, she was so sure that she had gotten away with it. After everything that had happened the past week, after the amount of suspicion from her brother, it had crossed her mind that she was going to be grounded by the time weekend came around, and yet, there she was.
But that was before she heard the front door of their house slam closed behind her. "Hey!" A deep voice called down the path, and she stopped, eyes closed, at the sound. Reluctantly, she turned to face Dean, and raised her eyebrows. She was all too prepared for him to start something, to finally get out what he had been trying to say to her all week, but she noticed, he didn't look annoyed. He looked completely calm. "You forgetting something?" he asked, holding up her cell phone in his hand.
Alison frowned, confused, automatically checking the back pocket of her jeans, because it wasn't like her to forget her phone. "Oh," She narrowed her eyes at him, but even he wouldn't go far enough to hide her phone, would he? She decided against the thoughts and gave a weak smile. "Right, thanks."
She reached out for it, but Dean held it up, slightly out of her reach. "Last chance, Ali," he pressed. "Where are you going?"
She sighed, shaking her head. "Can we not do this, please?"
"Alison—"
"Dean." she stopped him. "Why are you so obsessed with knowing where I'm going, huh? What's the big deal?"
Dean narrowed his eyes at her. "Why are you so desperate to keep it all a secret?" he countered. "What could you possibly have to hide? Alison, you gotta understand, from the minute you learned to talk, I've never been able to shut you up. You tell me everything, in graphic detail, most of which I really don't need to know. Now, I know you think you're an adult now, and that's fair, I don't need to know everything, but this? This is a whole new level for you, kid. The lying to mom and dad, lying to your friends—"
"What makes you think I'm lying to my friends?" she pushed, almost accusing. Had he been talking to someone? Had he asked her friends where she was going?
"Ali," Dean sighed. "That isn't the point. This isn't like you. Please, I'm asking you, just tell me where you're going."
Alison regarded him for a long moment, thinking over his words. She thought about how it must look to him, and that wasn't good. She knew that. He was clearly nothing but worried about her, and she knew that putting him in the position she had hadn't been fair. She didn't want to lie to him, or any of them, but she couldn't tell the truth. Either way, she lost. "Dean," She sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, alright? I'm sorry that I lied to you, and I know how this must look to you, because we both know I'm not going to college, right? But I can't make you understand this. And I don't have the time to stand here and explain it to you. I just...I need you to let me do this. I need you to trust that I know what I'm doing, and that I'll be back in a couple of days. I promise."
Dean stared at her, debating what she was saying. He wasn't sure if she was being genuine or if she was simply trying to get out of there. He couldn't imagine a situation that she couldn't make him understand. He didn't want to. "You don't have the time to explain it right now?" He nodded to himself. "Whatever it is, it's that important to you? Then, fine. Go. But I swear to god, Alison, this is anything but over. Do you hear me? And if I find out that you're doing something stupid, I really will spill it to mom and dad. That's a promise." With a reluctant sigh, anything but satisfied, he handed her back her phone. "Call me if you need anything. And stay out of trouble."
Alison nodded. "Thank you."
Before he could get another word out, and before he had the chance to change his mind, she turned back to the car. He stood and watched as she climbed inside and started the engine. She didn't look back at him as she pulled out and headed off down the road, he had a feeling that she didn't dare face him again.
Dean stood there and watched after her, thinking. He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a set of car keys, looking between them and the other car parked outside the house. He headed towards it and climbed in, sitting behind the wheel. He sat there for a long moment, his eyes staring out over the empty road ahead of him as he thought. Was he really going to do this? Was he really going to follow his own sister? Had his trust in her really faltered that much? Maybe Alison was telling him the truth, maybe she wasn't doing anything dangerous. Perhaps it was all as innocent as she made out and he was simply thinking too much into it. But, if that was the case, he couldn't understand what the big secret was. He couldn't understand why she felt she had to lie about it, especially to him.
Alison knew, had she told him, as long as her life wasn't in danger, as long as what she was planning wasn't anything crazy, Dean would have been more than happy to keep her secret. He wasn't one to run to their parents and tell over her, she knew that, better than anyone. So why wouldn't she just admit it? Unless, she really did have something to hide. He thought back to what her friend had told him that day outside the diner, about how she seemed to fall off the face of the earth when she made these trips. He thought about what she had said about her coming back with cuts and bruises, watching over her shoulder. He had seen it from the moment he had returned, something had been off about her from the start. His sister had never been a liar, she never had anything to hide. So, why now? What had changed?
With that thought in mind, the idea that she could be in some kind of danger, Dean knew what he had to do, and it all suddenly made a lot more sense to him. If Alison wasn't prepared to tell him what was going on in her life, he was going to find out for himself. He started the car and put it into gear.
"You should know better than to underestimate me, little sister." he muttered as he pulled out and headed down the road he had watched his sister go, determined to catch up to her.
There was something going on, something bad, and he was about to find out what.
I know you all want to know what she's hiding! Next chapter, EVERYTHING comes out;-)) Thank you all so much for reading! xo
