flyingmole: haha, well I'm glad you liked it.
XKaterinaNightingaleX: Yup! It's nice to see people become so excited about this story :) And about the whole "relationship with Zach or Dave" thing, you're just going to have to wait and see!
Ooo a jellybean: I want to firstly address your question about time not having passed at all in the Savage brother's world, mainly because that's the easiest to answer. You'll see that that question is going to be answered while you read. In that last chapter I didn't really give them much dialogue at the end because I wanted a cliffhanger effect, but you'll see their reactions. Okay, so the whole thing about confusing time jumps (and this is kind of for everyone who's confused about this) they're kind of meant to be confusing. I know I'm leaving so many unanswered questions, but especially with her travelling between universes, it will take a loonnggg time for that to be fully explained. As for the "familiar voice"... just another thing you have to wait to find out (spoiler: you wont have to wait long). Also, about the 10 seconds in that world: She was actually meant to go back at that point and stay there, but she was unexpectedly killed off. (that's something that isn't really fully explained within the story, but it's meant to be implied.) HOPE THAT CLEARS THINGS UP!
Amy90: You're meant to feel just as confused as Elyse. :) I'm glad you used the word "disturbing" because that's pretty much the vibe I was trying to put out. Just as much as anyone else would freak out about losing so much time in their life, and not knowing when or how, Elyse is full-on panicking, but she's trying to simultaneously act like she's aware of her new relationships, and surroundings, like she's been there the whole time. Keep in mind the whole: The universe from which she originally came from changes every time she goes to the supernatural universe. If you read it over, its neither Zach or Dave who slit her throat. It was some mysterious person, who she thinks she knows but can't quite put her finger on it. I'm glad you're so into it!
TimbreWuulf: Oh, there's definitely more.
Bobby: I'M SORRY NEW READER! Here they are!
Emy: Your review of appreciation was very much appreciated! Thank you for getting into this story! I'm always happy to see new readers because there's more perspective to see everything at. And you make perfect sense, btw. I was really trying to make that a successful transition between thinking everything is a dream and then accepting it as a reality. Thanks for your review and be sure to stop by again(:
Emily: It's really interesting to see someone relate this to a song that I wouldn't have related it to. I definitely think of a million songs that mirror my story, as I'm writing it but so far, nothing by Evanescence. That song does have an interesting connection to this story. I'm glad you're so attached (even if it's in an unhealthy way... sorry)! If you got a tattoo of a brand I would literally die of happiness. (no pressure though). Thanks for starting this story and hope to see you around more!
Okay guys, WOW. There were a whole bunch of reviews I was so not prepared for (THANK YOU BY THE WAY YOU GUYS ARE SO AWESOME) and as a very poor excuse, I've recently got a job that takes pretty much a huge chunk of my day (as long as I'm getting paid though right?). The updates in that case, might start slowing down (unfortunately) but this chapter in particular is VERY LONG. (I dunno, but I think it's my longest chapter after 15). So, keep it coming with the reviews, and I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thanks!
20
"Is that you, Cru Ella?" Dave asked. "I can hardly see you. You should have turned on the lamp right here."
By now Zach too had gotten out of bed.
"Where have you been?" He asked approaching me. "Me and Dave have been looking everywhere for you." He told me. "After a couple of weeks we figured you wanted to go back home or something."
"How long have I been gone?" I asked.
Zach shrugged.
"About a month and a half or something."
I sank down to the bed and buried my face in my palms.
"Why?" He wanted to know taking a seat next to me. "Is everything okay?"
"I've been gone for a lot longer than that." I told him.
Dave came around the bed and took a seat on Zach's so that he could face us.
"Like how long?" He questioned. "Hang on," He said leaning in. "Let me just see you a little better."
He switched on the light and the moment he did both brothers stood up, just staring at me.
"Like four years long," I told them.
"Holy shit!" Dave yelled.
"Dave!" Zach admonished.
"Seriously Cru, you grew up!" He turned to Zach. "She grew up!"
"Well yea!" I cried standing up. "That's what tends to happen in four years Dave!"
"No I know," He said examining me. "But I mean like… nicely."
I made a face.
"Ew," He muttered to himself. "That's…weird."
"So four years…" Zach said. "You're my age."
"I'm a little younger." I said. "I turned 22 a little less than six months ago."
"So I'm almost a year older." He said.
I nodded.
"What happened within those four years?" Dave asked.
I shrugged.
"I don't remember everything," I replied. "Just bits and pieces."
"Do you remember your actual name?" Zach wanted to know.
"This stuff doesn't matter." I told him. "What matters is that I'm here now so I can help you guys."
"We don't have to worry about that right now, Cru." Dave said. "Take a breather for a second you just got here after four years for crying out loud. What's the rush?"
"Look, I just want to get as much as possible done before we run out of time." I explained.
Dave made a face.
"Run out of time before what?" He wanted to know.
"Before I leave again!" I cried. "I know it's only been a month or so for you, but it's been four years for me. Four whole years is a long time. Half of that time I thought I was going crazy, so I would rather not have to go through that again."
"Calm down, Ella." Zach told me. "You're not going back anytime soon."
I felt like telling him that he had no way of knowing that and that there was an undeterminable chance that I could leave at any moment. Instead, I just stood there before asking about what they had been encountering during my absence.
"Well," Zach started. "We met this guy who's just like me. He got his ability at 22, and his adoptive mom died in his nursery when he was six months old. His name is Andy. He has a special ability that's a little different from mine though."
"I think I remember him." I said rather surprised of myself.
It had been a significant amount of time since I had seen any of these episodes. For me to remember something from so long ago was shocking.
"You do?" Dave asked.
"Yea," I replied with a nod. "He could make people do anything he asked them to right?"
"That's an understatement." Dave said. "The guy made me give him my freaking Impala."
"Unfortunately," Zach butt in. "He had a twin brother who went to a different adoptive family and he could do the same. The difference was he was killing people who he believed were responsible for his separation from Andy."
"We took care of him, but we still have a problem." Dave continued. "Andy's brother's story breaks pattern. He has abilities but there was no fire when he was six months old."
"That means we have no way of knowing how many more are out there." Zach finished.
"We also let Ellen in on this." Dave told me. "She knows about Zach and this Azazel business."
"Does anyone else?" I wanted to know.
"Other than Bobby, I don't think so." He replied.
"Aside from what we just told you, we went on a couple other hunts. Jo helped us out with one, and just a week ago we spent more than enough time in jail because of this omen spirit." Zach said. "Right now we're working on this weird string of deaths."
"All of them were extremely successful, and all of them claimed there were black dogs after them, according to their friends and families." Dave added.
"Hell hounds." I said, again startled at the fact that I still had memory of these episodes.
"Right," Zach said with a pleased smiled. "The trouble is that we can't figure out who's next. We talked to the last person who made a deal with a crossroads demon, and he said that after he summoned it, it hung around the bar for a few more days, making deals with other people."
"You wouldn't happen to remember who they were do you?" Dave asked hopefully.
I shook my head.
"All I know is that you save one man out of the few that made the deals." I told them.
"Okay, that's a start," Zach said. "Do you know anything else about him? Maybe what deal he made with the demon?"
I thought for a while, hoping to come up with these memories just as easily further down the road.
"Cancer." I said. "His wife had cancer, so he made a deal to have her cured."
"Damn," Dave muttered.
"This is good," Zach said making his way to his laptop. "I can track him down with that information. Tomorrow we'll go to his house or office, and try our best to help him."
"If the hounds haven't already got to him." Dave mused.
"Well, we can't go now." Zach argued while typing away on his computer. "It's three in the morning."
"Sorry for waking you guys up." I muttered.
"Don't worry about it." Zach assured me.
"We're just glad your back." Dave added with a faint smile.
I smiled back at him, sincerely happy that this wasn't some actor, but actually Dave. Normal Dave who I didn't have to feel uncomfortable around for almost kissing me.
"Here!" Zach said interrupting my thoughts. "Local woman completely cured of cancer. Her husbands name is Evan Hudson." He pushed the laptop to face us. "And this article is almost ten years old to the day."
"It fits the pattern." Dave observed. "Ten years to each deal right?"
"Right." Zach replied.
"Hopefully he's not dead by tomorrow." I said. "Why don't you guys go back to sleep, and I'll find out where he lives and works."
"It shouldn't take long." Zach said. "We could do it."
"I already feel bad for waking you up." I said. "You guys don't even sleep that much to begin with. Seriously," I insisted. "I'm not even tired, and at least this way I'll feel a little useful."
They were convinced and turned off the lights to head back to sleep while I found everything I could on Evan Hudson, hoping to God that he wasn't going to die the next day.
Luckily he didn't, and after receiving some of the clothes that Zach kept in case I were to return, the three of us went to his house around the time he would have come home from work. His wife answered the door insisting this wasn't a good time for her husband, which gave the brothers the idea that the hounds were already after him.
"Seriously," Mrs. Hudson said. "He's not well." She flinched at the sound of breaking glass, and her husbands scream.
"Ma'am," Zach said before she could close the door. "It's really important that we see your husband."
"Can't you listen?" She cried. "This is just not the time!"
"We're only here to help." Zach insisted.
She wouldn't listen.
Just as she was closing the door, I used all my energy to push it open causing her to stagger back a little.
"What the hell!" She cried.
"Sorry," I muttered running to the room where Evan locked himself in. "Evan!" I cried pounding on the door.
"Who's there?" His voice asked.
"I'm here to help you." I told him.
"Go away."
"We know about the deal you made!" Dave called. "And to be honest, you should've thought this one through, man. I'm wondering how you thought your wife was going to take the news once she found out what you did for her."
The door swung open, and a disheveled man allowed us in closing the door behind him.
"What are you going to do to get the dogs off of me?" He asked cutting right to the chase.
"We're trying to figure something out." Zach said as he created a ring surrounding us of hoodoo herbs the previous dealmaker gave him.
"I think I already did figure something out." Dave said.
He had a plan. He told Zach and me to stay with Evan, while he made a deal with the demon to let the hounds off of him, while tricking her into a devils trap.
"Dave, have you lost your mind?" Zach wondered. "How exactly do you think this is going to work?"
"I don't know!" Dave cried. "But we've got to try something right?"
"This isn't a plan!" Zach argued. "It's a suicide mission! Don't be like Dad!"
The howling of the hellhounds sent shivers down my spine, as Evan cowered back into a corner.
"Don't get out of that hoodoo line!" Zach warned, causing Evan to retreat from where he took refuge.
Zach turned back to the two of us.
"Go with him, Ella." He told me.
"I ain't gonna risk her life like that," Dave said.
"I'll go," I interrupted.
"Cru-"
"I'm not a kid anymore, Dave." I explained. "I can take care of myself."
"Hurry." Zach insisted.
We left and ran to the Impala, speeding out towards the bar before anything dangerous could happen to Evan.
"You're right," Dave said on the way there. "You aren't a kid anymore."
He sounded sad, and I couldn't help but feel the same way.
"You're… different." He told me.
"I thought we already-"
"Not like that." He said. "You've just got this… I dunno how to describe it to be honest. All I know is you're a different Cru."
"Sorry to disappoint you." I said scornfully.
"I never said it was a bad thing. I mean for one, you don't talk half as much." Dave told me. "You've just got this… darkness about you that you didn't have before. I'm just wondering what brought it on."
"Four years of complete solitude." I said wanting to sound as melodramatic as possible.
I felt bad though. To him I was a talkative kid one minute, and the next, some girl who was already proving to be a little more violent than he remembered.
Dave only chuckled in response.
"You know, I'm not the only one who's changed since we last met." I pointed out.
"It's been rough without Dad." Dave explained.
"That's not why you're upset." I said.
"How do you know?" Dave wanted to know.
"Because if that was the reason, you wouldn't have told me." I explained.
Dave sighed and gripped his wheel.
"Alright, so maybe it's a little more than that." He said.
"Like what?" I asked.
"I take back that thing I said about you not being as talkative." He told me.
"Like what?" I insisted.
"I dunno." He shrugged. "Sam and I have our theories about my dad's death, that's all."
"What kind of theories?" I wondered.
"The kind having to do with Yellow-Eyes, and that's enough out of me you're getting."
"You sure as hell still treat me like a kid." I muttered folding my arms.
Dave looked at me, examining me entirely as though he was trying to take in the fact that I was actually no longer an 18-year-old girl.
"I don't mean to," He told me. "It's just a tough transition."
We sort of sat there in silence for a bit until Dave decided to speak up.
"Alright," He said. "If you're all grown up, do you remember anything about my dad and Azazel that I should know about? No holding out on me."
"Unfortunately, no." I replied sorry to disappoint him. "But I'm sure we'll find out soon enough."
"I'm not gonna lie, Cru," Dave told me. "But your memory is really inconvenient sometimes."
"And by 'inconvenient' you actually mean 'useless'." I mused.
He just sighed and turned down the road leading to the bar. He parked along the crossroad and pulled out the box and everything he needed to put inside it in order to summon the demon, handing me John's journal.
"I already have a devils trap on the car." He explained, showing me the symbols drawn in white. "But this is just a decoy so we're going to need another one. Any suggestions?"
"Under the water tower." I said pointing to the tall structure. "That's how I remember you did it at least."
"Man, I came up with great ideas." Dave said with a grin.
I only rolled my eyes as we made our way to the water tower where Dave began painting the symbols. To be honest, I had a terrible feeling about this. I knew that Dave was successful but only in a partial sense of the word. I was positive he saved Evan, but knew he was headed for something dangerous.
Dave dug right in the center of the crossroad and placed his box inside, burying it up again.
"Here goes nothing." He said leaning against his car.
"Who's your lady-friend?" A voice asked from behind.
An attractive dark haired woman stood their looking rather amused in her black pencil dress.
"I never thought I'd see the day…" she said taking a few steps closer to us.
She examined me briefly but then turned her focus back on Dave. He was obviously the better sight to see.
"You know, they said you were handsome," She smiled. "But you are just delicious."
What a creep.
"Why don't you get in?' Dave suggested, opening the door. "We could talk."
"And get myself caught in a devil's trap so you could exorcise me?" She asked sounding rather harsh. "Seriously, what do you take me for?"
Dave managed to look displeased and slammed the door behind himself.
"Besides," She said turning the other way. "Talking's not really what I had in mind."
Oh, dear. Luckily, I did catch Dave rolling his eyes at her comment as well.
"Now start explaining to me why I found a Savage like you, standing at my crossroad." She said pursing her lips.
Dave crossed his arms and took a few steps towards her.
"I'm here to make a deal." He said.
She raised her eyebrows.
"A deal?"
"Yea, a deal." Dave replied sounding annoyed. "That's usually why you're summoned isn't it?"
"Dave Savage making a deal with a demon and I'm the one he's chosen." She said moving closer to him. "Lucky me."
"Can we get on with it already?" He asked.
He practically read my mind.
"It's what I do." She said. "What did you have in mind?"
"I want you to leave Evan alone." He demanded.
"Sorry, no can do." She said walking away. "You should know better than that, Savage."
He followed after using his hand to signal for me to stay behind. That bad feeling was creeping up again.
"I'll make it worth your while," Dave said moving right in front of her.
"What are you offering that's so worth my while?" She wanted to know.
"Me." Dave said.
This was definitely not how things were supposed to be going. The demon just laughed and walked around him.
"I never took you for a comedian." She said walking closer to the center of the crossroads. She seemed ready to disappear.
"You have to admit," Dave argued. "It's the best offer you've had in years."
"You really want to sacrifice your life to save another?" She asked turning back to face him.
He took slow steps towards her.
"If that's what it takes."
At first I was growing worried at the fact that, a) Dave had lost all sense of personal space when it came to hot demon chicks, and b) Him and this hot demon chick were moving farther and farther away from me making it difficult to hear what was going on, considering Dave had instructed me to stay behind. Then I noticed what he was doing.
He was leading her to the water tower, very subtly, as a matter of fact. My anxiety disappeared. Still, I took an unnoticeable step or two closer to hear what was going on.
"Well," The demon sounded pleased. "All I can say to that is, like father like son."
Crap, crap, crap!
Immediately Dave's face dropped.
"What?" He asked his voice no longer sounding so defiant.
"Oh don't act like you didn't already know." She said walking past him. "His life for yours…Oh and he gave away that colt too. I didn't make the deal myself, mind you, but…I sure wish I had."
Dave impulsively turned around and grabbed the demon by the arm spinning her around and twisting it behind her. She cried out in pain.
"Tell me what you know!" Dave demanded.
This was turning out uglier than I remembered. Things were never this violent, and Dave had seemed more miserable than angry.
"Now, Dave," The demon started trying to sound as calm as possible. "If you wanted to get a little rougher all you had to do was ask."
Did this woman have to sexualize everything?
"Quit it with your stupid games." Dave growled. "Tell me what you know!"
She wrenched her arm out of his grip.
"What else can I tell you that you don't already know, Dave?" She cried walking away from him. "Don't start telling me that you haven't been waking up in the middle of the night for the past two months, dying to get the idea that your father sacrificed his life, sold his soul, to keep you alive and well out of your head."
Dave followed her as she backed away from him. I ignored his instructions and moved in as close as I could without becoming a distraction.
"And here I was," She said. "About to make a deal with you to bring him back. And you had to blow it by twisting my arm!"
She looked as though she was about to walk under the water tower and Dave rushed over to do so himself, but she just stood leaning against it.
"What do you mean bring him back?" He asked.
Uh-oh.
"I mean what you think I do." She said. "Having him breathing again so that all the Savage boys can be together again."
No way was he going to go through with this right?
"And what about me?" He asked.
"Ten years." She told him straight. "Look, he's supposed to be alive and you're supposed to be dead. We're just putting things back the way they're meant to be, and you get an additional ten years as a bonus."
They just stared at each other for a moment. He wasn't going to make the deal was he? He couldn't, this wasn't how the story went!
"Your loss though," the demon said turning away.
"Wait," Dave said taking her hand.
She smiled and turned to face him.
"You're not really here for Evan are you, Dave?" She asked.
He took a few steps back and turned the other way. She followed him under the water tower. Now, everything depended on whether or not Dave was going to make the dumbest decision of… ever.
"Do you think…" He took a deep breath and walked out from under the tower. "Do you think you could do as I asked and get the hounds off Evan now?"
Oh, thank God.
The demon looked up and struggled to get out of the trap.
"Dave!" She fumed.
"I would say that I'm sorry," Dave said. "But… well, I'm not." He turned to me. "Come on Cru!" He called. "We've got some deal making to do."
I ran towards him and stopped a few feet behind.
"What do you want?" The demon asked in frustration.
"I already told you, Evan-"
"I can't!"
"Let Evan go, and I'll let you out."
"I can't break a binding contract!" She yelled. "How else do you want me to explain it to you?"
"Well when you say 'can't' do you really mean it?" He wondered.
"Please," She begged. "Please just let me out."
I almost started feeling bad for her.
"The happy couple gets to live until they're all wrinkly and gross." Dave said. "That's how it goes are you're going straight back to hell."
"Can we please just talk about this?" She asked.
"Cru?" Dave asked turning to me. "Can you hand me Dad's journal?"
I passed it over to him as he flipped through the pages until he found the right one. He looked up at the demon before reading the chants for the exorcism. She began shaking like how I remembered Meg did when she was being exorcised.
"Wait!" She cried.
Dave stopped and closed the book making sure to save the page.
"You were saying?" Dave asked.
"Get over here." She muttered.
"What? Why?"
"Just get over here!" She demanded.
Dave walked under the tower and stood in front of the demon she leaned in closer to him.
"Alright I except your offer." She said before leaning in even more.
"Whoa what are you doing?" Dave said moving away.
"Sealing the deal." She told him.
"Through a kiss?"
"That's how it works."
"Alright, but I like to be warned before I'm violated with your demon rabies." He said.
She just rolled her eyes, and grabbed his face, as they started kissing. They pulled away briefly until she started kissing him again.
"Is this really necessary?" I asked, speaking for the first time since her arrival.
She pulled away.
"One for the road." She explained with a grin.
Dave on the other hand looked as though he wanted to puke and practically tried rubbing his lips off of his face.
"I'm scarred for life." He muttered.
"Very funny," She said. "Now get me out. Evan and his wife are secured; you can count on my word. It's my bond when I make a deal."
Dave walked out and began reading again.
"I can't believe you're double crossing me." She said.
"This is actually for that extra kiss you decided to throw in there." He said before continuing on.
"You know you would have never made that deal if you knew about what your dad is actually going through." She hissed trying to get him to break. "They only talk about hell, but they don't know the slightest thing about it, and now that you're sending me back there the number one thing you can count on is me getting out sooner or later, and skinning Evan and his wife alive is going to be the very first thing I do."
Dave stopped and shut the book, handing it to me. He climbed up and began scraping away at the trap.
"No need to be so melodramatic, demon-lady." He said climbing back down. "Now get out the hell out of here before I change my mind."
Instead, the woman walked out from underneath, and the demon released itself from her body. The young woman fell to the ground and when she came to, she looked rather confused.
"Where am I?" She asked.
Dave helped her up and before she could thank him, she ran away.
"You're welcome!" He called out after her.
We walked back to the car together and got in to return to Evan's house in hopes of finding both him and Sam alive.
"I'm going to douse my mouth with holy water," Dave told me as we got into the car. "What do you think?"
"I think that if any of her 'rabies' have been left behind, you might end up burning your own mouth off." I joked.
"You're probably right," He said playing along. "I'll guess regular water will have to do for now."
"I guess so."
We rushed inside his house once we made it and to our relief Mrs. Hudson opened the door and hugged the life out of Dave.
"I don't know what you did," She said. "But whatever it was, thank you."
Evan walked out looking exhausted after that great ordeal, and Zach, looking rather tired himself, followed after.
"How'd it go?" Evan asked.
"You're alive aren't you?" Dave pointed out.
"Yea," Evan replied. "All thanks to you."
"And don't you forget it. Come on Zachie," Dave said turning to his brother. "Let's get out of here."
Zach nodded and with Dave's help, carried out the bags with the weapons and supplies into the impala.
As we were driving back to the motel Zach asked about the exorcism.
"Anything important happen that I should be aware of?" He asked as if he knew the demon mentioned something even though he obviously didn't.
Dave shifted uneasily in his chair.
"Nope." He said rather confidently.
"He's lying." I told Zach. I was tired of Dave's incessant need to keep vital information from his brother.
Dave glared back at me and Zach folded his arms.
"Well?" He waited.
"Look, she might have said some things about dad, but-"
"About Dad?" Zach questioned.
"That's what I said isn't it?" Dave scolded. "Anyway, demons lie, Zach. They say things they know will get us angry, even if they aren't true. They play off of our insecurities."
"What did the demon say about Dad?" Zach wanted to know.
"It's not important-"
"What did the demon say, Dave?"
Dave took a deep breath and would not take his eyes off the road.
"It's all true," He started. "Everything we thought had happened to him, actually did. All of our worst theories have pretty much been confirmed. Dad even traded the colt."
"What happened to 'demon's lie'?"
"She wasn't lying this time." Dave said. He paused for a moment and then said under his breath, "I just know it."
Zach only leaned back in his seat, beginning to massage his temples.
"Alright, so what now?" He asked.
"Nothing." Dave said. "For now, we focus on just hunting, and when the time comes, we'll get that sick son of a bitch."
"We can't just wait around here," Zach complained.
"Yes, you can," I interrupted. "The same things that got in the way the last time you wanted to take Azazel down still apply now. You need a solid plan, and a weapon that could actually kill him, and since you guys have neither, the best thing you can do is to just keep on hunting."
"She's right," Dave started.
"I know." Zach replied needing no further persuasion.
Dave turned to me.
"Have you been catchin' up on your homework while you were gone, Cru?" He asked, somewhat impressed by my assessment of the situation.
I looked out the window trying to avoid any eye contact. I didn't want to talk about "while I was gone".
"Not really. I guess I just remember some stuff." I replied hoping that wouldn't lead to any further questions.
"Are you okay?" Zach asked.
I diverted my gaze from the image of speeding trees and houses to Zach, trying to smile as best I could.
"Just tired." I told him.
"Bull," Dave coughed. "Seriously, you have to fill us in on something. It's like you said; Four years is a long time."
"What do you want to know?" I asked in resignation. I guess it was only fair.
"Well for starters, is there a name of yours that we should know?" Zach asked.
"I don't remember what they call me in that universe, but so much has changed," I said. "All I know is that whatever they do call me by, isn't the name I had before the first time I came here."
"Either way," Dave said. "I'm always callin' you Cru."
Comforting.
"How about everything else?" Zach asked.
"Yea," Dave added. "Did your life get better or worse?"
"Better," I said with a smile.
"You could've fooled me." Zach said.
"Look, I just had it rough for a while." I explained. "I mean, the only reason everything was so hard to deal with was because I wasn't sure if I was crazy or not, or worse—if I was ever going to see you guys again. So yea, maybe I closed myself off from people for a little bit, but now that I'm back things will be different."
Zach and Dave exchanged looks.
"If you say so." Dave told me.
"That's got to be tough." Zach quietly added.
"I just can't believe that you didn't stop by once before last night." Dave said.
Then I remembered.
"Wait," I said. "I did come once before."
"When?" Zach asked. "How come we didn't see you?"
"You guys were asleep in a motel room." I explained. "And the moment I got there, someone killed me."
"Wait, what?" Dave cried. "Hang on. Do you know if it was human?" Dave asked.
I nodded in response, causing him to slam his hand on the steering wheel in frustration.
"Dammit Rufus!" He cried.
"Rufus?" I questioned.
"Yea," Zach answered. "He's a friend of ours."
"I know who he is." I said, surprising them somewhat. "What I don't know is why he killed me."
"Well he was on a hunt with us," Zach continued, "and he insisted that we weren't safe, so we had to do a night shift type of thing."
"And here I was, thanking him for killing some demon-chick and it turns out to be you!" Dave yelled.
"It's no big deal," I tried. "I'm alive now, aren't I?"
There was a long silence, and I leaned back in the seat, resting my heavy head back, and closed my eyes.
"How'd he kill you?" Dave asked.
Still keeping my eyes closed, I answered, "Slit my throat."
"Son of a-" I heard Dave mutter.
Not long after, we pulled into the motel parking lot and lazily carried the bags of equipment to the room. Upon, setting down a bag, I examined the room to find no place for me to sleep. Zach caught on as well.
"Oh," He said looking around. He scratched his head and then turned to me. "You know you're more than welcome to take my bed, Ella."
"It's fine," I replied. "I'll just grab a few extra linens and maybe make myself a bed on the floor."
"Don't do that," Dave said. "People do weird things on motel floors."
I raised my eyebrows.
"People do even weirder things on motel beds, Dave." I added.
"They're still probably much cleaner than the floor."
"Look, I might not even end up falling asleep." I insisted.
"Cru, you can't go two whole nights without any sleep!" Dave argued.
"Seriously," Zach said. "Just take my bed."
"Yea, just take his bed." Dave insisted.
Zach made a face at his brother who only smiled in response.
"You guys are probably much more tired than I am." I said. "I'll go change in the bathroom, and make myself a bed, and if I end up not liking it, I'll let you know."
"If you say so." Zach said with a sigh of resignation. "You just have to promise to let us know."
I made sure to take as long as possible in the bathroom, counting on their fatigue to put them to sleep before we argued more about me sleeping on a proper bed. They knocked once while I was in there just to make sure I hadn't died or anything.
"I'm fine!" I called. "Just, you know… girl stuff."
Oh God. They probably thought I was on my period now or something. At least it got them to stop.
When I got out, my prayers had been answered. Both brothers were sound asleep and I tiptoed to the foot of their beds, which had the largest open space on the floor, and began setting down the extra sheets and cushions I took from the closet.
It was a little colder than I would have liked, but I was sure I could manage. There were a few moments where I thought I could really fall asleep but I only shifted positions hoping I would eventually be able to. After a while, I simply took a deep breath, telling myself that if I made another move, either Zach or Dave would surely catch on, and I didn't want to wake or bother them.
I curled up in a ball and closed my eyes, almost meditating to the sound of the brothers' heavy breathing until only Zach's became distinct to me. I turned over to see Dave get out of his bed and walk over to me.
"You lied," He whispered, crouching down to my level. "You told my brother you would let him know if you couldn't go to sleep, and here you are."
I sat up, using my elbows for support and looked at Dave. Even the slightest streak of light managed to reflect off his face, making his green eyes look even paler as they contrasted against his dark curly lashes.
"It takes me longer than most people." I replied, also whispering. I didn't want Zach to come along as well.
Dave took a deep breath and sat cross-legged, and I did the same to be at his eye level.
"I didn't know how you disappeared that night, Cru," Dave told me somewhat sadly. "All I knew was the moment that you were gone, every single spot on me where you were touching went ice cold." He paused and then let out a small chuckle amused by the irony of what he was about to say. "And I never hated a feeling more in my life."
It was strange. This small streak of light that did manage to come in through the window amidst the almost empty darkness of the room, made it easier to examine Dave's face than any day in the sunlight could.
All of as sudden, I was catching the crinkles in his eyes with any slight expression he made, and even when he would simply blink. His eyebrows seemed to do a lot more moving around than I ever cared to remember. His pinkish lips twitched when he wanted to say something but wouldn't.
The funny thing was it was different from the actor that I had known back home. Dave's eyes had seen too many sad endings compared to his alternate that I had become familiar with. I suppose it slightly mirrored what he had said earlier about how there was this darkness that he could see in me that wasn't there before. Similarly, there was a darkness about him that wasn't found in the other version.
"It's been tough to get a good night's sleep since then." He continued. "I must sound crazy to you. I guess I just got so used to having you sleep next to me."
"But why?" I wondered. "I only slept next to you maybe… twice."
"I know," He said looking down at his palms and smiling. "But I guess you don't really miss things until they're gone for good, and that's what it felt like that night. I knew that you didn't just get up to go to the bathroom or something. I knew you were gone back to where you came from. It was like you were there one second, and the next…poof… like Houdini."
"You should have said something before." I told him.
"In front of Zach? Are you kidding me? He would've had a field day. He'd make me start talking about my…feelings." Dave complained.
"That's true." I laughed.
Dave stood up and extended his hand to me.
"Come on, kid." He said making me smile.
Never did I think the word "kid" would make me feel so happy.
"Let's get some sleep."
I took his hand and followed him to his bed, feeling so safe and at home with his arms around me. I wondered for a moment if this was the spot, the exact place that I was supposed to be, and after deciding that it obviously was, for the first time in a long time, sleep came easy to me.
When I woke up though, I was standing by the Impala in my bedclothes, and my left shoulder blade was burning.