Wayward •𝚂𝚞𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚕•

twenty-one

It started to rain just as they arrived at the motel. If it'd come any sooner, Dean would have absolutely had to walk a mile down the road in the pouring rain just to retrieve them. The only thing Melody hated more than storms? Driving in storms.

The brunette busted out her sleeping medicine she'd started having to take regularly the past year. Slowly, but surely, she was able to take it only as needed for anxiety, and this storm was absolutely anxiety-inducing.

Once she was asleep next to him, Dean pulled her computer into his lap and started looking at more details of the case. He knew it had to be demon possession, but he had no clue what they'd want with a little boy.

His eyes flicked up to the window when the room was filled with brightness from the lightning. Just like before on his trip to town in Montana, he swore he could see Castiel standing outside, looking at him.

Slowly, not trying to wake Melody, he closed the laptop and climbed out of bed and made a beeline for the window to get a closer look. When he got there, the face was gone.

Melody reached over to Dean's spot in the bed, searching for something to cling onto after the last lightning strike. She looked up to find him staring outside. At first glance with unadjusted eyes, it was terrifying to see the silhouette outlined by the muted light outside. "Dean?" Her voice was still heavy with sleep, and slight fear laced her tone. "What's wrong?"

The Winchester immediately turned around to face her. "I don't know..." he admitted. "I just saw something. I-I swear it was Cas."

Melody sat up, and slowly crawled out of bed. "Castiel? Where?" She shuffled over beside him, glancing fearfully out the window, anticipating a roll of thunder to blow through at any minute.

"Right there." He gestured outside. "And yesterday, on the road. I feel like I'm seeing him." There was a surplus of emotion in Dean's voice.

It didn't seem out of the norm to Melody that he was seeing his best friend everywhere. She slid her hand under the back of his shirt, offering a soothing touch. "You know that's not possible, Sweetheart," she murmured. "You said it yourself. You made it out and he didn't, right?"

He didn't respond right away, and for a moment she didn't think he would. "I tried so damn hard to get us out of there." He turned to look at her, with a defeated look across his face. "I could've pulled him out. I just don't understand why he didn't try harder."

This was the first time he'd really opened up about what happened with Castiel in Purgatory. It must have been hitting him hard lately. "You did everything you could," she countered.

"Then why do I feel like crap?"

Melody's eyebrows knitted in a frown, causing a crease to form in her forehead. "Survivor's guilt," she guessed. "If you let it, this is gonna keep messing with you. You've got to walk past it." He seemed like he was a thousand miles away while she spoke. "Come back to bed, please?"

He stayed put for a moment longer, captivated in his own thoughts, before he agreed to join her again in bed. Even feeling her body curled up next to him didn't settle the discontentment that was settling in the pit of his stomach.

The next morning was no different, feeling like Castiel was there, watching over his shoulder constantly. Blair and Sam had, as usual, ran and grabbed breakfast for all of them, and they were regrouped in Dean and Melody's room.

Sam was drinking what little coffee he had left, reading through articles posted today that seemed relatively similar to the case they were working. Blair was working on sipping a smoothie, while Dean brushed his teeth in the bathroom where Melody was showering.