Broken || Dean Winchester

4. Bloody Mary.

*Cover gif from google.*

It had been 3 weeks since Riley had joined the Winchester brothers on the road. Since she had injured her shoulder in Blackwater Ridge, she'd stayed at the motel to recover, while Sam and Dean took care of whatever they were hunting. Finally, after weeks of being left behind, Riley was fit enough to  join them again. The three of them were sitting in a diner, eating breakfast, when Dean's phone buzzed on the table. He picked it up and opened up the message. 

"We got another gig." Dean said, swallowing his bite of bacon. 

"Where?" Sam asked. 

"Toledo." Dean answered, shoving his phone in his pocket. 

"Any idea what?" Riley asked, placing her drink back on the table. 

"Not yet." Dean shook his head. 

Things between Riley and Dean hadn't improved much, however Dean was now more open to sharing case information with her. He seemed to have come to terms with the fact that Riley would be with them for quite some time, and had accepted the fact that he couldn't keep her in the dark about these things anymore. At least that's what Riley figured. The three of them headed to the impala. Just as Riley was about to climb into the backseat, Sam stopped her. 

"You can ride up front today." Sam said, standing beside the back door. 

"Why?" Riley creased her brows together in confusion. She'd never sat up front. 

"Because it's a long drive and I didn't sleep well last night." Sam sighed. 

Riley wanted to ask more questions, but one look at Sam's exhausted face stopped her. Instead she nodded her head and climbed into the front seat beside Dean. Dean was already in the car and looked at her with a confused expression as she closed the door behind her. 

"Sam, you've shrunk." Dean smirked. 

"Dean, be nice." Sam rolled his eyes. He laid down across the backseat, tucking his jacket under his head as a pillow.

Dean started the engine and shook his head. "Can't take a joke." 

They pulled out of  the parking lot and sped off down the road. The journey was mostly silent since Sam was asleep on the backseat. Riley glanced out the window and wondered what kind of thing they'd be dealing with once they got to Toledo. She hated long, silent car journeys, but she also hated the thought of starting any kind of conversation with Dean. Luckily, she didn't have to. As they got closer to their destination, Dean turned on the radio in time for the news headlines to be announced. 

"Steven Shoemaker was found dead by daughter Donna last night. The cause of death is currently unknown, however local authorities revealed the shocking details of the state in which Shoemaker was discovered. Authorities say he was found in a pool of his own blood and his eyes appeared to have melted in their sockets." 

Riley looked over at Dean, who had a thoughtful look in his eyes, as though he was trying to work out what could have caused something like this. He turned the radio off and the car fell into silence again. 

"You think this is our case?" Riley asked. 

"Can't say for sure, but can't say I've seen many people get killed by someone melting their eyeballs." Dean sighed. 

Riley gagged a little and turned her head in the hopes Dean wouldn't see her reaction. The last thing she wanted to do was give him any more ammo against her. If he had seen her, he didn't say anything and Riley hoped that meant she'd turned away quick enough. They were both quiet once again and Riley even debated taking a nap herself, when Sam suddenly shot up, gasping for breath.
Riley and Dean jumped at the sudden action and Dean gripped the steering wheel tightly as the car swerved.