Lightning Crashes 𖤐 Sam Winchester

Chapter Five

IT WAS HARD.

Learning about her father and her several siblings, trying to learn how to act as human as possible and not like a clueless, former goddess.

It was even worse knowing that she was putting all of it on Sam. The man was juggling a life of his own on top of teaching her to be a normal human being. He was teaching her how to read, how to write, and how to cook.

Astra laid on the couch with Miracle laying across her torso. It was a boring, quiet day while Sam was away to get a few things. Rain poured outside and dribbled down the glass of the windows, allowing her to watch each raindrop.

"It must be nice to be a dog." She rubbed Miracle's ears. The dog just stared at her, enjoying the pleasureful ear rubs.

Astra reached for the TV remote and began flipping through channels. She landed on a show called The Tudors. The woman watched until it was gaining enough of her attention.

She listened to the sound of the door unlocking, and she sat up. Miracle jumped down from the couch as Sam entered the house, greeting his owner.

"Hey, buddy." He said, balancing the paper bags in his arms. He glanced over at Astra. "Hey."

"Hi, don't worry, I didn't set the house on fire." The woman teased. Sam chuckled as he walked towards the kitchen.

"So, I grabbed some stuff for you." He told her. She walked towards the island as he began pulling out different things. "I figured you'd want your own shampoo and stuff, I didn't think you'd want to smell like a guy anymore."

Astra took in the sight of the different toiletries as he pulled them out of the bag. Once the bag appeared almost empty, the man scratched at the thin layer of scruff that coated his face.

"Uh, did you read in on women's cycles yet?" Sam asked her.

"The menstrual cycle? When the woman's ovaries have a monthly change and causes ovulation —"

"Yeah, that." Sam cut her off as he tried to get the images out of his head. "Okay, well, I wasn't sure if you would be getting a cycle or not, so I bought you some stuff for that, too."

Sam placed two different boxes on the counter. Astra rose a brow as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"What's Tampax?"

The man chuckled. "I'm really not good with this, I should call Eileen or someone—"

"No, it's okay. I can just look it up." She said, walking towards his computer. She glanced back at the box and typed in the word "tampon", and her eyes widened.

Sam watched as she frantically moved and opened the box before prying the plastic off of the first tampon. Astra stared at the small object, including the string.

"T—That goes—"
"Yeah." Sam responded quickly.

Astra closed the laptop. "This human stuff just keeps getting better and better. Does this happen to men, too?"

"No, thankfully." Sam breathed out. "We got lucky on that one. No cycles."

Astra tossed the boxes into the bag. "Thank you, Sam. And I'm sorry you had to get those. . . Things. If only I had known."

"I don't care. If it helps you out, that's all that matters."

The man clapped his hands together. "Hey, how about we go on a walk? Miracle could use some time out of the house. Poor dog's been cooped up in here with all of this running around the past week."

She nodded. "Yeah, Miracle, you want to go on a walk?"

The dog jumped up to Astra's knees as his tail wagged excitedly. She laughed and watched as Sam grinned.

"All right, let me put this stuff away really quick and we can go. We won't be out for too long, there's a storm coming."

"A storm?"

"Yeah, it's coming from the south west. Probably in an hour and a half."

Astra tried to hide her worry. Why was she afraid at the thought of a storm? She was the former goddess of lightning, how could she possibly be afraid of any of it?

"Um. . . Is it going to be a big one?" She asked. Sam shrugged his shoulders.

"It had a bit of red in it, but I'm hoping it'll move by us without any damage." He said. "Otherwise, we've got plenty of candles and things if the power goes out."

Astra hugged herself. "Oh, cool."

He watched as she walked into his bedroom, raising a brow.

They headed out shortly after and made their way around the block, crossing the street to enter the park. The closer they arrived, Astra realized it was the same park where she had been found by Sam.

She kept her attention on the dog as the three walked. Families and adults passed as they walked, jogged or rode their bike, seeming to have a friendly face. Every face she saw was friendly. The only face that wasn't was the man from that night.

Sam looked over at the woman as they walked, taking notice of the silence between them. It was a comfortable silence, but he could tell that something was on her mind.

"Astra, are you all right?" He asked her.

She looked up at him. "Yeah, I'm good."

They continued walking deeper into the park, approaching the exact spot. Astra could remember the row of thick bushes where the man had tried to pin her down.

Astra stopped as a sharp pain struck her head, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Sam— a few steps ahead, stopped once Miracle whimpered. The dog rushed towards Astra, who was trying her hardest to stay on her feet.

"Astra." Sam rushed towards the woman as she stared into a daze.

"Your are a coward!"

She watched images of herself being pushed, and she was falling. Her eyes were wide and her cheeks were stained with tears as she screamed out, betrayal ripping at her body.

"You are no child of mine."

She was being thrown around by the drunken man, afraid as he began unbuttoning his jeans.

"You're a fucking freak."

Sam grabbed ahold of Astra's shoulders as the woman began to hyperventilate. He shook her gently, trying to pull her from her thoughts. Miracle barked, and she blinked, being pulled back.

Sam leaned forward to match her height. "Hey, hey, it's okay. You're all right, okay? Just breathe, Astra."

Her heart was racing, and her body felt numb. "What is this?"

He smiled softly as he comforted her. "Well, it seems that you're having your very first panic attack."

"A what?" She was still trying to catch her breath.

Thunder rumbled in the sky, and Sam glanced up.

"It happens. Just take a deep breath and try to focus on your breathing. Let's head back, that storm is close."

Without hesitation, they began walking back towards the house, and Sam placed his arm over her shoulders comfortingly, leading her back.