Neon Lights

Chapter 71 - Photograph

•Castiel's POV•
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March 2, 1969
10:03 p.m.
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It happened late on a Tuesday night.

Dean and I were sitting on his couch watching an Elvis interview on the TV when we heard a knock on the door. The back door.

"Who the fuck is a-knockin' at ten o'clock?" Dean snorted, getting up off his seat and walking through the kitchen. I followed him groggily, shuffling after him and stopping by the back door.

He opened it to find Meg in hysterics. "They know!" she cried. At first, Dean was utterly confused, but then it clicked and he gasped quietly.

"They? You mean...no, you can't mean..." I trailed off, realizing this horrible truth. Meg's bags were sitting, soaking wet, on the rainy alley pavement. They know.

Meg nodded sadly. "Mm-hmm. They kicked me out. Dad would'a beat me if mom hadn't stopped him. Can I come in?"

Dean ushered her in while I collected her bags. I left them in the kitchen so they wouldn't get the rest of the house wet and went to where Dean was comforting the sobbing Meghan Masters on the couch.

"They called me so many names! Slut, harlot, whore, wanton bitch...adulterer even!" she was ranting. I stood there, uncertain what I could do. "They threw me out, telling me never to come back as I was a disgrace to the family!"

"Ew, how original," Dean rolled his eyes sarcastically. "Forget about 'em Meg. How 'bout you get some rest?"

"How did they find out?" I asked absentmindedly. Dean whipped his head around and stared at me horridly, as if I'd grown another head.

"Castiel! Give her a break, would'ya?!" he hollered protectively. I flinched. "She's been through a lot and is under no obligation to tell us so why don't you just shut--"

Meg grabbed his shoulder, "Dean! Jesus Christ almighty, would you stop yelling?! Look at him!"

I stared at my hands, shaken. "But he's right. That was rude of me."

"No, honey, no," Meg wrapped her arms around me like a mother bear, casting an angry warning glance at Dean. "It's okay to be curious. I was going to tell you anyway."

Dean gave me an apologetic look, but said nothing.

"Zeke came over to check on me, and dad walked in just as he mentioned 'the baby.' We tried to deny it, but it was no use. We got yelled at, then kicked out," Meg explained sadly. "Mom called Zeke's parents. He had to go home and clear things up. I told him to find me here if something happens."

Dean snorted. "What do you think this is? A safe haven for people who've got nowhere else? This ain't a fucking kennel."

"Dean! Speaking of rude things to say!"

"What?! I can't just be hospitable for the whole town!" he jumped up, raising his voice again. "Having you here was fine. I took Dad in too, only for now. But Meg and Zeke too? I'm not an orphanage headmaster!"

Meg and I glared at him, speechless. Nobody said a word for several minutes. Silence wrapped its cold, dusty hands around our throats and choked us, holding us in a pool of crumbling spirits. Pressure built, as Dean and I stared at one another, and I lost the ability to control anything.

"You're so cold, y'know that?" I whispered, spitting the words like venom in a low and angry tone. "You tell me not to be rude, then you turn around and basically call us dirty, homeless mutts right to our faces."

Dean stuttered, "Cas, I'm sorr--"

"No, headmaster," I growled, standing up. "If that's how you feel, we're probably better off somewhere else. Somewhere that isn't a kennel. Somewhere we aren't a burden. Somewhere we're wanted."