Supernatural... But Better (Vol. I)

Chapter Ten

"Alright, I figure we'd hit Tucumcari by lunch, then head south, hit Bisbee by midnight."

I was lying down across the backseat, staring at the roof of the car, only half-paying attention, but Sam didn't respond either.

"Sam wears women's underwear," Dean joked, trying to get his brother's attention."

He glanced over, returning his gaze to what I assumed was his PalmPilot. "I've been listening, I'm just busy."

"Busy doing what?"

"Reading emails," Sam responded as his brother got out of the car to get gas.

"Emails from who?"

"From my friends at Stanford."

Dean popped his head back in the car. "You're kidding. You still keep in touch with your college buddies?"

Sam looked at him, defensive. "Why not?"

He scoffed, going back to what he was doing. "Well, what exactly do you tell them? You know, about where you've been, what you've been doing?"

Sam shrugged. "I tell them I'm on a road trip with my big brother. I tell them I needed some time off after Jess."

"Oh, so you lie to them," Dean paraphrased, finishing up with the gas stuff and getting back in the car.

"No. I just don't tell them... everything," he disagreed.

His brother breathed a laugh. "Yeah, that's called lying. I mean, hey, man, I get it, telling the truth is far worse."

"So, what am I supposed to do, just cut everybody out of my life?" Dean shrugged. "You're serious?"

He raised his hands in an innocent gesture. "Look, it sucks, but in a job like this, you can't get close to people, period."

I raised a hand in the air to make sure they could see it, pointing down at myself. "With one exception."

Dean turned to look at me. "You don't count."

"Gee, thanks," I deadpanned, too tired to actually care very much at all.

"You're kind of anti-social, you know that?" Sam informed his brother.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever."

Then, there was silence for a single, beautiful second.

"God...."

Dean looked over at him. "What?"

His brother pointed to the screen of his PalmPilot. "This email from this girl, Rebecca Warren, one of those friends of mine."

"Is she hot?" Dean asked immediately, prompting me to roll my eyes.

Sam ignored him. "I went to school with her, and her brother, Zach."

The name made me tense irrationally. It was a common name, I told myself. It didn't mean anything. It was somebody else. It didn't matter.

"—been arrested for killing his girlfriend. Rebecca says he didn't do it, but it sounds like the cops have a pretty good case," he continued, not recognizing the crisis I found myself in the midst of in the backseat.

"Dude, what kind of people are you hanging out with?"

Sam shook his head. "No, man, I know Zach. He's no killer."

Dean gave him a look. "Well, maybe you know Zach as well as he knows you."

His brother ignored him yet again. "They're in St. Louis. We're going."

Dean gave a small, condescending laugh. "Look, sorry 'bout your buddy, okay? But this does not sound like our kind of problem."

"It is our problem. They're my friends," Sam countered, immediately getting defensive.

"St. Louis is four hundred miles behind us, Sam," his brother informed him, still trying to dissuade him, but that was all he could come up with. After that, it turned into a sort of battle-of-the-wits, as they just sat there in silence, staring at each other.

Sitting up again, I leaned in so that they could both see me. "You know, there are three people in this car. Last time I checked, three was an odd number, which means an easy tie-breaker."

Sam smiled at me, immediately becoming confident in his victory, and therefore, smug. "Yeah, okay. What do you want to do, Annabeth?"

I turned to his brother. "Do we have anywhere else to go? Any reports of possible supernatural sightings? Anything at all?"

I could see him wracking his brain for an answer, something to get him out of it, but he came up short. "No," he grumbled.

"So, the choice is between driving around aimlessly, or possibly doing some good," I rephrased, looking between the two of them. "Can you guess which one I'm going to pick?"

With his jaw set in a determined look of utter failure, Dean started the car, pulling out of the gas station and heading out onto the open road... back the way we came.

Immediately, a broad grin grew on Sam's face, and he playfully shoved his brother in the shoulder. "There you go. Finally making the right decision."

Their friendly bickering was very familiar to me. "God, you guys are just like—"

They both noticed the way my voice just cut out. "Like who?" Dean asked, meeting my gaze in the rear view mirror.

I averted my eyes, not wanting to be untruthful, but not very eager to share the answer. "Me and my brother," I responded quietly, slouching down in my seat, my voice inviting no more questions.

While they thought I wasn't looking, they shared a concerned glance. I knew they were wondering what I was so upset about, but thankfully, they were kind enough not to ask.