THE NIGHT WE MET.¹ dean winchester

III. grief

three.       ˗ˏˋ⛧ .ೃ
between episodes
- what happened in 4 months

❛ suspects ❜

━━━━━ FOUR DAYS AFTER JESS' funeral, Sam Winchester left town in his big brother's car. There was no warning; and there was no goodbye — a week after the day his apartment was burnt to ash, he fled like a fugitive.

It left campus asking questions.

Did Sam set the fire?

Did his brother set the fire?

What the hell were they hiding?

Leia didn't join in on the childish gossiping, far too distracted by the block of memory that she'd lost. She'd sent Jess to bed, and then the next thing she remembered was waking up on the sofa, Dean dragging her out of the apartment and saving her life. No matter how much time she put into thinking about what happened in between, there was nothing.

It bugged her, but she refused to mention it to anyone. Not when it made her seem extremely. She knew there was no way she could have killed Jess — she'd practically been her big sister for three years. But she just simply didn't remember.

There was only one person she told: Sam.

A few days after he left town, in the midst of her spiralling panic, she texted him.

TO: SAM W
Sam I'm rlly freaking out. I don't remember
what happened right before Jess died but I
know something happened and it's rlly rlly
scaring me. Why'd u skip town? Where did
u go with Dean? Pls if u know anything let
me know cuz I'm terrified.

She received only one message from him, a couple hours after she'd originally sent her own.

FROM: SAM W
You didn't kill her. I'm figuring it out. When
I know something, you'll be the first I tell.

˗ˏˋ⛧ .ೃ

              "MISS LOVELUCK, WE SIMPLY want to know where Sam Winchester is." The police officer sat her sofa looked kind, but his words were layered with something threatening. Like if she didn't tell him something, there'd be a punishment.

Curled up on her chair, she shook her head. "I don't know." They seemed disappointed with her reply, and the girl sighed in frustration. "Listen, he disappeared a few days before the fire with his big brother. Came back the night of. A week after the fire, he set off with his brother again." Her shoulders lifted into a shrug.

That pleased him. He twisted his pen, and smiled at her. "What's his brother's name?" He looked at her expectantly, pen hovering over his notepad.

"Dean." She responded, after only a beat of hesitant. "I didn't get a last name, but I assume it's Dean Winchester. He had a 1967 Chevy Impala. I saw it when they left the first time."

Nodding along with her words, the officer noted down everything she was saying. "Did you see the plate?"

Leia rolled her eyes, becoming increasingly annoyed. "No." Her hands curled into fists around her knees, clenching onto the fabric of her sweatpants. "I didn't."

"Do you think Sam set the fire?"

She shook her head immediately, bewildered by the fact that was even a question being asked. "No. Sam loved Jess. He was infatuated with her. He had no reason to hurt her." Her words were sharp, eyes narrowing at the accusation. The idea of Sam hurting Jess made her sick.

He hummed, unconvinced, by noting down her response anyway. "And his brother, Dean?"

"I mean, I didn't know him, but he was nice." She shrugged, choosing not to mention how much he'd stared at her and Jess the first night. "He saved my life. He pulled me outta the fire. Think he pulled Sam out, too."

The officer's brows shot up. "Dean Winchester pulled you out of the fire?" Disbelief laced his voice, as if he didn't quite believe the Winchesters had done a good deed. It was clear they had two suspects in the death — Sam and Dean.

"Yeah, I was asleep on the sofa. The alarm didn't wake me." She confessed. "He dragged me out. Made sure I got out of the apartment safely." Leia shifted under their scrutinising stares, staring at the pattern on her sweatpants.

He stood, tucking his notepad into his pocket. "Thank you, Miss Loveluck." Leia stared up at him, nodding curtly. "If you remember anything else, give us a call." He handed her a business card.

She forced a smile, nodding. "I will. Thanks." Leia watched them leave, jaw ticking. As they made their exit, she grabbed her phone and sent a text.

TO: SAM W
Police just came, asking questions abt u and
ur brother. They think one of u set the fire.

Four hours later, she got a response.

FROM: SAM W
Thanks. We'll keep an eye out. We didn't,
btw.

Leia smiled at her screen.

At least he was alive and kicking.

˗ˏˋ⛧ .ೃ

              EVERY TRIBUTE HELD IN Jess' honour was becoming more and more draining. They were the same thing, occupied by people who had never talked to her before, or hadn't even heard of her.

She stood in front of crowds, speaking about the girl who took her in when she was homeless, who treated her like a sister, who loved her unconditionally. She cried until her throat was scratched and the skin in the corners of her eyes were cracked and red.

Sam didn't respond to any other messages she sent, and she felt more and more like she was losing control. Three months had passed, and there was no more information of what happened to Jess that night. They were now just calling it an electrical malfunction in the walls — she didn't believe that at all.

Stood in the burnt bedroom, Leia felt her body shiver, standing on ash.

"Hey," Rebecca put a hand on her back gently, "you don't have to do this."

"Yeah, I do."

She was given the job of cleaning up the apartment of Sam and Jess' belongings. Anything left behind by the dead girl and the missing boy needed to be claimed, or thrown away.

It was exhausting, to pick up Jess' belongings, weigh it's significant, and decide whether she should keep it or throw it away.

She returned home with five trash bags of Sam and Jess' things, and six being sent to the landfill. She didn't unpack them. She dumped them in the wardrobe, and she sat on the bed and sobbed until her neighbours complained about the noise.

She sobbed for her dead friend.

And she sobbed for the life she'd so quickly lost.