Renegade

6. Carter

two weeks earlier

Rachel was the closest thing to a friend I had ever had. In all of the foster homes I stayed at, all of the orphanages I lived in, all of the schools I attended, I never made any friends. It was a combination of my attitude and stubbornness, and the fact that I never backed down from a fight. I had been in countless fist fights, most of them for no real reason besides an outlet for my anger. Friendship was something I was not accustomed to, and that made the feeling I felt as I knocked on Sam's door all the more foreign.

"Come in!" he called. I opened the door, surprised to see him cleaning up the room a bit. The female's clothes I had seen the night before were being folded and put away, out of sight. Sam didn't look up as I let the door close behind me, my eyes on him as he moved around the room.

"Sam?"

"Carter?" he dropped the articles of clothing he had in his hands, his eyes meeting mine quickly. "I thought you were leaving?" A smile took over his face, and I couldn't help but return it, although mine was shy and closed-lipped.

"So did I," I plopped down on the girl's bed, folding my good leg underneath me. "Rachel changed her mind. I think it was something Dean said."

"So you're staying? For sure?"

I nodded. "For now, at least."

He smiled again, moving across the room to stand in front of me.

"What are you-"

Sam pulled me up when he hugged me, my knees on the bed to keep me up. "Ouch, Sam, my leg."

"Right, right, sorry." he took a step away, sitting on his own bed. "Well hey, this is great. I'm glad you're staying."

I looked around the room, smiling. "Me too."

--

Rachel wasn't in our room when I returned. I took off my shoes, collapsing on my bed, the events of the day catching up to me. I was almost asleep when I heard the door open, and I shot up, wary of the newcomer.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Rachel's voice was just above a whisper, her own exhaustion evident in her voice.

"It's okay," I sighed, sitting up. I was still slightly annoyed with my sister for trying to make me leave the camp, but I was much too tired to put up a fight. Rachel took off her shoes, wincing slightly as she did so. She sat on the edge of her bed, facing me.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why do you trust them?"

Her question took me by surprise. "Who?"

"The people here. Sam, Dean, Jo."

"Oh." I looked around the room, contemplating my answer. In truth, I didn't know. In my mind, trust was earned, and it had always been that way. I didn't know why I trusted Sam when I found him in the woods, or why I trusted Dean to help me find my sister. "They helped me save you."

"Carter, come on-"

"That's why I trust them. Let's face it, if I had been alone, do you really think we would've gotten out of there?"

Rachel's eyes fell to the ground. She sighed quietly. "No." she answered after a few moments of silence.

"We owe them-"

"We don't owe them anything. Where did this mentality come from? We do what we need to do to survive, you know that."

I shook my head. "You're wrong."