Stranger

Chapter 20

Nevaeh furiously swipes at her eyes as tears flow. She hates the fact that she just can't stop crying. She hates even more the commiserative look that she's receiving from Sam and Dean. She doesn't want to feel sad. And she doesn't want to be pitied. She just wants to feel angry. For Theo. At the damned thing that killed him. It's the only emotion she'd ever felt comfortable expressing. The only emotion she'd ever been taught to express.

"I don't want your fucking help," she spits. "I'm gonna hunt this damned thing on my own, I'm gonna find it on my own, and I'm gonna kill it, on my—"

"Why—"

"—because I refuse to work with you. I don't trust you. And I don't wanna work with someone I can't trust. I don't need you. We don't have to work together," she says, turning on her heel.

Dean starts after her, but Sam grips his forearm, stopping him. "Hold on, just— let me, alright? Go wait in the car." Dean frowns, but Sam's resolute face ultimately makes him reluctantly give a half nod and walk in the direction of the car.

Sam is unsure of what to say, but he can just about imagine exactly how she's feeling. After all, they'd been through very similar experiences. If anything, he should be the one to get through to her. After just a few long strides, he catches up to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

She flinches, her head whipping in his direction, her face red and puffy, eyes numb. She shrugs his hand off and takes a few steps forward, shaking her head. She'd just wiped away her tears, just recollected herself and stopped the tears from falling. Sam's gentleness will do nothing but turn back on the faucet in her eyes.

"I think I know how you feel," Sam says from behind her, and she closes her eyes. "It's the same way I felt about Jess. The sadness, the anger, the grief. I know you want to catch the thing that killed him—"

"God, I can't wait. That fucker's gonna pay," Nevaeh says, jaw clenched as she turns to Sam.

Sam nods. "But, you have to be smart about it, Nevaeh. This thing, it's smart. It's calculated—"

Nevaeh frowns, her eyes set. "You're talking like you know what killed him." She watched him as he inhales, exhales.

Finally, he nods. "Yeah, I uh, I think I do. Same thing that killed my mother." When Nevaeh gives him a look, opening her mouth to speak, he continues, holding a hand out to stop her.

"Look, I'm not sure, alright, it might be a stretch. But you and I," he says, gesturing between them, "we're connected somehow. I don't know how, or why, but we are. Both our partners, they died the same way. Same way as my mother. And you saw Jessica's death, right? Before it happened?" When Nevaeh nods, he continues. "I saw your boyfriend's, too. It's how we made it just in time, to save you."

Nevaeh opens her mouth to speak, but she doesn't know what to say. She doesn't even know what to think. "What killed your mother?" She asks him after a while of standing speechless.

"A demon."

Same thing that killed her mother. Nevaeh clenches her jaw so hard, it ticks. Damn demons. Never get enough of destruction. They take everything away from her. She starts crying again, not really understanding why. She had never known her mother, let alone cry for her.

Sam gestures for her to come here, and she hesitates before giving in, resting her head on his chest. The embrace makes her sob uncontrollably, and Sam strokes her head, smoothing her hair down.

"Nevaeh, my father has been hunting this thing my whole life," he says once she's calm. "It isn't easy. You're gonna need our help."

She takes a deep breath, before nodding against his chest. "Fine. But your brother's an asshole, and I'm not talking to him."