A Burdened Family

Chapter 16

 Everything was tense.

And I really mean everything.

I didn't have any updates on my brothers. Dean had called once a few days after we separated, but that was all. Marcus acted like everything was normal, but I couldn't act myself around him. I was still shocked at how quickly he had transformed into my worst fucking nightmare.

And then there was Alec.

I couldn't decided if I hated him or loved him.

What?

No.

I don't love Alec.

Whatever.

I definitely hated him though. I elbowed him sharply every time we passed one another, and he constantly stole my food or purposely lost my place every time I put down a book.

That didn't stop us from sharing a bed though. It's not like we hadn't done it before. Plus, it was just a bed. And it was only for a couple of weeks.

So what, if we made out a few times. It wasn't like the mornings I woke up to his arm draped lazily over my hips meant anything. 

Yeah. 

That was convincing.

Yeah.

Mornings were spent bickering with Alec while Marcus disappeared for hours on end. Afternoons resulted in Alec and I telling Marcus we found nothing, and Marcus telling us about the 17,000 monsters he had killed in the past hour. Evenings were spent trying and failing to outdrink Marcus, whose tolerance for liquor was infuriatingly high. Nights were spent listening to the heartbeat of my Alec.

Christ help me.

Just Alec. 

Yeah.

Until one day.

It was a really fuckin eventful day.

Our morning began as usual, but Marcus reappeared after only a few hours. If that wasn't different enough, he was bleeding. 

Marcus had been hurt before, but it was nothing he couldn't fix with a little disinfectant and a bandaid. And I don't mean those giant bandaids. I mean the kind you wrap around your pointer finger because you got a fuckin paper cut. The worst I'd seen, he needed three bandaids.

That day, he returned dripping in blood.

Literally. All over the shaddy carpet.

Alec practically jumped from where he was sitting beside me, leaving a cold feeling where his fingers had been lazily tracing patterns on my stomach under my tshirt.

"We're leaving." Marcus said before Alec even reached him. "Now. Pack up and let's go."

"What happened?"

"You and your fucking family happened." Marcus turned on me, eyes blazing with anger that he was failing to hold back. "Your fucking mother just had to be a hero. Now your brother's a goddamn demon spawn. Pack up and let's go."

What the hell did anything have to do with my mother?

I figured that wasn't the best time to ask, so I just did as I was told. I packed my shit and followed Alec and Marcus out to the car. Alec tried to drive, but Marcus shot him one look and he practically tripped over himself to settle in the passenger seat instead.

We rode in silence for a few minutes.

"Call your brothers." Marcus said in a tone so serious I got goosebumps. "Something happened."

I fumbled for my phone but it rang before I could even pick it up.

"Yeah?"

"Luce, thank god. Something happened."

I couldn't help but look up at Marcus as Dean repeated his exact words.

"What's wrong?" I asked. I tried to hide the dread in my voice.

"Something happened to Sam."

"Is he okay?" I instantly sat up straighter. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, we're fine. I think Sam's fine. But something's... off."

"Off how, Dean."

"He disappeared-- I found him. He's with me." Dean answered my unspoken question. "But he doesn't... there are... gaps... in his memory."

"Shit." I leaned back against the seat. I could feel the car picking up speed as Marcus read my body language. "Send me a location. I'm coming."