NEVER LET ME DOWN AGAIN

[007] taking a ride with my best friend

CHAPTER SEVEN : TAKING A RIDE WITH MY BEST FRIEND

*trigger warning : car accident and violence!*

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THE ROAR OF THE PICKUP TRUCK'S engine filled the quiet night as Alice guided the truck down the dark winding road. The headlights cut through the shadow, casting fleeting glimpses of the trees lining the highway.

The events of the recent hours—the hunt, the Wendigo, saying goodbye to Sam and Dean—hung heavily between her and Jamie.

Alice kept her eyes on the road, her grip on the steering wheel. The grip was a bit tensed, her knuckles white against the worn leather. The truck felt familiar, its rumbling engine and the ballads of old 80s hits was a steady comfort. She stole a glance at Jamie, sitting quietly in the passenger seat. His gaze fixed out the window. He was still processing everything—that much she knew.

"You okay there, Sunshine?" Alice asked, her voice soft, barely above the hum of the engine.

Jamie didn't respond right away, his fingers fidgeting with a loose thread of his jacket. After a moment, he nodded, but it was a half-hearted gesture, his thoughts clearly elsewhere. "Yeah. I'm fine. I think." He admitted.

Alice sighed, her heart heavy with everything she wasn't saying. She knew he was far from fine. To her, he had been through hell now. Getting captured by a Wendigo, finding out about his family, all in the span of a few hours and on his birthday of all days. He had been thrown into a bigger and darker world than he imagined, yet somehow to Jamie, it didn't feel that dark. Not with Alice by him.

"You know," Alice began, her tone casual but with an undercurrent of emotion, "you did good out there. You're tougher than you think."

Jamie's eyes flickered towards hers for a brief second, sharing a small smile, but then he would turn back to the window. "Thanks. But it uh...didn't feel like it," he admitted. "I didn't do much, Lis. I just—" he stopped, shaking his head. "I just played victim."

"You weren't just a victim, Jamie. You held your own. You survived. You helped." She encouraged the boy as best as she could, her head turning to look over at him briefly. "I mean, you knew Wendigo lore and helped in your own way. That's more than a lot of people can say. You were the Robin to my Batman, dude. The spider-man to the Avengers."

Jamie let out a chuckle, a genuine one like from earlier. He shrugged before his fingers tightened around the loose thread on his jacket, pulling it free. "Maybe so. But it kinda feels like...I'm gonna always be the kid you look after. Like I'll never be what you and Dean and Sam are."

Alice was quiet for a moment, pondering at Jamie's words and her lips twitched slightly when she pursed them together. She understood what he was feeling—she felt it once. The constant sense of being on the outside, of wanting to prove yourself as something more than just a kid but never measuring up. Alice took a deep breath, choosing her next words carefully.

"You don't have to be like us, Jamie." She said, her voice gentle yet firm. "You got your own road to go down. It's not about being me or Dean or Sam. It's about finding who you are in all of this. And trust me, you're more than just some kid I look after. So much more." She added, murmuring lowly for a second at her last words, her gaze flickering back at the kid.