If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away

Highway to Hell

They decided upon the ghost. Go figure.
We were staying one more night at Bobby's cabin. I think they were just reluctant to get back to the real world. Not that I can blame them, though.
I opened Sam's laptop to do some research on this haunted house. "You watch porn?" I demanded. I think we may need to break up. I can't.
"Dean, stop using my laptop. God." Sam said, exasperated.
"Sorry." Dean shrugged.
There had been three disappearances there in the past month. All of them twenty-three-year-old males. All of them on a Thursday. All of them who had been at the haunted house the day before. All of them had girlfriends, but we're unmarried. Otherwise, there was no pattern.

I was reading in my room that night when the door opened. I had thought Sam and Dean were asleep. Without looking up, I said, "Sammy, I told you-"
"It's Dean."
I bookmarked my book and turned to the door. "What's up?"
"Do you have a minute?"
"Yeah, of course."
"Can we talk?"
"Of course." I patted the bed beside me.
He came and sat beside me, and I pulled my legs up to side criss-cross-applesauce. "You understand why I want to try and protect Sammy?"
I nodded. That I do.
"I know he's probably strong enough to handle it, or at least pretend to, but I don't want to put any more of a burden on him than he already has."
Again, I nodded.
"You like helping people, right?"
I nodded. I suppose you can say that.
"So that's why you tolerate me." He cracked a smile.
"Pretty much." I joked back. "But what is it you need?"
"Never mind." He said, standing. "It doesn't matter."
"Yeah it does. Sit down."
He sat. He stared straight ahead. "My mom died when Sammy was a baby. After that, my dad would leave us alone, for days at a time, to go on Hunts. I basically worshipped him. I dressed like him, acted like him. But I was never good enough. Then Sammy went to college, and Dad told him that if he walked out that door, to never come back. Dad stayed gone a lot, but he took me with him sometimes. That was just the beginning of a life of loneliness. I never want Sammy to be alone. Not even for one second."
And then he started talking about Hell. I was afraid to react for fear he'd shut off.
The things he described were awful. And they were probably a million times worse than he could describe. A steady stream of tears ran down my face.
"And I'm scared." He ended. "I don't want to go back." He looked at me for the first time since he started talking, a tear rolling down his cheek.
"We'll find something." I insisted, hugging him.
"I hope that son of a bitch Alastor is there. I'll kill him." He smiled slightly.
"Kill him here. You're not going there."
"I am. There's no way to stop it."
"There has to be something."
"Yeah, whatever."
"Hey, I have a question."
"Okay..."
"What's that for?"
"Your questions tend to be philosophical."
I laughed. "Whatever. This one's not, I promise."
"Okay, go ahead." He smiled.
"Is there something between you and Cas?"
He gave me a guarded look. "Why would you say that?"
"You're different when you're with him. Please please please say I'm right." I begged.
"Aren't you against that stuff?"
"That's a hard question. I thought you were against me being philosophical."
"Tell me later." He smiled.
"Okay. But is there?"
"I don't know." He said finally. "Can there be? I mean... He's an angel, and I'm kinda damned to Hell."
"Opposites attract." I smirked.
The door opened and Sam walked in. "What the hell's going on?"
"Join the party." I smiled. "But I won't sleep on the edge."
I got middle.
Sam kept pulling me closer to him, farther from Dean. Which was quite annoying, as I was trying to sleep.
"Dean." Sam whispered. He didn't answer. "What was he doing in here?"
"We were just talking." I sighed.
"About?
Hell. "Religion."
"Why?" He sounded doubtful.
"Shut up and sleep." Dean said gruffly.