The Story of Sammi

Even More Family Secrets

When you have a broken bone of any kind, time seems to move ever so slow while you wait for it to heal. I had only been dealing with my broken arm for about two weeks, but it felt like it had been broken for years. Me and the boys were still hanging back at Nana and Poppy's place. Even though Sam and Dean had missed being out doing what they do best, after what happened to me they wanted to take just a little bit more time for themselves. Besides, they knew they had to wait at least six more weeks before even thinking about getting back into the game. To pass the time, the boys had been taking impromptu trips to surrounding towns, checking out the sights, and all while keeping me comfortable. Dean installed new locks on the doors and purchased an alarm system for the house, this way he would feel more at ease leaving me home alone so him and Sam could have some quality "brother" time. Today was one of those days. Before the boys left on their adventure, I had asked Sam to bring the box of family photos down to where I was relaxing. I felt like looking through them again to see if there were any other interesting stories these photos might be able to tell me about my family. "Do you need anything else before we leave, babe?" Sam asked. "No," I said. "You two go have some fun. I'll see you when you get back." "We'll bring home something for dinner," Dean said. "Don't you go trying to surprise us with a home cooked meal." "I don't think I could cook with just one hand," I admitted. "Doesn't mean you wouldn't try," Dean said. "You're stubborn like us." I laughed. "You got me there." The boys each carefully hugged me, Sam gave me a kiss, and they left me to my investigation. I started carefully picking through the photos and came across one that I hadn't remembered seeing before. It was a family shot of my mom, dad, Scarlett, myself, and a young boy who looked to be about the same age as Scarlett. Knowing that Anthony had been killed sometime right before Scarlett was born, I knew this had to be someone else. A cousin maybe? No, that couldn't be right. Mom and dad were both only children. The only aunts and uncles we had were people like John Winchester, who were very close friends of the family. I flipped the picture over to see if Nana had written names down..."James, Mia, Scarlett, Declan, and Samantha 1985". Figuring Dad was probably out on a case, I decided to give my sister a call to see if she had any idea who Declan was. I dialed her number and waited for an answer. I heard a click on the other end of the line, followed by a male voice saying, "Hello?" "Hi," I answered. "Drew?" I had only spoken to my sister's husband once before, so I didn't know if he'd remember my voice. "Is this Sammi?" he asked. "You remembered," I said. "I'm looking for Scarlett. Is she around?" "She's upstairs, doing some cleaning," he said. "Hold on a moment while I go get her for you." I heard him put the phone down on the table, followed by footsteps walking away from the phone. I waited only about two minutes before I heard Scarlett say, "Hey little sister! How have you been?" "Pretty good," I told her. "I'm nursing a bad broken arm right now, but other than that I can't complain." "Talked to dad lately?" she asked. "Actually, I was with him the day I broke my arm," I said. "But we'll talk about that another time. I called to ask you a question about an old photo I found." "I'll do my best," she promised. "It actually looks like an old family photo," I told her. "It's you and me with mom and dad, but there's someone else in the picture with us. A little boy, to be exact." "Declan," Scarlett replied. "Ok," I said in surprise. "You obviously remember him. Please tell me who he was." "He IS our brother," Scarlett said. "My twin, to be precise." "Another brother that I had no idea about?" I was confused. "So dad told you about Anthony?" Scarlett asked. "You knew about Anthony too?" I asked. "Of course," Scarlett said. "So sad how he died, though. Poor thing caught rabies from a stray dog." So that's the story dad had told her? Whatever worked for him, I guess. "Yes," I agreed. "Very sad. So what about Declan? Where is he now?" "Last I knew, mom and dad sent him away to military school," Scarlett said. "He was very disrespectful towards the adults in our life, but very protective of me and you." "How old was he when they sent him away?" "We had just turned 8," she said. "So about four years before dad left." "Has he tried to contact you since then?" I asked. "He wrote me letters almost every day from the time he left until we turned 18," Scarlett said. "After that, I would get cards for every major holiday and, of course, our birthday. The last one I remember receiving was about a year and a half ago. I haven't heard from him since." "Where was the last card sent from?" I asked. "Location wise, I mean. Was he in the states?" "Coincidentally, no," she said. "It came from Vancouver." "So last you knew, he was in Canada, like you," I replied. "Yes," she said. "The last card I sent him had my phone number AND address in it. I was hoping he would take that as a sign that he could call or visit any time. I miss him like crazy." "Does he remember me?" I asked. "Of course he does," Scarlett responded. "He used to ask me about you in his letters all the time. He called you his little firecracker." "Firecracker?" I was confused. "Yes," she laughed. "Because you were always so full of pep, ready to take on the world at a moment's notice." "Ah," I said. "That makes sense. So do you think he stopped writing because something bad happened to him?" "I'm hoping not," Scarlett said. "But I don't know what to think. He was always consistent with his contact. Even when the letters stopped and the cards started, it was every holiday of every year." "Next time I talk to dad, I will ask him if he has heard anything from Declan recently," I told her. "And if you hear from him before that, please call me and let me know." "I promise I will," Scarlett said. "Also, if he contacts you again, please let him know I asked about him," I said. "And it's alright to pass along my phone number, too." "You got it, little sis," she replied. "Take care of yourself. And call me anytime, not just when you have a question about our family." I heard her laugh and I said, "I promise I will. Talk to you soon." The boys walked in right after I hung up with my sister. Had we really been on the phone that long? I looked at my call log, which indicated that we had only been on the phone for about an hour and a half. "You two weren't gone very long," I said. "Something happen?" "No," Dean replied. "We just couldn't find anything new and exciting to do today." Something in the tone of his voice told me he was lying. "Right," I said. "It has nothing to do with the fact that I'm sitting here with one broken arm, which makes it hard for me to do a lot?" "Fine," Dean admitted. "We came back because I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone while your arm is still broken." "I'm not an invalid," I laughed. "Although certain tasks are a little bit more challenging with one arm." "Admit it," Sam said with a smile. "You're glad we decided to come back home and take care of you." "It has been really nice being waited on hand and foot," I said. "By the way, I found out today that I have another brother. This one is alive and well. And he's Scarlett's twin." "Your family is just full of mystery and surprises, isn't it?" Sam said. "It would seem so," I replied. "But that just makes the story of Samantha Weston all the more interesting."