The Young Hunter: The Hunter's Daughter Book 2 (A Supernatural Fanfiction)

Chapter 19: Carry You Home

Emma's POV

I slowly climb out of the impala after my dad and uncle. My entire body feels sluggish and I'm exhausted. I tried sleeping in the car on the way back to the apartment, but I just couldn't. Every time I closed my eyes I saw the horror in Michael's and Derek's eyes when they saw what was possessing me.

"You okay?" Dean asks me, his hand on my back.

I nod slowly. "Yeah," I say.

We all walk back to the apartment in silence. Despite Castiel healing me, my body still aches from being stabbed, slapped, and hit. Not to mention what the demons had put me through before Emory had taken over my body.

"I'm tired," I say, emotionless. "I'm going to sleep." No one says a word as I walk to my room. After closing the door behind me, I sit on my bed and stare at the wall.

It's as if I forgot how to feel. I can barely feel my body and all I want to do is scream out, but I can't bring myself to do so. 

After a few minutes, a knock comes from the door. Moments later, Dean is peeking his head in.

"Hey," he says, quietly. "You doing okay?"

I give him a blank stare before turning back to the wall. I hear him give a heavy sigh before he enters the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Look," he says. "I know this is a lot. That this probably isn't the life you wanted. Sammy and I were just talking and we both agreed that if you want to stop hunting, you can."

I don't answer. Instead, I keep looking at the wall. I want to say something. That I really don't want to quit hunting. That I just want to quit running and being hunted.

"Emma," he says, again. "I don't know what's happened to you. Will you please just speak to me?"

I remain silent and I can feel him getting frustrated.

"Emma," he says again, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Will you please look at me?"

I don't.

"Emma," he says, his tone hardening. "Look at me. Now."

I slowly move and look into his eyes. They are filled with worry and it takes me a moment to realize I have a tear slipping down my cheek.

"What has gotten into you?" He asks. "What happened? You're really starting to worry me."

I look away. I don't know what to say. I'm worried about myself. Am I supposed to tell him I'm fine? I can't do that. He would see straight through my lie.

"Why did you run off?" He asks. "If you had just gone to school and-"

"Stop," I finally say. "You don't understand."

"What don't I understand, Emma?" He asks, standing up. "Seriously. Try me."

I shake my head. "No," I say, all of a sudden angry.

He throws his arms in the air. "You're kidding, right? You don't think I don't understand what you must be feeling?"

"I'm tired," I say, laying down on my bed, my back to him.

The sound of something connecting with the wall causes me to jump. "God, dammit, Emma!" Dean yells. "Just talk to me!"

I quickly stand up and stare at my father. "You were supposed to protect me!" I shout at him. "My mother trusted you to take care of me! But you know what's happened? I've been captured and tortured over and over and over again! I'm sick of it!"

"You think I keep meaning for this to happen?" He shouts back. "You're my daughter! I take care of you just like I take care of Sammy! It breaks me whenever I lose either of you! You two are all I have!"

"You didn't even know I existed until a year ago!" I say. "For eighteen years it was just my mom and me! I had no father."

He shakes his head and begins pacing. "You think I asked for this? To have a kid I never knew about? I think you know damn well I would have been there for you if your mother had told me."

"Really?" I ask, crossing my arms. "And so you would have just raised me into the life hunting? Would my mother still be alive?"

"Things would be different," he says, a soft look in his eyes. "You have no idea how much I regret not being there for you and your mother. Protecting you two like my dad did for Sammy and me."

"Then why did you leave? Why did you never look back?"

"I saw no reason to!" He says, suddenly angry again. "But that is beside the point, Emma! Why didn't you just go to school?"

I roll my eyes. "I'm tired," I say, through gritted teeth. "I'm tired of being hunted and I'm tired of people being on my back about everything. I'm tired of running. I'm tired of being me. I just wanted a break."

"You could have gotten yourself killed!" He shouts, taking my shoulders. "You were nearly killed! What if we hadn't gotten to you in time? What if Cas hadn't been there to heal you?"

"Then maybe this would all be over!" I scream at him. I break. I collapse into his arms and begin shaking with sobs. "I want this to be over."

"Hey," he says, running his fingers through my hair. He sits me down on the bed but keeps me in his arms.

 When the one you care for just takes it all
Washing you down like a waterfall  

"We're here for you, you know that, right?" He asks.

I'm shaking and I can barely breathe. He rubs his hands up and down my arms.

You lose the way and you hit the wall
I'll be the one, I'll be the one, I'll be the one to  

"This will be over," Dean says. "We'll put an end to this. We'll find out why this keeps happening."

"And what if we can't," I ask, my breathing starting to become more normal. "Will we just keep running?"

Carry you home
When it hurts like you've crashed from above  

"Sammy and I have been through worse, believe it or not," he says with a small laugh. "And we've made some pretty damn good memories because of it. But you know what?"

I pull alway and look up at him. "What?"

Heal your broken bones
When you can't move, your heart's still locked up  

"We're still alive. We're still striving," he says. "Sure, we've been to Hell and back. But we're still going. We're still hunting things. Saving people. It's the family business."

"How did you guys get into hunting?" I ask and he gets a sudden sad look in his eyes.

You rise, you rise, you rise
Sometimes you need someone to carry you home  

"A demon," he says. "He killed our mother and so our father dragged us into it. He died in the process. But Sammy and I completed the job for him."

"Did you think about going into a normal life?"

He shrugs. "Sure," he says. "We tried. I especially tried after Sammy died."

"Wait," I say. "What?"

He shakes his head. "I'll have to tell you later," he says. "You okay?"

I shrug. "I don't know," I say. "I want to be."

He smiles. "You will be," he says, taking me back into his arms.

When it hurts like you've crashed from above
When it's true love 

"I love you, Dad," I say and he squeezes me.

"I love you, too, Emma," he says into my hair.

We continue to sit like that for a few more minutes, neither of us saying anything. Eventually, Dean gets up and leaves so that I can get some rest. It doesn't take me long to fall asleep. And, for the first time in a long time, I sleep through the night, no nightmares plaguing my mind.