Between Worlds (TEMP HOLD)

Four: Family Photos

Xander let me take Xavier's old room, and boy, that was a big mistake. His scent is different in this room. It smells as though he tried too hard, like Axe cologne and broken dreams and high ego's. I stumble through his door a little tipsy from the wine, and Xander stands between the door to wish me a goodnight.

         Xavier's room has beads hanging on the door, and a tall, four-poster bed with curtains you can pull closed for privacy. There was an old black and white tv and a radio siting on a desk in the corner. All of Xavier's old clothes were still in the dresser and the closet.

"You know, you're far too pretty for my brother." He sniffs. Obviously drunk. "He doesn't deserve a girl like you."

Despite my head filled with wine and pasta and bread, those words alone were enough to sober me up. "Your brother tells me that all the time. I don't want another reminder." There was something in my voice that made Xander flinch. "Sorry. . . " he apologizes. "I'll head to— "

"Wait. Shhh."

The pendant is glowing.

"You smell nice," he says drunkenly, swaying. "What are you— "

"I said shhh."

I pull the daggers from the back of my pants pocket. I hand one to Xander, his skin feels hot as it brushes mine. "They smell your fear," I whisper. "There are demons hunting me. Demons that are attempting to drag me back down to the underworld."

"How do you know?"

I hadn't explained to Xander what the ruby red necklace did yet. I hoped he could shut up long enough so the demons could pass by his house. I wasn't afraid, but I quickly realized that I'd been holding my breath.

It was so quiet, I swear I could hear Xander's heart beat. He stumbles forward drunkenly as the door knocks. One, two, three. He flicks on a light, and I hide just behind the bathroom door in the dark: waiting. I want to cry. I will myself not to be afraid. I clutch the dagger tighter in my hand.

"W-what do you want?" Xander's asshole exterior returned as casually as Xavier's does.

They were the same two voices I recognized in the woods, by the cave. I felt myself gripped by a sudden cold, gritting my teeth and shutting my eyes hoping that they would simply go away.

"Greetings. We were in the neighborhood, and wondering if you had any. . . Visitors?" The way his deep voice said 'visitors' it was like they knew I was here, or had already been here. The wine on my breath would be my giveaway, the faint tingle of fear coursing through my veins. That would be my downfall.

You aren't here right now.

Think about Xavier.

I imagine that night in his room, his hands touching me, exploring. His lips are trailing kisses up my neck. . . Now, his name is in my chest in a PM that will make me remember him forever. My choice was seemingly made for me. It was Xavier who had my heart and soul, but it was Castiel who had my thoughts and mind. And that counted for something, right?

I imagine him hanging out on the beach, waiting for me instead of searching for Jasmine and Oscar. And that was easy to imagine. Sipping a martini, a Bloody Mary or a margarita, and holding hands and tanning under the hot afternoon sun, sharing kisses and relaxing in the ocean waves. I should wear that MADE IN CALIF t-shirt for shits and giggles.

"...know she was here," the second voice continues. "Mind if we search your place?"

Xander made a shoving noise. "Do it, and it'll be the last step you ever take. There's the door. Get out. There hasn't anybody else here in over a year besides myself."