A Human Worth Falling For (Book Three)

In Which Dean Goes Dark

{Cas's POV}

"Dean, please just listen," I begged. "You need to understand where I'm coming from. I know this isn't you. I know it's the Mark." I watched him stand and walk to the opposite side of the room. "I know what I did all those years ago was wrong; I should have just wiped your memories and given you a good, normal life. Then, maybe our path would have never crossed and you would be happy now." I dropped my head. "Maybe you would have found someone and fell in love and started a family together. You're right: I am selfish. I think part of me knew that if I kept you in the world I knew, we would meet again at some point."

Dean slammed his fist into the wall. "You should have just left me alone. This is all your fault. Damn it, Cas! If only you would have just kept your insanity to yourself and just left me all those years ago. You're right: I would be happy now. Sam would still have Jess. They would be married by now. We would still have Dad. We would still have Bobby. Charlie would still be alive. Kevin would still be alive. Jo and Ellen would still be alive." I stand and walk towards him, tears bubbling in my eyes. "Everything would have been so much better if you weren't here!" His gaze followed me until I was directly in front of him. He just continued to yell at me, though. "Why did you have to ruin my life, Cas? Why couldn't you have just left like you were supposed to? Everything bad that has ever happened to me has been because of you. Everything."

He shoved me against the wall harshly, and my head hit the hard surface sharply. My vision blurred and came back spotty. When I could finally see, I felt something pressed against my throat. Right by my face was a glowing, red design.

Dean was pinning me against the wall with his forearm, and the Mark was burning again.

"I wish I would have never met you," he snarled at me. "You're the reason behind all of this. You're the reason I'm this way. You're the reason I have this poison in my body. You're the reason I have the Mark. You have all of this coming to you."

He pressed harder into my throat, cutting off my airway. "You have ruined everything. You destroy everything you touch."

Finally, he released me, but a moment later, he grabbed my collar and threw me across the room. I hit my head on the edge of our bed, falling to my knees. Everything went black, but I recovered. I touched my temple, blood staining my fingers when I pull my hand away.

I looked up at Dean, helpless. In that moment, I wondered if he was going to kill me. And in the same thought, I began to believe I deserved it if he did.

But then, Dean's eyes widened at the sight of me crumpled on the floor. He stared at his hands, shaking his head. The Mark had faded back to its original color, as if nothing had happened.

Dean took a few uneven, labored breaths before running out the door.

I tried to steady myself, but when I stood up, I fell back to my knees. After a few minutes and a lot of deep breaths, I went in search for my boyfriend.

Instead, I found Sam.

He rushed me to the table, dashing off for medical supplies. As he fixed my wound, I told him what happened.

"There," Sam told me, putting the gauze back in the case. "Now, let's go look for Dean."