Innocence (Burning Beliefs #1)

Chapter Thirty-Three *edited*

Chapter Thirty-Three

SERENA’S POV

Castiel has been working his ass off trying to track down Lucas. I mean, he knew Lucas was gone, but he never connected the dots. Right now, we're trying to pinpoint the exact time Gracie left and where she went.

Sammy wasn't released from the hospital. He's been closely monitoring the news, looking for signs of a teenaged couple roaming around in some rundown truck. Of course, we figured out what vehicle they took firsthand. Castiel has kept this place highly inventoried, keeping track of every single speck of dust, noticing when something missing within five seconds of its disappearance. We've traced some tire tracks a couple of miles down the road, but then they connect with a highway. All we know is that they're heading west. When people run away, they always seem to go west, don't they?

Dean, Cas, and I are at the Manor. The older brother is digging through piles and piles of records we've all drawn up on Gracie. Her personality, her dreams, and her secrets. Cutting. How she cuts. Sam has been opening up about her, too:

She let Lucas cut her.

She let him cut her.

Sam described them as tattoos, images of hearts and doves and his name carved into her skin like she was an empty canvas. But her skin was alive, she was alive, she could feel that pain! What kind of a person does something like that to another person?

Well, a half-demon. I never really knew Lucas, but I don’t think I want to.

And it’s not like I’m innocent of anything. Those Dean dreams? They’re in the double digits now. What kind of person dreams about sleeping with her father’s best friend? I know he’s attractive. That’s for sure. I also know that he’s almost 20 years older than me! And I’m a minor. Dean has suggested sleeping with me before, but he wasn't serious. He knew I wouldn’t go through with it, and he wouldn't stoop that low. However, Dream Dean is different than real Dean. By a lot. First of all, he never talks. What’s up with that? Second of all, he never wears a shirt. Thank God Dean owns clothes… 

Hmm. Out of context, that would sound really weird. It sounds really weird anyways.

I shuffle through some more of the old papers. The stacks of blank pages on the cushion next to me just seem to keep growing. Dean has been filing through old emails, after hacking into Gracie's account. Jesus, the things that girl talked about.

Cas suddenly slams the cupboard door, making me jump. Dean looks up, surprised, from the laptop.

“How do we know she even wants to see us again?” he says, holding his hands against the countertop. His eyes are dry, weary, and tired. “How do we know she isn't already gone?”

“She’s with Lucas,” I answer him. “Even if she doesn’t want to be saved, we can’t leave her alone with that son of a bitch!”

“We don’t know where she is, and scavenging through papers isn’t going to help,” Cas takes his head in his hand.

“Listen!” I walk up to him. I grip his shoulder. “We are not going to let her go. She’s in danger no matter who she’s with. And she’s your daughter! Even if she won’t admit it, you love each other! You owe it to her to save her. Please, Dad.”

His shoulders crumble underneath my fingers. His breathing grow shallow. I know he's trying hard to hold on, and it's getting harder every day, but he's not ready to fall just yet.

He looks up at me with shining eyes. “I miss the days when you were my little girl.” He tucks one strand of hair behind my ear. "I wish I could've been there for you."