Fic: Fellowship of the Nine 11/23
Chapter 11
Awkward was a mild word to describe that dinner. Brenda and I were still rattled by the conversation we'd just eavesdropped on. Sam looked like he wanted to be somewhere else which was kinda the main reason for the awkwardness and he avoided looking in my direction. And in Cole's for that matter.
Dean had a flirting eye on Andrea but he was tense and clearly uncomfortable sitting with us at the same table.
Cole, Eric and Vincent were openly staring at Dean which didn't help to ease the tension. But c'mon, this was Sam's mysterious brother. The one he'd talked about only occasional and if there was alcohol involved.
"So, Dean." Cole started as if he wasn't sure about the name. "Sam never told us what you do for a living." Besides being on a pointless road trip were the unspoken but clearly intended words.
Sam and Dean shared a look.
"I'm a mechanic." Dean met Cole's eye as if he was challenging him to make a comment about that.
"And as a mechanic." Cole said the word as if it was something dirty and I wasn't the only one who wanted to smack him for that. Brenda sat next to him so she was the one who kicked his shin. But Cole just kept talking.
"You can afford to go on a road trip for over a year?" Cole raised his eyebrow, openly sizing Dean up, taking in the worn clothes he, and for that matter Sam as well, wore.
"I don't think it's any of your business what I can or can not afford." Dean's face hardened and next to him Sam shifted uncomfortable in his chair.
"Dean." Sam said and that word was enough to change something in his brother. What exactly I couldn't really tell.
"Sam, could you pass me the salt?" Andrea tried to turn the conversation but it was a lost cause. Without looking at her Sam passed the salt, eyes fixed on Cole.
"Sam is a brilliant young man, Dean." Cole just couldn't drop it. "He's wasting his time with that trip of yours. As his brother you should encourage him to build a future for himself. He deserves a better life."
Now Dean put his fork down.
"Listen, buddy." Dean said in a dangerous low voice. An eery silence lay over the table while we waited for Dean's next words. "You don't know me, you don't know Sam, you know nothing about us."
Sadly Cole wasn't somebody who would back off. "I know Sam, we all know Sam, he's our friend. Who we don't know is you. Where were you all those years? You don't even care about Sam."
"Cole, stop it." Sam spoke up and his expression was as dark as his brothers. I can't speak for the others but this Sam I didn't know at all.
Then his face softened and Sam was Sam again.
"There's a lot you don't know." He said with pleading eyes and with a hum Cole turned his attention back to the plate in front of him.
After we'd finished our meal and the dishes were done we had to figure out what to do with the rest of the evening.
Eric suggested to watch a movie. Play it save, I guess. With that everybody could pretend to be absorbed in the movie and didn't have to talk to the others. But Sam and Dean excused themselves and went upstairs.
As soon as we heard the door close behind them we started to gossip. There is no nicer way to describe what we were doing.
"What a grunt." Vincent threw himself on the couch. We settled around the fireplace.
"A mechanic. Sure." Cole put another log on the fire. "I'm telling you, he's dragging Sam down some criminal road."
I had mused about where the money for their trip came from before but now I wondered.
"Their dad died last summer." I offered. "Maybe he left them some money. Or they sold his house or whatever."
That was news to the others so for a minute we sat there in silence, processing that information. Well, I strained my ears and listened for noises from upstairs. I don't know what I expected, arguing and yelling maybe. I doubted Dean would actually do something to Sam with us in earshot but I had this uneasy feeling in my guts.
Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw a movement on the stairs and for a second I expected Sam to join as. But when I turned my head there was nothing.
In my mind I replayed the conversation Brenda and I had listened in to and it became more and more obvious to me that Dean was manipulating Sam. Maybe he had put the fix idea of Jess being murdered in Sam's head in the first place, using it to bind Sam to him with a wild goose chase after an imaginary killer.
I was still convinced that Dean was abusing Sam. Had him manipulated into believing it wasn't abuse rather some twisted form of showing his love or some shit like that. Maybe Dean believed it himself. But c'mon, Dean had admitted that Sam had been thrown down the stairs. He hadn't said it had been him doing the throwing but who else could have done it? And he had outright admitted that it was his hand print on Sam's arm. I wasn't sure about the dangling part they had talked about but in my mind I had an unpleasant picture of Dean shoving Sam over a balustrade threatening to drop him.
Maybe I did Dean wrong but somebody had done this to Sam. I'd seen the scars, had seen the way Sam tried to hide them. Like they were a dirty little secret.
I shared a glance with Brenda and I'd never felt that helpless in my life.
While the fire burned down we mused about Dean. Every little detail we'd noticed we dragged into the light to analyze it. The way he moved, the way he dressed and talked and ate. His way with Sam. I didn't outright say what I thought about their relationship and neither did Brenda but that wasn't necessary.
"Tomorrow I'll talk to Dean." Andrea offered. "Maybe he can convince Sam. He has to be proud that his brother made it to Stanford. I can't believe he wouldn't want Sam to have a better life than he has."
I wasn't so sure about that remembering Sam's comment at the Halloween party shortly before the fire. It hadn't sounded like his family cared about higher education. But at least Andrea could try.
Later I followed Cole to the master bedroom. On the dresser I found my laptop and if Sam suspected that I'd used it to spy on him I didn't know.
The bedroom had only one bed but it was big enough for at least three people and it shouldn't be a problem for Cole and me to stay on different sides of the bed.
It took a while for me to fall asleep.
I woke to a scream.
continue to chapter 12
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