Fic: Fellowship of the Nine 6/?
Chapter 6
While Sam hit the shower I used the time to change myself. I was just about to find a place for my things to dry - those guestrooms were small - when Sam rushed in, one hand clenching a towel around his waist and a ball of wet clothes in the other hand.
He stopped dead when he spotted me.
"I … I thought everybody was downstairs." He clenched the towel tighter and squeezed past me. "Should have taken some dry clothes with me in the bathroom." He muttered and dove head first in his bag clearly uncomfortable with me seeing him half-naked.
Couldn't blame him for that. I wouldn't want people to see me if I looked like I'd a round or two with Mike Tyson. And had clearly lost. For a second I just stood there and stared.
"What happened to you?" I finally found the words while Sam was pulling a shirt over his head covering up the marks on his body.
"Tripped and fell down some stairs." He tried to shrug it off. "Lucky I didn't break my neck."
I nodded as if I believed him.
Don't get me wrong, we had been roommates for quite a while. We'd seen each other half-naked before and I knew the scars he carried. Scars he didn't want to talk about. He never confirmed it but I blamed his old man for them.
Sam had gathered a few new ones but it was hard to tell because of all the fat, dark bruises covering his chest, belly and most of his back. One really big one spread from his shoulder to his neck, right where I had slapped him the night before. No wonder he'd flinched.
However, the worst were the bruises on his arm. Hand-shaped bruises, like somebody had dragged him by his arm with a death-grip.
Fell down the stairs my ass. Somebody did this to him. But his old man was dead. Or so he'd said. Would he lie about something like that? I doubted it, why would he?
There was still his brother, though. Dean.
"Let's go downstairs." Sam snapped me out of my thoughts. He was fully dressed by now and all his hurt was covered up again. I tried to smile.
"Don't trip on the stairs." I said and it was supposed to sound lighthearted. Failed on that one but Sam played along.
"Try to."
In the kitchen Andrea got us cups with steaming chocolate which she had spiced quite good.
"Frosty is back." She announced at the sight of Sam and lead the way to the fireplace where the others waited for us. Brenda offered Sam the place next to her and Eric took me aside to show me Cole's DVD collection.
"They are organized." Cole just had to tell us. "I'd like to keep it that way."
"We're not five. Jeez." Eric rolled his eyes and as soon as Cole turned he put Saw V between II and III.
"Jep, you're totally not five." But I didn't put it back in the right place either. Discussing movies with Eric I blocked out what I'd just discovered about Sam. I needed time to decide how to deal with something like that. Because honestly? It freaked the fuck out of me. Sam was a grown man, build like a tank, that wasn't the man you'd picture as a victim of abuse.
Cole had turned the music on in a low tune and then went over to Sam and Brenda. Out of the corner of my eye I watched them for a moment and I really hoped they could convince Sam to come back to us. Hell, I'd offer him a place on my couch as long as he needed it if that got him away from his family. Away from Dean. He had done it before, left them all behind, he could do it again.
"Seriously?" Eric had picked out another movie. "Cry Wolf? House of Wax? What's with all the crappy horror movies?"
Shaking my head I scanned the other titles. Cole had quite a collection here. It looked like he had every horror movie ever made.
"Did you notice that we have the setup for a crappy horror movie right here?" I looked around. "Young college students all alone in an isolated cabin in the woods. What do you think, who'll turn out to be a maniac ax murderer?"
"Andrea." Came the prompt answer.
"Andrea?" I blinked at the petite girl in the other corner with Vincent. They were moving slowly to the music and I heard Andrea's soft laughter. She could be a bundle of energy but waggling an ax? "Why Andrea?"
"That's because." Eric nodded like he had proven his point. "Nobody would suspect her. Or Sam. C'mon can you imagine Sam with something more dangerous than a nail clipper?"
We laughed at that but it sent shivers down my spine. Sam's battered body was back on my mind. For a second Eric shuddered as well so maybe it wasn't just me feeling uneasy and Andrea had been right and it was drafty in here.
"Don't tell Cole." Eric leaned in to make sure I was the only on hearing his words. "That makeover his folks did with this place is crap. It's drafty and I swear the wood working at night? It almost sounds like footsteps."
"Or it's the ax murderer looking for his next victim." I joked but my eyes were on Sam. He stood now face to face with Cole.
"I just want to help you." Cole said loud enough to get the attention of all of us. "You're throwing away your life, Sam! Can't you see that?"
Sam raised his hand in a calming down manner. "I get that you want to help me and I really appreciate that but stop. Just stop. Okay?" He ran his fingers through his hair and only now seemed to realize that he was the center of attention.
"I need fresh air." He announced and grabbed his boots and coat and a second later he was out of the door.
Cole turned around. "Did I say something wrong?" For what Brenda smacked his shoulder.
"You're an ass, you know that?"
For a second nobody moved but then Andrea looked at me.
"Maybe you should go after him."
continue to chapter 7
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