[AU]
"You can't choose your family."
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Willa Routh never knew her father. Her mother rarely talked about him, and when Willa went asking questions, she got shut down. She never even got a name...
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I have no direct communication from Cas other than if he calls Jody. So far, he hasn't. So far, no leads.
On the plus side, I've become friendly with Alex. Claire is still a work in progress. At least I know we share one thing in common: we're both sketchy about the other.
To break the tension, Alex offers up a game night. Not cards, but board games. Everyone seems to be down for it, Claire the most reluctant (no shocker there).
While it feels far from being with family, I get into the board games we lay out. I also pick up on how competitive the three are.
"Does this game ever end?" asks Claire miserably. The game before us is Monopoly, but a special edition. She and I are struggling towards the bottom of the pack. She just landed herself back in jail yet again.
"Depends on how good everyone plays," says Alex. She takes her turn to roll the dice. "Three people works for this, but the more the merrier."
"The more you mean to suck money from. We could've done, like, Pictionary or something."
I cringe. "Not the best artist."
"So, Cas said you've gotten tangled with demons," Claire says nonchalantly.
And there it is. Nosy Nancy. I swallow. "I don't...I don't wanna talk about it."
"And you don't have to," says Jody, narrowing her eyes at the blonde girl at the table.
"Well, join the club. Alex was running with vampires, and..." Claire falls quiet. "Let's just say if Castiel hadn't come into the picture, my life would've looked way different."
"In a good way or bad?" I ask.
"He's been wearing my dad's face for as long as I can remember."
Oh. My cheeks grow warm. I didn't expect to hear that. "I'm...is the best thing to say 'sorry' here?"
Claire shrugs. "I'm coming to terms with it, but some part of me still hates him for the damage he's done to my family."
"Can we focus on less depressing matters?" asks Alex cautiously. "Whoever's next, roll."
An uncomfortable silence follows as Jody takes her turn.
"What monsters took your family away?" asks Claire.
"My family isn't dead," I say. "My mom hasn't seen me for a while, and my dad isn't in the picture."
"Claire," Jody calls the blonde to order. "Clearly Willa is going through some things that she doesn't want to talk about. Do you like it when others pester you about things like that?"
