No Strings Attached

Day 2

Fiddling with his keys, he finds himself pondering over what would happen if he didn't go inside. Lisa would surely move on without thinking twice. He could make a clean break, riding off into the sunset in his beloved Impala. He wouldn't have to feel guilty for cheating and he certainly wouldn't be miserable.

Shoving the thought aside, Dean steps forward and unlocks the door. He's barely gotten two feet inside when Ben comes blundering down the stairs, his backpack slung over his shoulder.

"Dean!" The child runs straight into Dean, wrapping his arms tightly around Dean's legs. He looks up at Dean expectantly, waiting for some sort of greeting. Realizing this, Dean clears his throat.

"Hey buddy," he mutters, ruffling his hair. "Where's your mom?"

"I'm right here." Lisa rounds the corner, not looking at Dean as she gathers her things. "I'm taking Ben to school before brunch with Cindy. We'll talk about it when you get home from work, okay?"

Dean has no time to protest as Lisa hurries Ben out the door, keeping her eyes on the ground the whole time. Sighing, Dean begins his ascent to the bedroom. He should feel exhausted, some sort of hangover dragging him down into the comfort of the sheets. Instead, he feels awake; alive even. More alive than he's felt in years. Realizing this, Dean starts to wonder if this feeling is Elena's doing...

No, he tells himself as he reaches the bedroom. Elena doesn't mean anything. Stop kidding yourself.

Deciding a hot shower will be able to wipe him clean of these thoughts, Dean heads into the bathroom. The shower does the opposite, the sound of the water allowing his mind to take control. All he sees is Elena, laughing and smiling in the dim bar light. The way her eyes would light up when she spoke of her work and the way she would bite her lip nervously whenever Dean accidently embarrassed her. Most of all he thought of her in the back of the Impala; how warm her skin felt under his hands and how soft her hair was. How, after everything had died down, she had laid her head gently on Dean's chest and fallen asleep, her breathing and heart beat matching perfectly with his. Dean had wanted to stay awake, to savor the connection between Elena and him. He didn't want to lose her.

"Damn it," he mutters, shutting off the water and stepping out into the steam filled bathroom. Dean moves slowly the rest of the day, purposefully taking extra time to complete simple tasks. Work at the construction company is a welcomed distraction, but all day he feels disconnected. It's as if he's trapped behind a wall of glass, watching his life slowly go by. No one seems to notice how distracted he is until the evening when he's invited to have a few beers in town. "No, I'm okay," Dean says, shocking his coworkers. Dean has never once declined the invitation of alcohol, yet here he is climbing into his car and driving in the opposite direction of the bar.

He doesn't realize where he's going until he pulls up outside the hospital. Only now does he accept how desperate he is to see this girl again. No one, not even Lisa, has been able to spark that fire inside of him the way Elena did. No one has ever cared so much in such a short amount of time. So, climbing out of his car, Dean walks toward the hospital doors.

"Hi, I'm looking for this girl." Dean places his hands on the front desk, smiling as best he can at the petite woman sitting behind it. "She said she was a resident here."

"Umm... okay," the woman says hesitantly, watching Dean as she places her hands on her computer. "Do you have a name?"

"Her name's Elena," Dean offers, his nerves beginning to twist their way through his stomach. "I don't have a last name, sorry."