Sammy

3. Melody

The process was horrifyingly simple.  Dean merely had to fill out a couple sheets of paper, sign off on a paltry of agreements, and the girl was his.  He still was very uncomfortable with this, but what else was there to do?  Those other girls had shards of hope, however small, in their eyes.  This girl was empty, a shell of something that was once young, innocent, and vivacious.  His eyes started to water as Sam crossed his mind.  He would have been just her age if he was still alive.

"Hey, Dean," Benny yelled across the desks, "are you up for a hunt?"  Another hunt, another town, another sleazy motel, and another thing that Dean would have to kill.  He didn't want to hunt anymore, not after seeing that girl.  He had to take care of her.  She was his second chance at being responsible and maybe if he didn't screw up this time, a small fraction of his soul would be redeemed.

"Ya'know Benny, I think I wanna split up for a little while," Dean called back.  "This guy here says there's a hunt somewhere in Kansas.  I think I'll go there, do some work, then meet up in a roadhouse somewhere.  That sound good?"

"Sure, you take the car, then I'll find my own way there."  Benny turned back to the man at the front desk and Dean went to one of the tables at the back of the lobby to wait for the girl.

It didn't take too much longer, but by the time she was brought out, Benny had already gone.  Dean could see now how thin and ghostly she really was.  His heart broke just looking at her, pulverized at the sight of how little she carried, then blew away like dust in the wind when he noticed the shaking and the tear tracks on her cheeks.  Dean nodded at the man, who gave a curt nod back, then returned to his place at the desks.  "Come on," he almost whispered to her as they headed out to the Impala, the frail girl quivering with every step.  Once he started driving, he made the decision to go up to South Dakota.  She needs a home, not an endless line of motels and monsters.  Bobby should be able to help us until I can get on my feet.

The ride to South Dakota was very silent and thick with the suffocating smoke of tension.  Dean had tried almost every icebreaker he knew, but she didn't respond to any.  All she did was stare out the car window and pick at the loose threads on her dress.  Dean was growing impatient, but he tried not to let it show.

"So, would you mind telling me your name?" he tried for the second time.  Silence.  He could have sworn he heard a small sound from her, but it never grew into something audible.   "Okay," he sighed, "I know you really don't like this arrangement and honestly I don't either, but could you please just communicate with me here.  Talk, sing, use sign languages, hell, even mime it I don't care."  She turned to him sharply and Dean jumped slightly.  Fresh tear tracks stained her cheeks and her dull gray eyes were as unforgiving as stone.

"Melody, that answer your question?" she spoke harshly.

"I'm Dean Winchester and yes, it does."  She turned back to the window and Dean returned to staring out the windshield.  Dusk was upon them and he needed to find somewhere nice to stay for the night.  He wasn't about to condemn the poor girl to yet another motel room that could trigger who knows what for her.  She was his second chance and he was determined to keep her safe.

Two hours and a very awkward silence later, Dean pulled into a decent, half empty hotel somewhere in northern Iowa.  This was a good place and by the next morning, the two of them could reach the Singer house.  Had he been on his own, he would have made a try for driving a couple more hours, but he wasn't and introducing a skittish and very tired girl to a strange man well past midnight didn't exactly sound like the best of ideas.  He gently tapped Melody on the shoulder, but she continued to sleep.  Dean sighed, unfastened her seat belt, and gently carried her from the car into the hotel. 

Shortly after falling asleep, Dean began to hear small whimpers coming from the bed next to him.  He sat straight up and for a split second, the figure on the bed was his brother.  He blinked and saw that it was only Melody, shaking and whimpering in her too-large bed.  He reached out to touch her and she flinched at the slightest nudge of his hand.  Okay, time for plan B then.

"Melody!" he whisper-shouted.  She shot up and Dean instantly regretted his idea.  Her sobs got worse and she was shaking so hard the bed was almost moving around her.  He ran over to her and she moved away, holding her small hands up in a weak defense.  

"Hey, Melody, calm down, okay.  You're fine.  Nothing's going to hurt you I swear."  He sat down next to her and turned on the small lamp on the beside table.  He could see her visibly relax in the murky lighting and he himself felt some relief.  He moved her hands down from her face and saw that fear was still covering her eyes.  They darted around the room in a feverish dance that seemed to serve no purpose except avoiding Dean.  

"Hey, can you look at me?" he asked her as her eyes began to focus on a point in the middle of the room.  Slowly, they redirected until she was staring right at him.  He gulped.  "Do you want to talk about it?"  She shook her head, but maintained direct contact with him.  "Is there anything you need?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"What?"

"I said yes," she said louder.

"I know, what do you need?"  Dean's voice was starting to raise just a little bit, which sent a small chill down Melody's spine.  "Sorry."

"It's fine, um, could you stay up with me?  I don't care what you do, I just don't want to be alone," she replied timidly.  Dean tilted his head in confusion for a brief moment, which didn't turn out to be a very good move on his part.  "Or, or keep the light on if you want to sleep, I don't mind either way ju-"

"Shhh, you're fine.  I'll stay up with you.  One condition."

"Anything."

"I want you to answer me honestly about everything I ask you and if you don't want to answer, that's alright.  Okay?"  She nodded in response and Dean pulled up one of the wooden chairs.  They sat in silence for a minute or two before Dean started asking questions.

Okay, so I don't really like leaving cliffhangers, but I feel like splitting up this chapter into two parts will make it easier to read.  I hope y'all are liking it so far and that it's not too cliche.