No Strings Attached

Day 267

            Dean hesitates, his fingers inches from the handle. He should stay. He should move to California with Lisa and Ben. It was the right thing to do. He'd spent years of his life with them, while he'd only spent months with Elena. Choosing Elena over them was wrong, he knew that, but there wasn't really a choice to be made.

            Taking a deep breath to settle his nerves, Dean slowly opens the door and steps out into the morning air.

. . .

            Dean slowly pulls to the curb, parking the Impala behind Elena's car. He's out of the car before the engine completely dies, only hesitating when he comes up to Elena's window. She's staring straight ahead, her fingers wrapped tightly around the steering wheel as she silently cries. Swallowing hard, Dean gently raps his knuckles against the window.

            "Lena?" She jumps, snapping out of her daze. Seeing Dean, she smiles weakly at him.

            "Hi," she mumbles, her voice muffled by the glass.

            "Hi," Dean repeats, his tone resembling the one used around children. "You wanna open the door?" Elena thinks about it for a moment before nodding, turning toward him to push open the door. Slowly, Dean reaches forward and moves her knees to the opening, holding onto them as he squats in front of her.

            "I'm sorry I missed breakfast," Elena whispers, a fresh round of tears spilling over her waterline. Sniffling, she wipes her nose with the back of her hand as Dean takes in the sight of her.

            She's still in last night's dress, the fabric lightly rumpled from being worn for so long. Her hair still holds the remnants of curls, but most of it has begun to straighten out. The makeup she had on is everywhere, under her red-rimmed eyes and smearing down her face. There's a slight prickle on her legs as Dean rubs them, a sign that she hadn't even had time to shave, let alone get out of her heels.

            "Don't worry about it," Dean says gently, his fingers ghosting over her skin. "How about we get you out of here? Get you a clean change of clothes and some coffee?"

            Elena nods, wrapping her arms around Dean's neck as he lifts her out of the car. He carries her bridal-style to the Impala, only struggling when he has to bend down to open the passenger door. Carful not to hit her head, Dean lowers her onto the seat. Once she's settled, Dean places a lingering kiss on her forehead before going around to his side.

            They drive in silence, save for Elena's quiet sniffling. Dean continues to glance over at her, worry and fear swelling inside of him. She didn't seem to have any bruises, which is a good sign, but Dean was still worried about her. Something about the way her eyes wavered and her hands shook was extremely unlike her, hinting that maybe her injury wasn't something Dean could visibly see.

            "Alright. I'm gonna go get us a room. Wait right here," Dean says once they're parked outside their usual motel. Elena smiles at him as he gets out of the car, rushing to the front desk. He's back in a matter of minutes, the room key clutched tightly in his hand as he opens Elena's door. "Can you walk?"

            Nodding, Elena steps out of the car, wobbling on her feet. Dean takes her elbow to balance her as they make their way towards the room. Seeing Elena's numb facial expression, Dean leads her to the bed and guides her to sit down.

            "May I?" Dean motions to Elena's feet. Elena nods, a sniffle causing her to wipe her nose again. Squatting in front of her, Dean carefully removes her heels, placing them on the carpet next to her. Once he's done, he takes a deep breath and looks up at her. "Are you ready to talk about it?"