The Joys of Being a Winchester

Chapter 4

Instead of being back at her flat like she usually would be at 11:30 pm, Jayde was at the boy's motel room, chewing down on some cheap fruit bar. She had eaten the same type before when she was about eight, the berry taste had made her so happy that she didn't react when her father had scolded and beat her that night. Now however, she was enjoying the taste surrounded by her two brothers, the three talking and making jokes as if they hadn't just broke into a house and killed a ghost. Maybe it was because she was at ease and he figured it would be easy to get information out of her, but Dean chose that moment to ask Jayde a question that had been on his mind.

"You said you went on hunts when you left, right?" Jayde looked at him to see he wasn't in the mood for fun and games, and didn't really care whether or not the answer he got would make her cry.

"I saw people in need of help, I did what I was raised to do. I left you guys because it was our family that was the problem, not the job." What she had said was the complete truth, even if some crucial bits of information had been left out. Dean looked like he wanted to argue but decided against it when his eyes travelled over Sam's, his eyes practically screaming, "Stop asking questions, we're having a good time!"

Jayde could tell Dean wasn't convinced and refused to look him in the eyes when she felt his gaze wash over her. She couldn't look into those green irises without spilling every thought she had ever bottled up, something he still wasn't ready to do. She was relieved when Sam had pulled upon his laptop, causing Dean to direct his focus on his brother.

"Are you looking for another case?"

"We gotta keep moving Dean, we can't risk the Feds catching up. Might as well work while we run."

"Surely we've dropped a little off the radar by now?"

"I'd rather not risk it."

No-one had to say a word, but Jayde shifted a little in her seat, the same thought rushing into everyone's heads; so now what? Did Jayde go with her brothers or stay. She hadn't given it too much thought, ignoring that over her other restless anxieties that continued to build inside her. But now it was decision time, a decision that could ultimately kill her in more ways than one. Jayde thought about everything she was leaving behind; her friends, her flat, her job, her nice and peaceful life. Too peaceful one part of her thought. Shut up the other half of her brain said. That raised the good point of her sweet, apple-pie life; what if it was too peaceful? Jayde had always thrived on excitement and action, the only action in her life nowadays came from friendly gossip and rushes to catch the bus. Hunting was what she was born and raised to do, to move a lot, to always be on your feet, ready to disappear. And there was no doubt about it, Jayde loved that life. especially when she had her two brothers by her side. It's not like John was going to beat her from the grave...

"It's up to you two really, but coming along is something I wouldn't mind doing." she looked up to see both of her brothers smiling, Dean's even brighter than usual.

"Of course you can come Jay, you're still a Winchester."

"And you might need to come too." Sam added, flipping his laptop screen around to face his brother and sister. "There's been a bunch of violent deaths down in San Francisco, and looking a the reports sound like our kinda thing."

"Well that's worth a little poke, don'tcha think?" Jayde took another bite of her fruit bar and smiled, the knowledge of going hunting again with Sam and Dean almost as sweet as the artificial flavouring.

***

Sam and Dean had checked out of their motel room and driven back to Jayde's flat, deciding they would spend the night there. When she finally collapsed in her bed Jayde read her wall clock. 12:37 am. She had gone to bed later than that but today she was exhausted, even after the nap. The hunt had taken some energy out of her, but in truth it was the emotional rollercoaster she had been on today. Fear, joy, anxiety, depression, euphoria, sadness, content; it was tiring to be emotional.