Desolation Comes Upon the Sky

Rock and a Hard Place

Sorry, I haven't posted in a while. Long story short, I lost someone close to me, so I've been preoccupied with other things. But, good news, I'm back and I plan to be posting 2+ chapters a week! Hope you enjoy :)

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July 17th, 2014
Rexford, Idaho

The blood soaked her hands, staining the sink red. Alex watched the water run down, chilling her skin as it washed away the last remaining trace of her sins. Her grey eyes flickered up to the mirror to trace her pale, round face. Blood was splattered across her cheeks, crimson flecks against white. She couldn't hold her own gaze — what had she done?

Alex jerked awake, eyes flying open in surprise. Something had moved. The bed had shifted. The pale dawn sky was on the horizon, casting a gentle light throughout the bedroom, and the bed frame shifted again as the man beside her sat up. "Alex? Are you okay?" Castiel's gentle hands came to rest on her shoulder, and Alex rolled over to look up at him.

"Uh. Hey." She reached up, fingers carding gently through his disheveled hair. "S-Sorry, bad dream." She heaved herself up into a sitting position and leaned over to press a quick, closed-mouth kiss on his lips. "Did I ... did I wake you?"

"No. I wake up with the light." Castiel rolled out of bed, and after a second or two, Alex followed. She watched as her mate disappeared into the bathroom, and she looked down at her appearance; despite the hot, humid weather that marked the middle of July, she was dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants. The feeling of the demon's blood still clung to her body, so strong and real that Alex was afraid Castiel could see it if she uncovered her skin.

She was going to need another shower.

As if on cue, Alex heard the water start to run, and her shoulders fell in disappointment, unable to bring herself to join him. She felt her secret weighing on her shoulders, the tip of a wedge that was threatening to drive itself between them if she couldn't pull it together.

She made her way into the kitchen to start with breakfast, casting a quick glance out the window on her way past. The rest of her night has passed uneventful; no sirens, no police officers at her door; she would have to go down and talk with Greg after she had eaten.

She dug a box of cereal out of the cupboard and tossed it onto the island. Her phone rang, and the ex-angel looked towards the bedroom in surprise. Who could possibly be calling her at this hour?

She hurried over to her phone to see who it was and answered it with a confused noise. "Sheriff Mills?"

"Hey, Alex. How have you been?"

"Um ... good." Alex cast a glance towards the bathroom door, and she dropped down onto the bed. "How have you been? I haven't heard from you since I kicked Crowley's ass on your guys' date," she added.

"Don't remind me. Listen, Bobby Singer had some property in town — you know, a few storage lockers here and there. He doesn't have any family left, and since I figured you were the closest thing to family he had, you might want to come have a look in them before the county does."

"Yeah, yeah, of course." Alex jumped to her feet. "Definitely. I — I can be there sometime tonight if I leave now."

She could hear the nod in the sheriff's voice. "Okay, well, no hurry, you understand me?" There was a voice, too quiet for Alex to hear, and the noise became muffled as Jody pushed the phone into her shoulder to respond. "Listen, sweetie, I have to go. A call just came in. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Yeah, sounds good." Alex hung up and shoved her phone into her pocket as the bathroom door swung open.

"Who was that?" Castiel stepped out, a towel wrapped securely around his waist. Blue eyes sparkled with curiosity as his head tipped to one side. "I heard you talking to someone."