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Chapter 10: Betrayal

Sam turned in his seat to look back at you. His lips were pressed into a tight frown. "Y/N, I'm sorry, but we want you to sit this hunt out. The bottom line is, we don't know how well you hunt and this is a rare breed of monster."

"It was supposed to be extinct," Dean muttered bitterly under his breath. Sam barely sent a sideways glance his way.

You felt betrayed. Again. It was a stupid thing to let upset you, but it was so frustrating. It seemed that, with these brothers, every positive step forward meant at least two negative steps back. During lunch, you had finally started to feel a sense of belonging, like the hunters might be truly willing to let you be a part of their family. You had been wrong and you should have known better.

"You guys are real pieces of work."

"Y/N," Dean started, but you cut him off by sliding out of the Impala and slamming the door shut in anger. You could hear him yelling something about not slamming her doors. You didn't care.

In the motel room, you screamed and punched a pillow as angry tears fell from your cheeks. To say it was an overreaction was an understatement, and you knew it. It was just...things finally seemed to be settling into place. Then Sam and Dean turned their backs on you and it hurt.

Perhaps it was from the years of working alone. Maybe you had craved the interaction and comradery more than you had realized, and getting it stripped away really sucked. The boys were trying to look out for you, you understood that, but it was irritating. You didn't ask for protection. You didn't even ask for their help.

Instead of staying angry in the room, you sifted through the pile of your new-old-clothes and pulled something out that looked professional. If the boys didn't want you to join them in the hunt, you were at least going to learn more about the case they were ostracizing you from.

Once you were satisfied with your appearance, you grabbed a notepad and pen from the nightstand drawer and walked through the town. The police tape was still up around the herbal remedies shop. There was no way you were going to get to snoop around the scene, but you could snoop around the other local shops nearby.

You stepped into a small café that hugged the side of the remedies shop. There was a friendly elderly lady manning the counter that sat a few gruff men. They seemed to be out of place in such a serene setting. But, then again, who were you to judge. A good cup of coffee was a good cup of coffee.

When you hoisted yourself up onto one of the tall stools, the lady behind the counter offered you a cup of coffee. Despite being just after noon, you gladly accepted the cup of warm energy.

"My name's Kim. Just holler if you need anything else."

The man beside you that had a scruffy face and shaggy grey hair turned your way. "Haven't seen you around before. What brings you in?"

You shifted your body slightly so that it angled more towards his. "Truthfully? All of the weird things going on around here. I travel around to places and try to get the dirt on their local crimes."

The man raised an eyebrow at you. "Seems like a rough job for a pretty, young gal like you."

You shrugged your shoulders and sipped on the coffee. "It's reality. I've never been much to shy away from what really goes on in the world. And what really goes on is rarely the pretty picture everyone tries to paint."

He raised his mug out towards you. "You seem like you have a decent outlook about it."

"I do what I can," you smiled. "And actually, now that we're on this subject, what can you tell me about the murders going on around here?"

He pushed a hefty amount of air past his lips and the smell of coffee on his breath smacked you in the face. "Honestly, kid, I don't even know what to make of it all. We're all close around here. I don't know who would be doing such a thing."

You chewed your bottom lip as you thought of follow up questions. "Do you think there's any foul play? I've noticed that every place that has been targeted has been one of the smaller businesses."

"That's the weird part, ain't it. And according to all police reports, it isn't a robbery or anything. The killer does his thing and leaves the business completely intact."

You looked down at your red mug that was already half emptied and ran your thumb around the rim of it. To you, it made sense that money and everything were left alone. Monsters rarely killed for money. It was typically for sport or survival. That wasn't something you could easily tell the man though.

"Do you know Stephen?" you blurted out, nearly kicking yourself for being so blatant already. That was a question you should have led up to, not just spouted off.

"The guy who owns the consignment shop? He's a decent kid. Although...eh, never mind." He swatted at the air with a calloused hand as if to rid the air of whatever he was about to say.

"What is it?" You asked, scooting yourself closer to the edge of your stool. Maybe this man could give you some insight on Stephen.

"Ever since these attacks, the kid's been acting strange. He closed shop for a few days right before the murders started. I'm sure it's just a coincidence. You know how it is. When there isn't a real solution, people will do anything to connect the dots."

You nodded your head in agreement. That was certainly true. In a world full of unknown monsters, people forced dots to connect in more ways than they ever realized. Unfortunately, knowing that Stephen was a Starship, the man wasn't force connecting anything. He was hitting the nail on the head without knowing it.

"Thanks for talking with me. I'm Y/N." You raised your hand out and the man shook it firmly.

"Callum."

"It was nice chatting, but I need to be getting on my way." You offered a smile and hopped off the stool, leaving a ten dollar bill behind to cover the cost of the coffee and a tip.

Outdoors, the leaves were starting to change color and you smiled. Fall was one of the prettiest times of the year. Most people preferred summer, but not you. There was something so serene about the cooling weather and changing colors.

You walked leisurely around the sidewalks. It had been awhile since you had the chance to enjoy a town. Typically, you had a hunt and had to split as soon as the job was over to avoid having any questions asked. It was nice to feel like a normal person, just out and about window shopping. Even if that wasn't what you were truly doing.