I sighed to myself as I mopped up the floors of the roadhouse diner. We had just closed up for the night and god damn people were pigs. There was spilled beer, blood from a few fist fights, glass from broken bottles, and more garbage scattered across nearly every inch of the ground. It was awful, but someone had to clean it.
I rubbed a hand over my face and yawned loudly. Sleep hadn't been coming to me much lately, and when it did, nightmares plagued my haunted mind. Nightmares weren't uncommon for a hunter. The horrors we see each day...It's hard. And although most hunters don't admit it, every single one has had at least one nightmare. Unfortunately, my nightmares were worse.
See a hunt had gone south recently and I ended up being trapped and tortured for a week straight by a group of filthy witches. If it weren't for the Jo Harvelle, I would be dead by now. I felt myself smile softly at the thought of her. She had been my friend for years now, and when I went missing, she was the one who jumped into action.
Ellen, her mother, wasn't happy, but let Jo take my case without a fuss because it was me. Ellen saw me as another daughter, and I was pleased when I heard she had helped Jo in finding me. The two of them came to my rescue. It was amazing watching Jo kick witch ass for me. Of course I was only half conscious, and a complete mess when they found me, but I remember the look of determination on Jo's face when she fought of those demons.
I also remembered the look of worry she had when she ran over to me and got me out of the chains I was kept in. I'd never seen her look so scared and to be completely honest, it spooked me. I didn't like to see her worried or scared. It made my heart squeeze up. See the thing was I had feelings for the young woman and it had been driving me insane.
That's what my nightmares were about. The witches, and my feelings for Jo. Usually, I was forced to watch them kill torture then her, and I'd wake up sobbing. I sighed loudly and continued cleaning, mumbling to myself about how I needed to stop getting lost in thought all the goddamned time.
"Y/N?" Ah, speak of the devil. I turned, a genuine smile forming. "Hey Jo," I hummed. Jo smiled back at me and came over. "Need some help? Sorry for not coming sooner, Ash needed help with something," She explained. "That's alright, and help would be awesome," I chuckled a bit and Jo nodded, grabbing the second mop and beginning to clean.
We were silent for a while before Jo looked over at me. "How've you been doing? You know after...The whole...Witch deal," She muttered softly. It had been a few weeks since I'd been back, but Jo, Ellen and Ash checked on me periodically to make sure I was okay physically and emotionally. I lied every time.
"I'm alright. S'getting better," The fib rolled off my tongue easily. Well I suppose it wasn't a complete lie. Physically I was getting better, but certainly not mentally. Jo nodded. "Good...That's good," She offered me a small smile, and I hummed softly. "And you? How's things with your mom? I hear you guy's bickering about you hunting,"
Jo gave out a big sigh of exasperation. "Well...Not great. She really really doesn't want me hunting and I mean...I guess I understand. She's worried something will happen to me but I can take care of myself," She said, and I nodded. "'Course you can Jo-Jo, but things go wrong. Take what happened to me. I've been hunting since...Forever, but I managed to get myself hurt pretty bad," I mumbled.
Jo's face dropped and she looked as if she was in sudden physical pain. "Yea...Yea you're right..." She exhaled. "I just...I want to help people by hunting those awful creatures," She shrugged, and I nodded. "I completely understand," I nodded, then gave out an embarrassingly loud yawn. Jo let a giggle escape her lips and I blushed.
"Maybe you should go get some sleep. I can clean the rest up," She assured. I licked my lips. "You sure?" I asked, and Jo nodded, her eyes warm. "Go on. Don't want you to fall asleep standing now do we?" I chuckled and playfully rolled my eyes. "Alright alright. Night Jo-Jo," I smiled and headed to my room. "Night Y/N,"
"Watch her suffer bitch," The creature snarled and sliced at Jo's arm, blood pouring out of the wound as Jo cried out in pain. I struggled against my bindings. "Let her go!" I yelled, and the creature just laughed. "Pathetic," It smirked and dragged the knife down Jo's thigh, the blood oozing out and dripping onto the dirt covered floor.
"Stop it!" I seethed, my heart beating incredibly fast, and my eyes wide with fear. This time the creature ignored me and chopped off Jo's finger. She screamed, and I gasped. "STOP!" I yelled, tears forming in my eyes from seeing the woman I loved in pain. "Y/N! Help me please!" Jo cried, her body shaking.
"Hold on Jo I-I'll get us out of here I promise!" I tried to re-assure her. The creature continued the torture then stabbed Jo through the gut. I screamed, my heart dropping and tears pouring down my cheeks. "NO! JO!" I sobbed and suddenly, I was out of my restraints. I didn't question it and ran towards Jo, cradling her in my arms.
"No no no," I sobbed loudly and pressed my hands to her wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but it was too late. Jo laid in my arms, eyes glazed and lifeless. Suddenly, they flickered to black and her head snapped to look at me. "You promised you would get us out! You failed! This is your fault!" She snarled, and I backed up, my body trembling.
"I-I'm so sorry..."
"Y/N!" I gasped awake with a yell, thrashing wildly. "Y/N! Y/N it's okay! It's me it's Jo I'm right here!" My breaths were coming in short spurts and my heart was just about jumping out of my chest. "J-jo?" I stuttered, blinking as the image of my friend came into view. Her worried eyes met mine and she nodded, gently cupping my cheeks and wiping my tears with her thumbs.
"You were screaming my name and sobbing...I couldn't let that go on," She spoke softly and I just threw myself into her arms, crying into her chest. Jo's arms instantaneously wrapped around me and she gently rubbed my back in circles. "Shh...It's alright I got you," She whispered, holding me protectively.
After a few minutes I'd calmed enough and Jo pulled back to look at me. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked so gently that I almost caved. "I-I can't," I shook my head, but at the look Jo gave me, I did end up giving in. I told her everything. The continuous dreams of her being tortured and killed before me, and how I wasn't okay. Jo listened to everything, holding my hands the entire time for comfort.
"Y/N..." She murmured, once I'd finished. "I'm so sorry...You don't deserve that," She placed a gentle hand on my cheek. "I'm okay. I'm here and I'll always be. You don't need to hide these things from me...You can tell me anything and I'll be there for that too. You're not alone, and you don't need to suffer alone,"
Tears dripped down my cheeks once again and I nodded. "Thank you," I whispered, and Jo nodded. "Of course. I'll always be here Y/N," We stared into each others eyes for a moment and I swear it was like a scene from a fucking soap opera because the next thing I knew, we were kissing. Her lips felt like what I imagined heaven was like. Perfect.
As soon as it happened it was over, and I was left yearning for more. I opened my eyes to look at Jo and she looked nervous and almost afraid. "I-I'm sorry I don't want you to think I'm taking advantage of you since you're being vulnerable..I-I just...God I've wanted to do that for so long," She admitted.
"You and me both Jo-jo," I spoke with a small smile. With that being said, I was once again pulled into a moment of soap opera bliss.