Can We Get This Back?

Dean knew he was in the wrong, telling his brother that he had to get out of the car just because he knew him so well. He was hiding the truth from his brother about what their father had told him the terrifying night at the hospital. Plus, Dean was acting like their father’s death is nothing to him. Sam, well he may have been aggravated by his older brother’s actions but he was just fed up with being pushed around. Deep down, it was quite clear that they couldn’t survive without each other by their sides. Whether they would admit it or not, Riley would make sure they would get their brotherly love back to how it used to be.

Riley and Sam waited patiently in an unsettling silence for Dean to arrive, staring off in to space to avoid each others gaze in Missouri’s living room. Both of them had an unusual tension consuming them, eating at their souls viciously. Sam was the one who was forcing himself not to stare at her inappropriately, while Riley was dying to ask a million questions about what happened since she’s been gone. Of course, she wanted to wait to bombard the questions until Dean was there in person. Plus, she had news to tell them.

No more than a half hour of getting off the phone with Dean, he pulled up against that broken curb in front of Missouri’s Victorian home. Dean collided with past memories of him and his little brother from last fall, working on a treacherous case with Missouri. As much as he hoped he wouldn’t have to come back to Lawrence, he had a bad gut feeling every night that he was going to someday.

Dean cut the engine to his black ’67 Chevy Impala, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He didn’t know what to expect to come out of Riley’s mouth once he stepped through that door; better yet, he wasn’t too keen on finding out what Sam was going to do with him when he showed up. Inhaling and exhaling heavily, Dean finally opened the car door and got out as he gradually made his way down the yellow-stoned path headed for the front porch, admiring the house and its usual beauty. He didn’t even have to bother knocking on the door, because Missouri was already there to greet him.

“They’re in the living room,” she said in a weary, yet peculiar manner. “Keep your feet off the furniture, or I’ll have to whack you with a spoon!”

Those were Missouri’s famous words she had told him last year; since she was psychic she could read minds. Dean had already been thinking of it. “Yes ma’am,” he replied with a fake, cocky grin and made his way passed her towards the living area. There they both sat on a tan sofa sitting in the middle of the 12x14 room, glancing back at him sternly. The tension began to rise once Sam and Dean glanced at each other briefly, as Riley quickly observed their edgy appearances.

Missouri entered the room but swiftly fled, exchanging a concerned look with Riley as they had both hoped doing this would lead to a better turnout; you have to be careful what you wish for.

Dean’s boots clicked against the solid hardwood floor as he made his way over to the couch, sitting directly across from them. “Riley, good to see your face,” he said boldly with a half confident smirk.

She sighed lightly, but smiled back. “It’s good to see you both too.” Secretly, she couldn’t be more enthralled to see these boys again. Being separated for so long drove Riley crazy, though she wouldn’t admit it to them but it was true.

“What’s so important anyway that we had to do this in person?” Dean questioned her firmly, crashing down onto the couch lazily.

“Yeah, I don’t understand. Why were you were looking for us?” Sam chimed in, giving her the same puzzled look as Dean was. “After, well- you know- you haven’t stayed in touch for over ten years, now suddenly have the urge to find us?” Riley was afraid this was going to happen, being bombed with a thousand questions at once before she could ask any herself. She closed her eyes momentarily, trying to figure out a way to tell them the truth without them freaking out. Slowly, she reopened them and letting the vibrant lights hit her eyes.

Riley blankly took a quick glance from Sam, back to Dean. “I wanted to find you to make sure you were still working together, but obviously you two are fighting again like usual.” She replied in an empty tone, though it was clear she was partially lying through her teeth.

“I kind of doubt that’s the only reason you came back.” Dean inquired with a concerned grin written on his face.

“Okay,” Riley said exasperatingly, rolling her eyes up in her head as she thrashed herself back against the sofa. “The real reason I came back was because my parents died about a month ago, my hunting partner of six years died no more than three weeks before, heck, even my childhood dog recently passed away last week. I honestly didn’t know which way to go anymore, because every time I turn around someone or something is dying right before my eyes and I don’t know why.”

The room fell silent for a brief moment as Sam cleared his throat, softly replying in a caring tone, “Riley, we had no i-”

“No idea, yeah I know.” She snapped back coldly, as salty tears began to well-up in her eyes. Her bitter attitude wasn’t intentional, but Riley felt like she was being attacked with death for an unexplainable reason. “Just don’t apologize to me. All I want is your help, please- I’m begging you, no more brutal clashes in the middle of the night that have to do with me. I just want to find out why this is happening to me so I can get back on the road again. You two are the closest thing to me now. I can’t do this alone.”

Dean and Sam shot each other a nervous glance because of two reasons. One, they were worried about Riley. They weren’t too sure whether this was something to take action towards, or to just play it cool and see what happens. The other reason was because they were two brothers battling it out over what happened no more than eight hours ago, arguing over what their father said to Dean. They had an old friend that needed a hand, so this argument was far from over.

“Where do we start?” the both said in unison, making Riley chuckle quietly. She may have been glad that the boys were at least linking together to help her out, but she was still in as much mourn as they were about their father. They have a lot of work to get done if they want things go back to the way they should be.