Keeping up with the Joneses

Part Twenty One

A week had passed since Christmas, and even though Sara had seemed to be doing a little better, she wasn't.

As her grief settled to steady waves, the nightmares became her new reality. When she did sleep, which wasn't often, she would wake screaming and would shake for hours after. Dean had taken to crawling into bed with her, hoping that his presence would help. It did sometimes, but Sara still seemed to be battling some serious demons.

She was sitting at her usual spot on the porch, knees to her chest as she watched her breath come out in clouds. It was probably just an hour or two before sunrise, and she had carefully peeled herself out of Dean's arms so he could get some good hours of sleep.

"Heya, Sar-bear."

Sara's head jerked toward the voice, eyes widening as she saw who it was.

"A-- Avery? I thought you were..."

The taller woman hummed, stuffing her hands in her pockets. "Dead? Mm, yes."

"So you're a ghost?"

"Not quite."

"A memory?"

"Closer."

"Am I dreaming?"

"Red hot. You're almost there."

"I'm hallucinating?"

"Someone get her a cash prize," Avery said cheekily, striding to stand in front of Sara. "You, honey bee, are cuckoo for cocoa puffs."

"What?"

"Well, it starts with the nightmares. You deprive yourself of sleep, good hearty food and... Kablam. Time for the bats to fly the belfry."

Sara's eyes widened. She pinched herself under her blanket, nails digging into the skin of her forearm and coming away wet with blood. She wiped it on her pant leg, looking around the yard as if Avery would be gone when she looked back.

"You're not dreamin' sweetheart."

"But-- But why... You?"

"Oh!" Avery chuckled, slapping her forehead with her hand as if she'd made a silly mistake. "Because it's your fault that I'm dead."

Sara's heart dropped, and she began to shake. "I-- I--"

"I, I," Avery mocked. "It's your fault I'm dead. It's your fault that your parents are dead. It's your fault that your precious little brother is dead."

"No, stop," Sara whimpered, pressing her hands over her ears and squeezing her eyes shut.

Avery flashed forward, yanking Sara's hands away from her ears. "And guess what? It's gonna be your fault when your friends die. Bobby..." Sara groaned, trying to pull herself out of Avery's painful grasp. "Sammy..." Sara saw a wicked smile on Avery's face. "Dean..."

Suddenly, the door opened behind Sara and the ironclad grip that Avery had on Sara's wrists vanished. She gripped the back of her head, shoving it between her knees as she began to cry. She heard Dean saying her name, trying to get her to look at him, but kept her eyes squeezed shut as her body shook violently. Dean sat next to her on the bench, wrapping his arm around her shaking shoulders and speaking soft, soothing words.

He was as afraid for her as ever. He knew that healing wasn't linear, but he was hopeful when he saw bits of the old Sara on Christmas. The past week had been rough on her, he knew she almost never slept and trying to make her eat was becoming more and more difficult.

Sara's body relaxed ever so slowly, but the shaking didn't seem to want to abate. She threw her legs over Dean's, stuffing her face into his shoulder and trying to calm herself down. It wasn't until the sun began to rise that Dean spoke.