Purgatory Can't Keep Us Apart

Chapter 8. Separate Ways Pt. 2

Carmen

Carmen laughed softly as Dean's rumbling stomach startled him awake. She pulled out her earbuds so that she could hear him.

"Dude, calm down. You're fine. Need something to eat?" The girl tossed a brown paper bag at him. "I got you a bacon cheeseburger, I hope that's okay. I can make another stop if..." Carmen's voice trailed away as she watched Dean tear into the food like it was his last meal on earth. "Looks like that won't be necessary." She concluded.

"Carmen, you are a saint." Dean praised her.

"Haha if only I believed in saints and God and religion in general."

The hunter sighed softly. "Well my boyfriend is an actual angel, so I kind of have no choice."

"Awwww," Carmen squealed, "what's his name? What's he like? Where is he? How long have you been together? Is he handsome? Is he tall...?" Her voice quietened a little as she realized Dean was looking at her strangely. "What? I can't be happy for you two?"

Dean chuckled softly, then he got that really far away look in his eyes as he spoke. "His name's Cas. He's just a little bit shorter than me, and I wasn't even kidding when I said he's an angel. Absolutely gorgeous, and kinda socially awkward like he's not familiar with today's society. He's...away on a business trip right now, and I cannot even begin to tell you how much I miss him."

"Oh! Are you headed over to meet up with him?"

"I have something to take care of, first. He and I are going back to Kansas after this is all done."

"Where are you going now?" Carmen asked.

"You know, you're probably too curious for your own good. Every heard the saying 'curiosity killed the cat?'"

"Yeah, well satisfaction brought it back." Carmen winked at Dean before turning back to the road.

"Alright, young lady. I like you so far, tell me about yourself."

The girl chuckled. "You're avoiding the subject."

"Clayton, Louisiana is my final destination. Got business to finish with an old friend. Now will you tell me about yourself?"

"Not much to say. Was born and raised in Indiana, went to college in Indiana. Now I'm just floating free and trying to find a place to settle. You know, the odd job here and there." Carmen patted the steering wheel of her car. "She's not my dream car, but she gets me places."

Dean grinned at her. "You know cars well?"

"I always wanted to, but no." She replied, "I can tell when something's up with this one, but that's pretty much it. Dream car is a '67 Chevy Impala, but I'm more of a motorcycle gal."

"Motorcycles." Dean repeated. "I can dig that."

"Yo! Not cool, dude!" Carmen shouted, then covered her mouth with one hand. "Sorry, pretend that never happened."

"What? What did I say?"

"It's nothing. Just brought back a baaad memory. As in very not good. A very not good memory that you referenced."

"You wanna talk about it?"

Carmen laughed bitterly. "Thanks, but no. Talking won't help, I've tried."

"Okay, I can understand that." Changing the subject, he went on. "So you said 'born and raised in Indiana.' Got any family back there?"

"Yeah, my little sister is still there with my parents."

"Little siblings, am I right? My brother, Sammy, he's up in Kansas waiting for us to get back."

"They're a pain, I'll give you that. Still, I'd do anything for her. You know, go to hell, sell my soul, the whole deal."

Dean chuckled and nodded. "You have no idea."

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while, just watching out the window.

"Want some music?" Carmen asked. Dean reached for the radio, but she slapped his hand away. "Driver picks the music." She turned it on to her favorite station - classic rock.

Dean crossed his arms in mock sullenness until he heard what was playing. "Driver," he said, pointing to Carmen, "you have excellent taste in music."

"Thanks!" She winked at her passenger. "I learned from the best."

"Oh?" Dean asked, "who's that?"

"Two of the best, actually. My dad and my favorite character from a book series."

Dean nodded in approval. There was a moment of silence before he asked, "how far do you plan on taking me?"

"Oh, I'll just drive you all the way down." The girl laughed a little, figuring she might as well since she was already drifting that way. "I have a friend in South Carolina we can stay with. I'm sure she'd be more than happy for a surprise visit."

"And she won't mind if you just...stop by?" The man was surprised at this, as it sounded like they hadn't seen each other in a while.

"No, she and I are still pretty close. We just don't get the opportunity to get together often."

Dean sighed. "Yeah, I know how that goes. Hey, um...we've been driving for just about as long as I can hold it in. Can you stop when we see a station?"

"Yeah, sure!" Carmen replied.

Once at the station, Dean went in to use the bathroom while Carmen refilled the tank. She pulled out her phone and dialed a number as she waited.

"Sabrena?" She asked when the other end picked up. "Yeah, love, it's Carmen. This is a code red, I repeat code red." There was a pause as she listened to the opposite side, then she said, "I have the Dean fucking Winchester hitchhiking in my car, and I'm bringing him to you." She laughed after a moment. "No, you can't keep him. It's only for the night. Yeah, I'm taking him down to Louisiana, just like the book said."

xXx

A/N: Oh my gosh, guys. I can't believe I made it over 150 reads! You're all amazing and I love you! If you like it so far, vote please! If not, tell me why in comments (but I appreciate positive feedback too). Thank you, thank you, thank you!
~Lesbianpanda