Purgatory Can't Keep Us Apart

Chapter 10. The Phoenix

Dean

Dean's internal alarm roused him from a dream of electric blue eyes and soft pink lips that both excited him and calmed him at the same time.

Holding onto that image, he pulled on his pants and walked out of the room and down the hall. Dean found milk and cereal in the kitchen for his breakfast and went to the living room. Upon entering, he found the two girls asleep on the couch, just where he had left them the night before. Taking out his phone and flipping it open, Dean snapped a photo of the two as they slept peacefully, curled up together under several blankets.

It wasn't creepy, he convinced himself. He would show Carmen when they woke up, and he'd delete it if she wanted.

Dean sat at the dining table to eat, his phone still in hand. His finger hovered over the call button for several minutes as he debated whether or not to call his baby brother.

He's got a new life, now. I can't take that from him. But wouldn't he want to know if his brother was still alive? Wouldn't I? What he doesn't know can't hurt him. But what if he finds out? He'll never forgive me for it. If he's made it this far, he doesn't need you anymore.

"I'm sure he'd love to at least know you're alive." I heard from behind me. Flipping my phone shut, I turned to see Sabrena leaning against the doorframe behind me.

I cleared my throat and asked, "how do you know who I'm calling?"

"I don't," she replied, "but it's somebody named Sammy - I saw it on your phone. Could be short for Samantha, but if it was a girlfriend or wife you'd already have called her. This is a debate as to whether or not he wants to see you again. Brother, then?"

I scowled in surprise, then squinted at her. "What are you, the new Sherlock Holmes?"

"Well, I did pick up a few things from him. We've got fifteen episodes, now, so it's getting easier. Carmen managed to learn it after only nine episodes. I swear, no one is safe with that girl." The woman smiled. "But as for your brother, he deserves to know you're still out there. It's not the same for him, he's the younger one."

"How the hell did you figure that one out?"

"I can just tell. You have the personality. Besides, if you were younger, you wouldn't have hesitated. Little siblings are ungrateful, needy little bastards." She said it with a smile and a small laugh, showing Dean that she was only joking.

"You have one, then?" Dean chuckled back.

Sabrena sighed and rolled her eyes. "My sister is practically the spawn of Satan. And Carmen's isn't much better."

"Yeah, Carmen mentioned her on the way down. Said she was still with her parents?"

Laughing, Sabrena said, "That girl needs to hurry up and get married. She's had the same boyfriend for almost a year and it's really serious, but she won't get engaged until Carmen and I get married. She has made that quite clear."

"Wow..." Dean raised his eyebrows. "She's still convinced it's gonna happen?"

"Oh my god, you don't even understand. Chloe has shipped it since we were sixteen. She hasn't given up yet."

Dean started laughing, then, and didn't stop for another minute and a half. At that point, a very sleepy looking Carmen walked into the kitchen with a blanket wrapped around her. She grabbed the phone and speed dialed a number. Dean watched in fascination as the girl impatiently waited for the other end to pick up.

"Hi, yes, I'd like to order a pizza for delivery..."

Turning to Sabrena, Dean whispered, "You have a pizza place on speed dial, and Carmen knows the number?"

"Dude, don't judge me."

He chuckled and raised his hands in the air. "I'm not judging, I think it's friggin awesome. Remind me again why you two aren't married?"

"Guess we just never got around to it. Two different lives, you know? It'll happen eventually."

"We're going as soon as that pizza gets here. I can eat on the road. I'd like to get this over with." As Carmen dropped into a chair next to Dean, Sabrena winked at their guest.

"Yeah, she's always this bad in the morning. Good luck being stuck in the car with her all day."

xXx

An hour, and many goodbyes, later both Dean and his designated driver were back in the black beetle of hers.

"You know," the girl commented as she buckled her seatbelt, "I've never understood how people don't talk to their cars. It just seems almost...wrong."

"I know exactly what you mean." Dean opened the box of cheese pizza and offered it to her. "It's like they each have their own personalities that no one else sees."

Carmen chuckled and took a bite of her slice of pizza before starting up the engine and pulling out of the driveway.

xXx

The rest of the drive was fairly uneventful, interrupted only by occasional bathroom breaks and a distracted fast food worker that managed to mix up their order.

By the end of the day, they had reached the edge of Clayton Louisiana. They found a gas station near the outskirts where Carmen dropped her passenger off. Dean quickly wrote down his cellphone number on a napkin, told her to call if she needed anything, and exited the car. She waved toward him through the window before pulling out of the gas station and driving back the way she came.

Well, he thought, looks like we're back to walking.

xXx

It took him two hours to find the exact place, and by then it was already growing dark. Dean had taken a shovel from someone's yard - they had left it leaning against the house - to dig Benny up with.

"Found you." The hunter muttered under his breath.

xXx

Benny

It was all dark and hazy. There was nothing to do and no one to talk to. I was bored out of my mind and there was no way to tell time.

I needed to get out so badly, it wasn't right for all of my being to be compressed into the space inside Dean's forearm. I needed to stretch.

All of I sudden, everything came into focus and I could see and hear it all. As soon as I saw him, Dean and I embraced. It felt good to be in my own body again.

I have him now...

xXx

A/N: Wow, what is this? an update? I was planning on having this out by the second, but I guess that didn't happen.

Ugh, I really do hate love triangles. I'm sorry, guys lol. please don't kill me.

I CAN'T BELIEVE I GOT PAST 200 READS!!!! YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING AND I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!! I did not expect to have this many people reading my story. Don't be afraid to tell me what you think! There's a 'comment' option for a reason ;)

Anyway, I love you all, and I'll see you in the next update!
~Lesbianpanda