Alive

Chapter 22: I'm In Love With You

We finally get to a beach after driving for hours and hours. It's not dark outside but just about.  It isn't too hot or too cold, the weather is perfect. It's warm, but there's a nice, comforting breeze. Dean drives up onto this beach and parks at the top, a good ways away from the water. "Here we are." Dean says.  Sam has a huge grin on his face.  "Man, I forgot how much I actually love the beach.  Dad never took us to any beaches.  We never went on vacations or anything."  He says, looking out the window.  "That's because we were all too busy hunting monsters and saving lives."  Dean says.  "Sure, but we were just kids.  We should've gone to the beach more than one time."  Sam sort of argues.  Dean's tone becomes a little defensive, "Dad did his best with us Sam.  It's not his fault that all of this was brought onto us after mom's death.  He did what he thought was best for us."  Sam gets quiet, secretly rolling his eyes.  Clearly Sam doesn't agree with the childhood that him and Dean had, which I completely understand.  I don't really agree with two little boys being brought into that at such a young age either.  They really didn't even have a "real" childhood.  It's sad, actually.  I have so many good memories from when I was a child.  All the bad that's happened to me wasn't until I was old enough to more understand what was going on.  These boys had to deal with it the minute Sam was born and Dean was just a toddler.  It's understandable that Sam would resent his father a little bit.

Dean unlocks the car and steps out, shutting the door behind him.  He walks to the trunk and opens it, getting out everything that we bought earlier in the day. 

"You've really only been to the beach once?" I ask Sam.  Sam looks over at me and shakes his head, "Yup.  Only once in my whole life."  I frown, "Geeze...that really sucks.  Well this will be good fun."  I smile warmly.  Sam smiles back at me, nodding.  "Oh yes, it definitely will."  He says as he scoots over and gets out of the car; I do the same.  We both walk out to the trunk to help Dean get everything out.
"Okay—giant blanket, wood, pillows—Elena, unfold this blanket and lay it out."  Dean says, handing me the giant quilt-like blanket we got.  I walk down a little bit closer to the water but I make sure not to get too far from the car.  Sam walks over beside me with a bunch of wood and once I place the quilt down he begins to create a hole in the ground where he can build the fire.  He places the small logs down and sets them up, putting pieces of paper and such in the middle of it.  I hear Dean shut the trunk just before he walks over to us with all the bags of snacks in his hands.  "Okay, here we go."  He says as he drops them onto the blanket.  The wind blows softly and the sound of the waves crashing is so soothing.  My hair blows out of my face and away from my head and I can't help but to take a moment and just enjoy it.  I feel so content in this moment—so happy.

"Wow, it feels so nice."  I say in a relaxed voice.  "Hell yes.  It's perfect."  Sam says as he pulls out his lighter, lighting the fire.  As soon as the flames start up it creates a warm and cozy mood.  Deans sets up all the snacks in a way so that we can see all of our options.  "Beef jerky."  Dean laughs, handing me the bag of beef jerky.  I grin, "Thank ya."  I take it out of his hands and open it up.  Sam opens the bag of marshmallows and grabs a metal rod to place one on. I pull out a piece of beef jerky and eat it.

"So, how many times have you gone to the beach, Elena?" Sam asks as he holds his marshmallow over the small flames. I tilt my head as I lean back, holding myself up with my arms behind me. "I've been many, many times. I used to go to Sanibel Island all the time as a kid. The water is beautiful there. Everything is beautiful there. The water is clearer and more like the Caribbean, and the sand is white. It's also a lot less crowded and peaceful. I used to go there with my family all the time." I say, swallowing my beef jerky. Sam nods, checking on his marshmallow. "Sounds really nice." Dean says as he cracks open a beer. "Oh it is. I loved it." I smile. Sam gets out the graham crackers and chocolate and makes himself a s'more.  Dean takes a sip of his beer.