𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 || 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫

Chapter 12 ~ A Reason to Stay

Episode: Season 4 - Heaven and Hell Pt. 2

"Parker! Parker!" Dean called out into the night, his voice loud in the silence.

Quickly I wiped at the tears on my face, brushing them off as he rounded the corner. His face fell when he spotted me and he walked over to the Impala. He stopped just in front of the hood and slowly, I lifted up my head to meet his eyes. Candy-apple green connected to my dark brown orbs and I saw sympathy there. Immediately, I looked away and Dean let out a sigh before climbing up onto the hood beside me.

"Parker...what Anna said back there..." he started, shaking his head as his green eyes hardened, "It's not true. Okay, me and Sam - we don't think of you that way. Nobody in that room does - not even Ruby and that's saying something since she's a demon,"

I tried to crack a smile but it faltered on my face and I felt Dean place a hand on my back gently, fingers rubbing up and down in a comforting manner. Silence ensued then and I was grateful for it, not saying a word - not even when he removed his hand. I thought back to my childhood and the racism I faced then, even if it was unbeknownst to me. My eyes drifted over to Dean who was looking up at the stars, his profile lit up by the moonlight. And for the first time, I realized that maybe I didn't have to hide things about myself any longer. Maybe...maybe it was okay to let Dean in.

"It first started when I was a kid - other children would stare at me all the time. I never understood why, though. They'd just gawk and it would make me so mad I'd stick my tongue out at them," I admitted, making Dean crack a brief smile before I continued, "But when I got older...it got worse..."

I bit my lip, glancing down at my hands that were clasped together over my knees. Dean noticed this and gently, he placed a hand over mine. His hand was rough and calloused but soothing in a way I'd only known Dean to be. Taking a deep breath, I continued.

"Older people started to do it. Mostly white people. They'd just...give me dirty looks and outright glare at me. I guess I always assumed it was because they knew we didn't belong...they knew we weren't from around there," I shrugged, thinking of all the times the boys and I had traveled to different towns for cases, "I never could understand it until one day...one day I finally realized it was me. My hair, my eyes, my skin - I was different from them..."

Hot tears filled my eyes then as the memories came back in painful flashes, "One day in particular, you, me, and Sam had gone to the store to get some food since we were out. You'd left to go get something down a different aisle and Sam and I went to go look at something in the cold section. There'd been a group of people standing there - three elderly, white people. I didn't really think anything of it, though..."

I trailed off then, feeling the words get stuck in my throat. Dean caressed the skin on the back of my hand, fingers making circles as he urged me to continue.

"And as soon as I came up to look where they were, one woman moved off to the other side of the aisle.... She tried to get away from me, glaring at me like I was diseased or something!" I spat, anger rising inside of me, "Like being mixed-race was some horrible sickness or-or something I was supposed to be ashamed of..."

Dean let out a breath and I finally turned to face him. He wore a shocked expression and I knew I had surprised him.

"Parksy...why didn't you tell us? Why didn't-" he began to ask but I just shook my head.

"What good would it have done?" I cut him off, shrugging.

He was silent a moment before a sigh escaped his mouth, obviously thinking about what Anna had said earlier.

"Want me to take her out? Thin out the herd of angels?" he asked me, a serious expression on his face.

I snickered, finally cracking a smile.