Dean stared off into space as she spoke, knowing she was right and that Sam would eventually have to make a choice, but it was ultimately his choice.  The thought of his brother leaving tore him apart inside, but at the same time, the fatherly side of him wanted him as far away from the madness as he could get.  He would be safe there.  He could be normal there.  He nodded slowly, reaching down to the cooler beside the table and pulling out a beer.  He twisted the cap off and took a long drink as she asked if he was only going to talk about family.

He shook his head, “No.  It’s not what I wanted to talk about at all.  I just feel like maybe you’re the only person I got right now that doesn’t pop their top when you mention stuff like this.  I can’t talk to dad about it.  He gets pissy and I’m afraid he’s going to lay hands on Sammy…”

He set the beer down and looked back up at her, “So, Mika might be a ghost.  I haven’t ever really known of ghosts to just leave love letters, ya know?  And I mean…by now, wouldn’t she be all screaming banshee, ready to rip my junk off?  She didn’t exactly die normal.”

——————

Anna sighed, hoping that Sam would have given her the answer she wanted.  Closure, if nothing else, about her dad.  She nodded her head, her shoulders falling a bit.

“Well, I’m honestly kind of glad.  I don’t know how much longer she can go on like this, though.  She seems to come back a little more gone, and a little more drunk every time she leaves.”, she explained.  

She fidgeted with the bandage on her wrist for a few seconds before looking up at him, “But enough about the folks.  What about you?  You don’t seem much like the other kids here.  And like you said earlier, you want to get away and go to college.  What makes you so different?”