TIME HEALS ALL WOUNDS

Ebony stared down at her shaking hands, her throat clogged with tears and sadness. She didn't need to feel her cheeks to know that they were sopping wet, and she didn't need a mirror to know that her glistening bloodshot eyes leaked a never ending stream of tears. In the few hours she'd been telling her tale, her smile had grown smaller, and had melted away. This was the most time she'd ever spent out of her room, and she hated it. She hated the fact that she was wasting her seconds, minutes, hours on the Winchesters, just to tell them her pitiful reasons as to why she needed to kill them, to feed their curiosity. 

And as she was recalling all of the memories that she knew that she'd relive in the darkest hours of the night, she remembered the threat the demon had made to her. Her heart skipped a beat. When she came into the mental institution, she found that the best way to handle the pain was to block all of the bad thoughts and memories out, and some things had been buried so deep into her subconscious that she only remembered them when unearthing the entire story again. Not only had the two people she held close to her heart passed, but she was also pretty sure that her innocent sister had fallen victim to the preying hands of death. A sob shuddered throughout her body. No one went to comfort her, too shocked by her revelation.

Ebony composed herself enough to gasp out a request. "You need to protect my sister, she didn't do anything wrong." Another cry escaped her, and she cupped her mouth in her hand. "It's all my fault. No one else can die, please help her." 

The Winchester brothers exchanged a pitying glance, nodding to the other. Sam sighed, running a hand through his long hair. He walked slowly over to Ebony, his hand falling cautiously on her knee. She only stared at his hand, too tired and broken to say anything. "I'm so sorry Ebony."

She sniffled, suddenly letting out a sadistic laugh. "God, I should've expected that, with my track record." She shook her head in disbelief, pursing her lips. Faintly, she could taste the salt left behind from her many breakdowns. "How?"

"The cops said it was suicide, but," Dean cleared his throat, rubbing his jaw. He couldn't find himself to say the rest of the sentence, leaving Ebony to get more antsy. 

"But what?" Ebony pushed Sam's hand off of her knee, her red eyes trained on Dean. "Tell me, please."

Dean nodded, leaning his elbow on his knee. He felt some kind of sympathy to the girl who had lost everything - her family, her friend, her unofficial girlfriend, her sanity. He licked his lips, building up the courage to tell her.  "There were traces of sulphur in the room."

"What?" Ebony breathed out, frowning.

"We think that she was possessed by the same demon that threatened you, and he made her pick up a gun, and well, I think you can figure out the rest." Sam resisted the urge to again place his hand on her knee, or to comfort her in any way. He didn't know how, after all the death that had followed in her wake. He resorted to doing the only thing people think that they can do in situations like this. Sorrowfully, he muttered. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Ebony's silent tears stopped, halting the moment those words passed his lips. He knew the instant he said them that they were the wrong thing to say. Her hands transformed into fists, and her jaw clenched tightly. "You're sorry? Sorry? That's rich, coming from the person who murdered everyone I ever cared about." 

Sam and Dean tensed up, preparing to be able to defend themselves. Sam subtly shuffled a couple of inches away, giving her some space to let her stew in her anger. Dean, however, wasn't prepared to let Ebony simmer, demanding answers. "What do you mean, we murdered them? That demon is the one who made your girlfriend a shishkabob, and made your sister blow her brains out."

Ebony became still. She glared at Dean from the top of her eyes, growling. "You don't deserve to even think about them." 

 "We came here for answers, and all you've done is tell us a bedtime story. Why did you even want to kill us to begin with?" 

"You really are that stupid, aren't you?" Ebony let out a low chuckle, rolling her eyes. The tears had long since dried, leaving crusty tracks on her cheeks. Coupled with her tangled hair, and her red eyes, she looked insane. "By Charlie getting the Book of the Damned, you killed her. She shouldn't have even been involved in that mess! We both promised to stop hunting but as soon as you guys bat your eyelashes she threw on a cape and wanted to save you, Dean. And Sam, I know you encouraged her to do it, because to hell with the consequences! You'd do anything for your brother, including murder your friend. Murder my friend." She pointed at them accusingly, shooting up from her seat. "If you hadn't done that, I wouldn't have met that demon in the grave yard and Rebecca wouldn't have been pulled into this mess, or Ruby! You killed them all!" 

Her words echoed throughout the room, her scream alerting the staff outside. They fumbled for the door, the lock stuck. She didn't seem to notice, charging towards Sam and tackling him to the ground. He groaned as his body collided with the floor, not having any time to react when she raked her nails down his face, shrieking. She didn't seem human anymore. What little forgiveness she'd managed to scrounge up for the boys was lost when she remembered Charlie, Rebecca and Ruby. 

Sam gasped as her nails again scored along his face, the blood quickly bubbling to the surface. She grinned at the sight, punching him mercilessly. She had lost all of the emotion she had gained from her distance from the Winchesters, all of her hard work having been gone in a few hours. They reversed all she aimed to be, reverting her back into her animalistic state once again. 

She'd missed the feeling. 

With each punch she delivered, Sam kept muttering the same words over and over: 'I'm sorry.' This only riled her up more, the two words evoking a inhumane rage inside of her. She only managed to land one more hit when arms from behind grabbed her, restraining her. Ebony thrashed wildly, narrowing her eyes at the Winchesters. Dean sat beside Sam, checking that he was okay as Sam stared at her openly. She calmed down slightly, enjoying seeing the blood leak again down Sam's face. 

The security guard tried to lead her away, but she dug her heels into the ground. She made eye contact with the brothers, stating. "Sorry is a lie told by those who can't accept the reality of what they've done."

Both of the men sat there, eyes wide as she was guided out of the room. They thought that she was better, but it appeared that she hadn't changed at all. Dean didn't regret his decision for bringing her to the hospital, for he knew that if he didn't they'd be living in constant fear and danger. 

Nurses flooded in after Ebony left, sighing and gossiping amongst themselves. One of them came up to Sam, laden with the equipment he'd need to help Sam. He apologised for Ebony's behaviour. "She isn't usually like that, and hasn't been like that for a while. We all thought she was getting better." 

Sam didn't say anything, allowing Dean to speak for the two of them. "So she'd been getting better?" 

"Yes, she hadn't had an episode like that for months. There was even talk of letting her leave, but I don't think she will be for a long time." The nurse assessed Sam's wounds, "You were lucky, it doesn't look like she dug down deep enough to scar."

"Guess we'll have to send her a fruit basket for that," Dean commented, sarcasm oozing into his voice. The nurse chuckled, cleaning Sam's wound. 

"I'd recommend not coming again for a while, she needs to focus on getting herself better." 

 The boys nodded wordlessly, the three of them lapsing into silence as the nurse finished cleaning Sam's wounds and bandaging them up. The Winchester brothers walked out of the room, hurriedly signing out and getting out of that hell hole. As they were leaving, Sam had a strange sense of deja vu. Last time, they'd dropped Ebony off, with Sam bleeding and Dean supporting his brother. 

Sometimes, life likes to repeat itself just to smugly show you that no matter how hard you try, you can't change something, or someone. 

*

Ebony sat in her room, staring at nothing. Her mind was preoccupied with images of Charlie, Rebecca and Ruby. All she could think about was the times that she and Charlie had gone LARPing, ruling their kingdom together. All she could think about was the night she shared with Rebecca, full of beauty and pure innocence. All she could think about was the stupid cat that made Ruby happy, and how she regretted accidentally hitting the cat with her car. 

All of these memories and thoughts infected Ebony's mind. 

They say time heals all wounds. That the bleeding bullet holes will be nothing but scar tissue and nightmares, that the pain will be a distant memory only experienced in the world of desire. Ebony wondered how a philosopher could be so full of shit. Time doesn't heal all wounds. It doesn't even heal any. It tears them apart on the anniversary's, rips them open on birthdays and it shreds them into nothing but vengeance on the Christmas'. It's a lie. A lie that only the naive believe. And Ebony Walters was not naive.