CHAPTER FOUR

"Hey, you want breakfast?" Dean calls to his younger brother, who's still sitting in the passenger seat of the car. They're stopped at a gas station to fuel up.

"No, thanks." Sam says, and Dean walks over to Nyx. The brunette's leaning against the back of the car by the gas pump.

"Here​." He hands her a small pack of those little, white, powdered donuts and a cheap coffee. "I don't know how good that is." He points to the coffee cup as she sets it on the trunk so that she can open the small pack of donuts.

"It's fine. Thanks." She smiles, her gaze meeting his green eyes for a moment.

"So, how'd you pay for that stuff?" Sam asks as Dean finishes with the gas. "You and Dad still running credit-card scams?"

"Yeah, well, hunting isn't exactly a pro-ball career." Dean says as Nyx bites into the first in the pack of donuts. "Besides, all we do is apply. It's not our fault they sent us the cards."

"Yeah, and what names did you write on the application this time?"

"Uh... Bert Aframian and his kids, Hector and Alice." He tells him as the two of them get back into the car. "Scored three cards out of the deal."

"Sounds about right." Sam scoffs. "I swear, man, you have got to update your cassette tape collection​."

"Why?"

"Well, for one, they're cassette tapes, and two — Black Sabbath, Motörhead, Metallica." He looks over at his brother, and Dean takes a tape from him. "It's the greatest hits of mullet rock."

"House rules, Sammy. Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cake hole." His brother tells him as he tosses the case back into the box.

"You know, Sammy is a chubby twelve-year-old, it's Sam. Okay?" He says as Dean turns the music up, blasting A Gift To The World through the speakers.

"Sorry, I can't hear you. The music's too loud." Dean says, and Sam simply shakes his head at his childish actions, before looking behind them at Nyx.

"Are you okay?" He asks, seeing the way she's eyeing her phone, and she nods.

"Yeah, I'm alright. My sister​ just keeps calling." The brunette tells​ him, yelling over the music.

They're driving for a while longer before the Impala eventually stops next to an old, rundown bridge. Nyx gets​ out of the car, staring ahead of her at the scene on the long bridge, and Dean looks down at her as he shuts his door.

"Why has your face suddenly gone pale?" He asks, and the teenager looks​ up at him.

"You guys go without me." She tells​ him, trying not to seem as freaked out as she is. "I think I'll wait here, call Elena back."

Dean looks at her for a second, trying to decide if it's really a good idea to leave her alone, but then he nods. She offers him a small smile as Sam walks around the car, and then the two boys head over to talk to the cops on the bridge. They need to figure out what's going on so that they can stop whatever it is and hopefully find their dad in the process.

Nyx then pulls​ her phone out of her jacket pocket and dials Elena's number. "Finally. What's taking you so long?" The younger of the twins asks.

"I'm a little busy here." Nyx says as she turns her back to the bridge. "What's​ going on?"

"Vicki threatened to kill me." Elena tells her, and her eyebrows immediately furrow as she listens to her sister. "She got mad and she had me by my throat. She said—"

"Elena." She quickly cuts​ her sister off. "I know that you want to help, but you need to stay away from her. She didn't exactly like you before, and now that you broke up with Matt, it's even worse. Matt's the single most important person in her life, and you hurt him. With her emotions being on overdrive and her not being able to control them yet, you can't be around her."

"I'm just supposed to leave her here with Damon?" She questions.

"Believe me, nobody likes​ this less than I do. I mean, she's my best friend." The older girl reminds​ her. "But​ if I can trust Stefan, then you can leave him to it."

She sighs. "You're right." There's a brief pause and some rustling as she collects her things. "I'm leaving now. I'll talk to you later." She says and then hangs up the phone.

Nyx turns​ back around, her attention going straight to the boys, and she shakes​ her head at them when Sam stomps on Dean's foot. The two of them start walking back toward her and the car, and Dean slaps the back of his brother's head. They're arguing because Dean was rude to the officers that they were talking to, and Sam thinks that it was uncalled for.

"What's up with Elena?" Dean asks when the three of them are back in the car and driving down the road.

"Vicki threatened to kill her. She choked her, I guess." She tells​ him, and he then looks at her in the rearview mirror. "Never a dull moment." She sighs​, and he shakes his head.

The three of them drive into town, and the boys go to look for the victim's girlfriend. Nyx opts for staying in the car so that she can call her younger brother.

"Coley." He answers not long after it starts to ring.

Nyx smiles. "Jer-Bear."

"I haven't talked to you in a while." The younger boy says. "What's up?"

"Exactly that, it's been a while. How are you doing?" She asks​.

"Not bad. How are you?" He asks.

"Not too shabby." She tells​ him. "I miss you, kid."

"I miss you too." He says. "When are you coming to visit?"

"I'm thinking soon."

"Yeah?" He actually sounds like he's smiling. "So, how's that guy you're traveling with?"

"He's good. We actually picked up his brother last night." She says. "He's gonna be with us for the next couple of days."

"Really? That's cool." Jeremy says. "I was starting to think​ that this guy was one complete mystery, and that you shouldn't be out there with him."

"He's not some mystery. I've even met his dad." She tells him. "They're all really cool guys, you'd like them."

"There's no women in their family?"

"No, uh... Dean's mom died in some kind of accident when he was a kid. A fire, I think. He doesn't really talk about it, and I don't push the subject." She explains​.

"Yeah, I wouldn't either." He agrees, knowing that they wouldn't want anyone asking about their parents. "So, he's a good guy? I'm not gonna have to kick his ass or anything?" He asks, and she chuckles​ at the thought.

"I don't think you'd even be able to, but no, you​ don't." She says​. "He's a good guy."

"Don't underestimate me. I just might surprise you." He says, and she smiles. There's not much that Jeremy wouldn't do when it comes to his sisters, especially with how close he and Nyx have always been. He can be pretty protective of them both.

"Yeah, well, he hasn't been poisoning his body with drugs." Nyx argues.

"Good. I'd definitely have to kick his ass if he had drugs around my sister." He says, and she smiles​. "But I'm not doing that so much anymore." He tells her.

"Really?"

"Don't sound so surprised."

"I'm not surprised, I'm just glad to hear it. I hate that you do that. And I hate even more that that damn best friend of mine has been encouraging it." She says,​ and he laughs.

"You don't have to worry about me."

"Jer, I'm always gonna worry about you. It's my job." She tells​ him, and then she sees​ the boys walking back toward the car. "Hey, I gotta go, but I'll talk to you soon. I promise." She tells​ him.

"Alright. Bye, Cole."

"Bye, Jer-Bear." She says​ as the brothers get into the car.

"I didn't miss that." He says, and she laughs.

"You definitely did."

"No." Her brother argues. "You're lucky​ I love you."

She smiles​. "I love you too. Bye."

"Bye." He says, and she hangs​ up the phone.

"How's Jeremy?" Dean asks as he starts up the car and pulls away from the curb.

"Better than I thought." She tells him as she looks at him in the rearview mirror. "He said that he's been laying off the drugs some."

"Hey, that's good to hear." He says, and the brunette nods.

"Yeah." Nyx smiles​. "And he said that he'll kick your ass if you ever bring drugs near me."

He laughs. "I guess it's a good thing I have no intention of doing drugs then." He says as he glances at her in the rearview mirror.

Sam smirks at their exchange, but he doesn't say anything to either of them. He's never seen his brother take such an interest in someone else's life before. Especially to be asking about a girl's family and her friends.

—

The three hunters are now at a local library doing research on deaths in the area that might explain what's going on in this town. Dean's typing all kinds of different things into the computer trying to find anything useful, without any luck.

Female Murder Hitchhiking

Female Murder Centennial Highway

"Let me try." Sam says as he reaches for the mouse.

Dean quickly smacks his hand away. "I got it." He tells him, determined to find what they're looking for on his own.

Sam then pushes his brother out of the way, and his chair rolls across the floor. Nyx suppresses a smile as her dark eyes flicker between the bickering brothers.

"Dude." The older boy shoots his brother an annoyed look. "You're such a control freak." He then hits Sam's arm, and Nyx laughs​ at them.

"So, angry spirits are born out of violent deaths, right?" Sam asks as the teenager then grabs​ a chair and sits on the other side of him. She was standing behind them before.

"Yeah."

"Maybe it's not murder."

Female Suicide Centennial Highway

Bingo.

An article pops up, and Sam clicks on it. "This was 1981. Constance Welch — twenty-four years old. Jumps off Sylvania Bridge, drowns in the river." He skims through it, and Nyx clears her throat as she glances away from the article briefly.

"Does it say why she did it?" The brunette asks, wanting to get through this as quickly as possible.

"Yeah."

"What?" Dean asks.

"An hour before they found her, she calls 9-1-1. Her two little kids are in the bathtub. She leaves them alone for a minute, and when she comes back, they aren't breathing. Both die." Sam looks more into the article, reading a bit of it. "Our babies were gone and Constance just couldn't bear it, said husband, Joseph Welch."

"That bridge look familiar to you?"

It's the one that the boys were on this morning, when Nyx decided to call her sister back rather than going with them.

"I'm not going back there." The brunette says suddenly, and the brothers both look at her. "I can't go on that bridge."

"Why not?" Dean asks, confused by her reaction both this morning and now.

"Because I can't." She gets​ up then and walks away from the two men, trying to block out the fragmented images that she can remember of that night.

The oldest looks after her and then glances at his brother. "I'll be right back." He says and then gets to his feet before walking over to the teenager. "Nyx. Hey, what's wrong?" He asks, and she turns​ around and looks up at him.

"You know how I told you that my parents both died just before the Summer?" She asks,​ and he nods slowly.

"Yeah."

"We were on our way home one night and we were driving over Wickery Bridge. My dad swerved and then the car...went over the side of the bridge and into the water. Elena and I got out, but nobody knows how. And my parents... They both drowned." She tells him, her brown eyes glassy with tears as she looks up at him. "I can't go onto that bridge, Dean."

He nods. "Yeah, no problem." He tells her as he reaches up to wipe away one of the tears that rolled down her cheek. He then rests his hand on the side of her face for a moment, and she takes a deep breath as her brown eyes look into his green ones.

Shortly after, the boys leave Nyx at a diner while they go to check out the bridge. Sam calls her when they're outside waiting for her, and she pays her check before heading​ outside​. The brunette gets​ in the car and immediately smells​ something funky.

"What smells like a toilet?" The teenager questions,​ and Sam starts laughing as he glances over at his brother.

"Shut up." Dean says, his mood clearly sour, and starts driving.

She looks​ at him and sees that he's filthy, covered in mud from head to toe. "What the hell happened to you?" The brunette questions.

"Let's just say, it's a damn good thing that you weren't there." He says, and she raises her eyebrows, but doesn't say anything else.

They pull into a motel, and the boys go to check in while Nyx gets some of​ their stuff out of the car. They walk back out of the front, and she watches​ Sam pick a lock as she walks​ over to them.

"What's going on?" She asks​ Dean, who's facing her.

Before he can answer, Sam reaches out of the motel room, grabs the collar of Dean's utility jacket, and quickly pulls him into the room. Nyx walks​ in after them and quickly closes​ the door behind her. The walls are covered in a multitude of papers: different newspaper​ articles, pictures, and so many other things about the case that they're currently working.

"I don't think he's been here for a couple days at least." Dean says as he picks up an old, moldy burger and sniffs it. He pulls it away from his face, repulsed.

"Salt, cat's-eye shells. He was worried, trying to keep something from coming in." Sam says as he stands up straight, turning his attention away from the salt on the floor just inside the door.

"What is it?" Nyx asks​ as she walks​ over to the wall that Dean's looking at now.

"Centennial Highway victims." He tells her. "I don't get it. I mean, different men, different jobs, ages, ethnicities. There's always a connection, right? What do these guys have in common?"

"Dad figured it out." Sam says suddenly, and the other two both turn to him.

"What do you mean?"

"He found the same article we did." He tells them. "Constance Welch. She's a woman in white."

"Oh. Well, there's your connection. They're all unfaithful​ jackasses." Nyx says, not hiding the disgust in her voice.

"You sly dogs." Dean says as he looks at their pictures again, and she shakes​ her head at his comment. She would smack his arm or something, but he's still all dirty, and she doesn't really want to touch him. "So, if we're dealing with a woman in white, Dad would've found the corpse and destroyed it."

"She might have another weakness." Sam says thoughtfully.

"No, Dad would want to make sure. He'd dig her up. Does it say where she's buried?" Dean asks as he walks over to his brother.

"No, not that I can tell." He shakes his head. "If I were Dad though, I'd go ask her husband — if he's still alive."

"Alright, why don't you two see if you can find an address? I'm gonna get cleaned​ up." Dean says as he starts walking toward the bathroom.

Sam and Nyx then do some research, and she's laying on the bed when Dean makes his way back out of the bathroom quite some time later. "I'm starving. I'm gonna grab a little something to eat at that diner down the street. You want anything?" He asks the younger two.

"No." Sam shakes his head as Nyx gets​ to her feet.

"I'm coming with you." She tells​ him.

"Alright." Dean smirks as he puts on an old, brown leather jacket that was already in the room when they got there. The pair are about to head out the door when her phone starts ringing. She sighs as he stops walking toward the door.

Nyx reluctantly answers the call. "Elena, can I call you back in an hour please?" She asks​ her sister. "We're about to go get some food, and I'm starving."

"Something happened last night, and I don't know how to tell you." Elena says, and her sister sighs​ as she leans​ her forehead against Dean's upper arm.

"Something is always happening over there, Elena. I told you to stay away from the vampires, but instead you're dating one." The older girl says​, still leaning against Dean, her eyes now closed because she doesn't want to​ deal with this right now.

"It's about Vicki."

"What could possibly be worse than that Damon douchebag turning her into a vampire?"

"She attacked me at the haunted house at the high school. She was trying to kill me, Nyx." Elena tells her, and she immediately stands up straight.

"Wai— What happened? Are you okay?" She asks​, and now both of the boys are looking​ at her.

"I'm fine."

"Well... That's good, right?" Nyx asks, now completely confused.

"Vicki— She..."

"Elena, what?" She questions​, growing irritated by all the hesitation and how she won't just come out with it already.

"She's dead, Nyx." Elena tells her, and her sister's heart sinks as her expression drops. Dean watches as her eyes fill with tears. "To save me, Stefan staked her."

"What?" She barely manages as her hand instinctively reaches forward and grabs the sleeve of Dean's jacket.

"I'm sorry, I know that you and Vicki were close. But—"

"Close?" She cuts​ her sister off. "She's my... She was—" Her voice cracks. "She was my best friend my entire life, Elena. And now you're telling that she's..."

"I'm sorry, Nyx."

"I told you to stay away from..." She shakes​ her head and takes​ a deep breath, not wanting to yell, and not wanting to cry. Nyx clears her throat. "You know what, never mind... How's Jeremy? What does he know about any of this? Is he okay?"

"He saw everything, but Damon compelled him to forget. I don't want him to remember her that way... When she attacked him." Elena tells her.

"And Matt?"

"He doesn't know anything. Everyone's going to think that she just left town."

Nyx scoffs as she shakes her head. "So, you're saying that the whole town is going to believe that she's no better than Kelly." She says, not bothering to hide her anger with what she just heard.

"What do you want us to say?"

"I want you to tell me that she's alive!" She snaps​ and then clenches​ her teeth and takes​ a deep breath.

"Nyx?" Dean rests his hand on hers, as it's still clutching his jacket. He worries about her every time her phone rings, he knows that nothing good ever seems to happen in Mystic Falls.

"Tell the town whatever the hell you want, Elena." Nyx says​ once she calms​ herself down enough. "You don't listen to a thing that I say anyway​. If you did, you wouldn't be dating a vampire, and Vicki might actually be alive right now."

"What happened isn't my fault." Elena argues.

"No, it's not." She agrees. "It's your boyfriend and his asshole older brother's fault. I genuinely hope that Stefan and Damon both know what it feels like to be in mine and Jeremy's positions​ right now. And the next time you call me, it better not be to tell me that someone else is dead or was turned into a bloodsucking monster." She says and then​ hangs​ up the phone.

"Vicki's dead?" Dean asks, and Nyx looks​ up at him, fighting back tears.

She clenches​ her teeth together so tightly that it physically hurts and she closes​ her eyes. She doesn't answer his question, she just tries to keep herself from crying.

"Can we go now?" She asks after she's able to look at​ him again. "I'm hungry, and I don't want to think about this anymore. I can't." She says, though knowing she won't actually be able to eat​, and he nods.

"Yeah. Let's go."

The pair then goes outside, and Nyx sees a man talking to the police. He turns​ around and points at the two hunters. "Damn it." The teenager mutters,​ and Dean looks at her.

"What?"

"Police." She tells​ him, and he quickly calls Sam to tell him to leave before they all end up getting arrested.

"Dude, five-o. Take off." He says, and Nyx turns to face the cops that are walking over to the two of them.

"Morning, officers." The brunette smiles​ at the two men as Dean turns to face them as well.

"Where's your partner?" He asks Dean, and Nyx rolls her dark eyes.

"Partner? What​ partner?" Dean asks, and one cop tells the other to check their room.

"So, fake U.S. Marshal, fake credit-cards. You got anything that's real?"

"My boobs." Dean says, and Nyx stifles a laugh. The fact that she's trying not to laugh at his comment makes him smile as he glances down at her.

This is one thing that she loves​ about being around Dean. She just got some of the worst news she possibly could, but he still somehow manages to make her laugh. And he wasn't even trying to right now.

The officer handcuffs Dean, and his partner walks back to handcuff Nyx. "I never claimed to be a Marshal, and I didn't use a fake credit-card. You have no right to arrest me. I haven't done anything wrong." The brunette says​ as she pulls her arm away from him.

"You're traveling with them, and we have cause to believe that you knew about both scams. We have reasonable suspicion, that's all the cause I need to bring you in." He says, and his partner puts her hands behind her back and handcuffs her.

One of them pulls her wallet out of her back pocket and starts going through it as she clenches​ her teeth. "Your ID says that you're only seventeen. Why aren't you in school, Miss Gilbert?" He asks.

"Well, it could be because it's Sunday. It could be because I already graduated." She says. "Take your pick. Both options are entirely accurate."

"You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." He says, and she looks​ up at Dean.

"I hate you." She tells​ him, and he nods as his green eyes meet her brown ones.