Bloodlust.

chapter forty , Bloodlust

a/n : SHE'S BAAAACK

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Athena had many ways to distract herself. But lately, those ways were dwindling down by the second. All of her emotions were getting the better of her, to the point she couldn't even smile and pretend that everything was all right.

"Okay, now...raise your arm up."

Athena inhales a soft deep breath before raising the dumbbell up.

"Slow, Thena." Bobby insists.

The girl slows her movements and a small twinge of pain forms in her shoulder. She raises the dumbbell over her head.

"Good, now slowly lower it."

Athena follows Bobby's instructions. Bobby sits in front of the girl, "That was your last one for today. How was it?"

Athena shrugs her bad shoulder. "I mean. Sore, but fine."

Bobby lets out a soft chuckle, "Good. Do you think that you'll be okay without that sling?"

"I'll be fine."

Bobby pulls his brows together and searches Athena's blank eye. "You've been saying that a lot lately. You wanna try a different answer?"

Athena inhales a soft breath and looks at the ceiling. "I think my answer is...fine." she gives him a smile.

Bobby rolls his eyes, "Ha ha. I'm serious, kid."

Athena's smile drops and she looks at her hands. "What if I wasn't fine?"

Bobby shrugs his shoulders, "Then that's okay." he then pulls his brows together. "You do know, you don't have to be 'okay' all the time, right?"

Athena looks at Bobby and chuckles softly. "Well, 'okay' and 'fine' are kind of my go-to emotions."

"And happy," Bobby adds.

Athena points at him, "Right--how could I forget happy?" the girl scratches the side of her nose. "My whole life, I've had to keep the hope when everybody else either treated me like crap or when they had no hope at all."

"And if this is how the rest of my life looks like..." Athena shakes her head. "I don't think--"

"Now, hold on."

Athena stops talking and pulls her brows together. Bobby's face was stern but his eyes were soft. "I can't have you getting in your head like that, Athena." A lump forms in Bobby's throat and he swallows it. "You're just a kid."

"That's exactly my point." Athena exhales. "I'm just a kid and I've been through all of this?!"

"I don't want to do this anymore." Athena shrugs. "And I don't understand why I'm here."

Bobby pulls his brows together. "What are you talking about?"

"The doctor said it was a miracle that I even survived." Athena states. "He said I had some Angel watching over me. And if he is right about that...why did that Angel let me live and not..." the girl trails off her sentence and looks at the ground.

"Hold on, this is about John?" Bobby raises his brows. "Athena...your daddy, he hurt you—"

"I know that, Bobby." Athena sighs. "But, he was still my father."

Athena starts to bounce her leg. "He knew he was gonna die."

"How do you know that, Athena?" Bobby asks.

"He apologized," Athena speaks. "He was...kind. Tried to be, at least."

"What do you think happened to him, Thena?"

The girl gnaws on her lower lip. She starts to scratch at her wrist to the point it started to hurt. Bobby watches as this happens. He instantly recognizes what was going on and his back straightens.

"Don't start obsessing over this." Bobby's worry instantly shows.

"I know something's wrong, Bobby." Athena snaps her eye over to his. "And if I have to get so obsessed to the point my hair falls out in order to solve what's going on, I'm going to."

Just from the glowering look in Athena's good eye, Bobby could tell she wasn't going to let this go. The front door swings open, causing Bobby and Athena to look at the brothers walking into the house.

Athena looks at Dean and she squints her eye. She stands up and walks toward the stairs.

"Hey! Where you going?" Bobby calls out.

"I've got homework," Athena speaks, her foot touching the first step.

"Now, hold on!"

Athena stops and sighs. She looks at Bobby, "Yes?"

"We're going to eat at the dinner table tonight. All of us." Bobby points at each kid. "Now, come on."

"I'm actually not that hungry." Athena shrugs. "Can I eat later?"

"You can." Bobby nods.

Athena presses her lips into a small smile.

"But..."

Athena's smile drops.

"...you're still gonna sit at the kitchen table."

The girl inhales a soft breath and stomps over to the table.

"Do you wanna try that again?" Bobby raises his brows. "With no attitude this time."

Athena's face scrunches and Sam softly chuckles. This is the first time he's ever seen Athena pout like a child. Athena walks over to the stairs, then she walks back over to the table without an attitude."

"That's better." Bobby nods.

The siblings and Bobby all sit at the table and sit in silence. Athena clicks her fingers against the table. Bobby grabs a roll and passes them to Sam. The middle child grabs a roll and passes it to Dean. The eldest child grabs a roll and holds the plate out to the girl.

"Here."

Athena rolls her eye. "Gee—thanks." She grabs one of the rolls. "I just said I wasn't hungry, ding dong."

"Hey, no ding dong at the table." Bobby says. "Now, pass the Mac and cheese."

Athena does as she's told.

"Hey, you got your sling off." Sam points out with a smile.

Athena presses her lips into a smile. "Yeah, cool right?"

"One step closer to your full recovery," Sam says.

Athena's smile lessens and she looks at her food. "I don't think that's gonna happen..."

Everyone looks at the girl. "What do you mean?" Sam asks.

"I mean, the stitching over my eye will heal, but I'm not gonna see from my eye ever again," Athena explains. "It's not likely."

"Well, you can't think like that." Dean shrugs.

Athena rolls her eyes. "Y'know? I'm getting real tired of hearing people tell me what I can't think." she takes a bite out of her roll. "If I want to think my eye isn't gonna heal. I'm gonna think that. If I want to think that my life is complete shit with extra shit on top of it. I'm gonna think that."

"One dinner without swearing. That's what I want." Bobby sighs.

Dean raises his brows and looks at his food. "Yeah, well, with little Miss "I don't have a swear jar anymore" brat—"

"Brat?!" Athena snaps. "Who the hell—"

"Language!"

"Heck! Who the heck are you calling a brat?!" Athena squints her eye.

"You. Obviously. With the way you've been acting. It's bratty behavior." Dean states.

"Can't we just eat?" Sam whines.

Athena shakes her head. "It's been 3 weeks since I woke up from that coma. And yet, you won't let me have this."

Dean scunrhces his face. "Have what?"

"The attitude!" Athena barks. "All my life, I've had to do what you and dad wanted. I've had to satisfy you guys and now I don't want to do that anymore and suddenly you can't handle it."

She laughs. "I have been treated like shit my entire life and I've had to take it. And you can't handle 3 weeks." Athena raises her brows. "Pathetic."

"Do you know what's pathetic, Athena?" Dean shifts his annoyed eyes over to the youngest sibling.

Sam slowly eats his steak, "This is really good, Bobby."

"Yeah, I seasoned it with lemon pepper this time." Bobby smirks.

Sam raises his brows, "Wow!"

"Right?"

"You not dealing with your constipated feelings about dad dying."

The table falls silent. Sam and Bobby stop eating their dinner and look at the arguing siblings. Athena's twisted expression changes into a shocked one and her eye widens.

"Wh-what?"

"We all know, we just haven't said anything—"

"And we weren't going to say anything." Sam kicks Dean's shin. "We wanted to give you your space, but someone here doesn't listen."

"You think I'm not dealing with dad's death?" Athena cranes her neck forward. Her eye then shifts to Dean. "You think I'm not dealing with his death?!" She quietly laughs and shakes her head.

"This is...this is hilarious." Athena shakes her head. "Like a sad hilarious though." She tilts her head and burns her good eye into Dean's. "You have been working on that damn car instead of dealing with your feelings."

Dean rolls his eyes, "This isn't about me—"

"Oh, wow! For the first time in forever, it's not about Dean Winchester—awesome."

"God, you are giving me a headache." Dean massages Gus temples.

"You started it, bonehead."

"Okay, how about we all take a breather?" Bobby speaks. "Athena, you should go and work on that homework now."

Athena keeps her glare on Dean, but she speaks. "I think that's a great idea, Bobby." she walks away from the table and goes up the stairs

"How do you always manage to be a dick? Like you just exceed expectations." Sam shakes his head with astonishment.

"I don't want to hear it..." Dean lets out a sharp breath.

"You all are mourning your father." Bobby speaks. "In your own ways—whatever that is."

Dean rolls his eyes but he looks at the man.

"That kid has already been beating herself up over the fact, she dismissed him before he died." Bobby explains. "She doesn't need you adding onto that, idgit."

The dining room falls silent and Bobby sighs. "Well, no more dinners together—that's for damn sure." He stands up and scoffs while walking away.

Dean keeps his eyes on his plate, thinking. He looks to the side and sees Sam still eating. "What? You don't have anything to say to me?"

Sam shrugs a shoulder. "Bobby said enough." He speaks. "And I have probably said the same thing to you thousands of times, you just never listen."

"I never listen to you." Dean corrects with a shrug. "There's a difference."

"What?!"

"Bobby's an adult! What he says makes sense." Dean states.

Sam cranes his neck forward. "What I say makes sense, you just can't comprehend it." he stands up. "You're such a jackass."

"So, I've been told."

☆

Things between the siblings were still tense. That was a given. But the Impala was now fixed and that meant Dean was in a good mood. Athena was laying in the backseat with a cold rag over her forehead and eyes, her migraine worse than before. Sam was looking at Dean with an entertained expression as the oldest Winchester cheers.

"Listen to her purr!" Dean exclaims. "You ever heard anything so sweet?"

"Silence sounds pretty sweet." Athena speaks in a groggily tone.

"Don't listen to her—"

"It's a car, Dean." Athena seethes.

"Hey, Baby, is not just a car, all right? She is so much more..."

Athena wrinkles her nose.

"If you two want to get a room, just let us know, Dean." Sam speaks.

"Don't listen to him, Baby. These two are just haters!" Dean rubs the dashboard. "They don't understand us."

"You're in a good mood." Sam states.

Dean looks at Sam, "Why shouldn't I be?"

"Well—"

"No reason." Sam cuts off Athena, already knowing she was going to mention John.

"I got my car, got a case. Things are looking up." Dean pronounces.

"Wow! You hear of a couple of severed heads and a pile of dead cows, and you're Mr. Sunshine." Sam states.

"I hope this isn't a case at all." Athena voices. "Maybe I might get some silence."

"You are the grumpiest 11 year old walking this earth, you know that?" Dean chuckles. "It never gets old."

"Whatever—how far to Red Lodge, dingus?"

Sam raises his brows. Both brothers look at each other. "Dingus, huh?" Dean frowns.

"That's a new one." Sam says.

Athena sighs, "How far?"

Sam softly laughs, "About another 300 miles."

"Good." Dean puts more pressure on the gas and the car accelerates. Athena closes her eyes once again, falling back to sleep.

...

"So, Vampires, huh?"

Sam lets out a breath and nods. "Yeah."

Athena softly laughs, "Isn't it weird that as soon as dad says 'Vampires were extinct'. More just...appear?" She looks at both of her brothers. She then holds her hands up. "Just me?"

"It's not just you." Dean speaks. He then scratches the side of his neck. "It's pretty weird."

"Well, can Vampires reproduce?" Dean asks.

Athena and Sam look at each other with a deadpan expression. "You wanna take this one?" The girl asks.

Sam chuckles softly and looks at the eldest Winchester. "Dean, Uh...Vampires can turn whoever they want. It may not necessarily be reproducing, but it's close to that."

Athena slowly shakes her head as Dean as an 'ohhhh' moment. "What's our plan now?" She sighs.

"We should ask questions and see if anyone has seen any...ruckus-filled people recently," Dean explains.

Athena frowns, "So, you're going to a bar?"

Dean nods, "Yep. I'll be in the car." He grabs his jacket and walks out of the room.

Sam goes to walk out of the room but stops when he notices Athena not following. "You're not coming?"

Athena looks at Sam and raises her brows. "11-year-old me in a bar?" She hops off the bed and sighs. "Sure, I can clear time in my schedule for that."

As soon as they got to the bar, the siblings questioned the bartender if there were any signs of Vampires around (they didn't use the actual term Vampire. That would be insane). After the siblings left the bar, someone seemed to be following them from the bar to the parking lot. So, they outsmarted him and demanded the man to show them his teeth (weird--I know). He wasn't a Vamp. Just another hunter.

"Sam, Athena, and Dean Winchester."

Athena's eye widens from the weapons in Gordon's car. "Holy Christmas Nuts!" she keeps her good eye on the hook.

"Pretty cool, right?" Gordon raises his brows.

"It would be even cooler if I could have it," Athena says. "Can I have it?"

Gordon clicks his tongue, "Sorry, kid. She's all mine."

Athena scrunches her nose and frowns.

"You know, I met your old man once--Hell of a guy, great hunter." Gordon states.

"Hell of a guy...like as in, 'great hunter'?" Athena inquires.

"Yeah, of course." Gordon smiles.

Athena hums softly, "Interesting..."

Gordon's smile becomes a confused one and he looks at the brothers. "Don't pay any attention to her." Dean sighs.

Athena rolls her eye and looks away from the 3 men.

"I heard he passed. I'm sorry." Gordon speaks. "It's big shoes, but, from what I hear, you guys fill them--great trackers, good in a tight spot."

"You seem to know a lot about our family."

Athena pulls her brows together, "He literally said absolutely nothing about this family." she chuckles. "All he did was talk about your guys' skill sets. And it wasn't a lot..."

Gordon softly chuckles at the girl's facetious remark. "Anyway--word travels fast. You know how hunters talk."

"No, we don't." Dean scoffs.

"We barely know anybody in this business--and the people we do know are people we usually see like every five months," Athena explains while waving a dismissive hand.

"I guess there's a lot your dad never told you, huh?" Gordon asks.

None of the Winchesters answer. Athena didn't care enough to answer. But Sam and Dean didn't answer because they felt embarrassed that their father never told them enough. Wanting to change the subject, Sam speaks.

"So, those two Vampires, they were yours, huh?"

"Yep. Been here two weeks." Gordon states.

"Did you check out that Baker Farm?" Dean inquires.

Athena slowly lifts her hand and reaches out to touche the curved blade. Sam slowly and unnoticeably to Gordon and Dean, lowers the girl's hand. Athena quietly lets out a huff of disappointment.

"It's a bust. Just a bunch of hippie freaks. Though they could kill with that patchouli smell alone."

"Where's the nest then?" Dean inquires.

Gordon lets out a soft chuckle. "I got this one covered." he puts his weapons away. "Look, don't get me wrong. It's a real pleasure meeting you three, but I've been on this thing for over a year. I killed a fang back in Austin, tracked the nest all the way up here. I'll finish it."

Dean frowns, "We could help." he urges, wanting something to kill.

"Thanks, but, uh, I'm kind of a go-it-alone type of guy." Gordon replies.

"Come on, man. I've been itching for a hunt."

Athena tilts her head to the sky and sighs.

"Sorry." Gordon shrugs. "But, hey, I hear there's a Chupacabra two states over. Go ahead and knock yourselves out."

The hunter gets into his car and looks at the three one last time. "It was real good meeting you, though."

"Bye, Gordon." Athena waves.

Gordon waves back before driving away. Athena lets out a sigh of content. "I'm ready to go back to the Motel, how about you guys?" she looks at her brothers. They look at Athena, then back each other with a certain glint in their eyes. Athena slumps her shoulders, "You know, that look in both of your eyes just screams, "I wanna hunt more"."

Sam presses his lips into a small smile. "I'm sorry, Athena, we'll go back to the Motel after this."

☆

Athena frowns as she watches her brothers walk toward the dock from the car. She was told to stay in the car again. But that's when Athena realized. She didn't really care about what her brothers told her anymore. I mean, even if she did the girl was on a mission to make Dean as annoyed as possible. And one way she could do that was by not listening to him. So, Athena tosses her GameBoy aside and gets out of the car. She quickly makes her way over to the dock and her red converse thud against the wooden planks as she walks across them. As the girl got closer, she heard the sounds of grunts and punches being landed. Panic rises in the auburn-haired girl and she starts to jog toward the sounds.

Athena pivots the corner and quickly stumbles to a stop when she watches Dean impale the Vampire with a spear. The Vampire lets out a sound of agony. Dean sends a few blows to the Vampire's abdomen. His eyes shift to the running saw hanging above the Vampire. He grips ahold of the saw and drives it into the Vampire's skull, splitting it in half. Blood splatters across his face. Gordon was looking at the man with a look of awe, while Sam was looking at him with uneasiness.

"So, uh, I guess I got to buy you that drink."

"Jesus."

The three men turn to the girl, whose eye was wide and her jaw was on the floor. Panic settles into Dean's chest and he wipes his face with the back of his arm, getting the blood off of him.

"Athena, we told you to stay in the car," Sam says, his eyes wide.

"I-I know," Athena says, her eye hesitantly landing on Dean. "I thought disobeying you would make you mad, so I followed you." she quickly looks away from Dean, a hint of fright in them. "Kinda wish I listened."

Sam looks at Dean, before looking back at Athena. "Let's get back to the car." he walks over to his sister and touches the top of her head as they walk away from Gordon and Dean.

Athena looks up at Sam and sees the same worry across his face. "You okay?" she softly speaks.

Sam blinks and looks at his sister, her stormy blue eye was filled with worry. He didn't know if it was for him or Dean. But, the middle Winchester lets out a soft breath. "I'm good. You?"

Athena shrugs a shoulder. "I'm okay." she presses her lips into a small smile. "I guess, we don't have to ask Dean that question, huh?" Sam chuckles and Athena does the same.

Once they got to the bar, Athena kept her forehead against the table, dozing off. Ever since she injured her eye, Athena's been more tired lately. It took a lot out of her just to be up all day, especially when her eye started hurting. Dean reaches for his wallet.

"No, no, I got it," Gordon says.

"Oh, come on--"

"I insist," Gordon speaks again. He hands the waitress some money. "Thank you, sweetie."

Gordon raises the shot of alcohol in the air. "Another one bites the dust."

"That's right." Dean agrees. The two men clink their glasses together.

Sam was sitting next to Athena in silence, while Gordon and Dean drank.

"Dean..." Gordon softly laughs. "...you gave that big-ass fang one hell of a haircut, my friend."

"Thank you."

"That was beautiful, absolutely beautiful." Gordon praises.

Dean looks at his siblings. "You two all right?"

"Yeah, fine."

"Lighten up a little, Sammy," Gordon says.

Sam shifts his eyes to the Vampire Hunter. "They're the only ones who get to call me that." he motions his head to his siblings.

Gordon nods his head. "Okay. No offense meant. Just celebrating a little--job well done."

"Right. Well, um, decapitations aren't my idea of a good time, I guess." Sam states. His brow then quirks as his frustration rises. "And my little sister seeing that isn't something I'm gonna be celebrating either."

"Oh, come on, man, it's not like it was human," Gordon replies. "And I'm sure Athena has seen her fair share of horror."

"You gotta have a little more fun with the job."

Sam rolls his eyes and looks away from the two. Dean snaps his fingers and points at Gordon. "See, that's what I've been trying to tell him." he looks at the annoyed Sam. "You could learn a thing or two from this guy."

Sam raises his brows and lets out a breath of disbelief. "Yeah, I bet I could. Look, I'm not gonna bring you guys down and I'm pretty sure Athena's pain meds kicked in. I'm just gonna go back to the motel." he lightly taps Athena's back and she stirs around before slowly lifting her head up.

Dean pinches the bridge of his nose, knowing that Sam was fed up with the way he and Gordon were talking. "You sure?"

"Yeah."

Athena grabs her backpack and follows Sam.

"Sammy..." Dean holds the keys up. "...remind me to beat that buzzkill out of you later, all right?" he tosses the keys and Sam catches them. "Let's get out of here, Athena."

Athena yawns, "Yeah, okay..."

Athena couldn't care less about what just happened. Everything was groggily to her and the girl honestly just wanted to crash once she got to the Motel. On the drive back to the Motel, Sam was nonstop talking about how unbelievable Dean and Gordon were being. Athena's head kept dropping to the side, then she would jerk it up, and nod like she knew what Sam was talking about.

As soon as the Impala slows, Sam parks it and Athena gets out of the car. "I think you should communicate to Dean how you feel." She says as they walk towards the motel. "Communication always works."

"Right, because you communicate so well." Sam rolls his eyes playfully.

"I communicate." Athena huffs.

Sam looks at Athena and she looks at him. Athena's back straightens. "I just don't communicate with Dean." She shrugs.

Sam laughs and Athena grabs the key to her room. "Good night, Athena."

"Night, Sammy." Athena unlocks the door to her room and opens it. She enters the room and kicks the door shut with a huff. Athena drags her feet over to the bed, her limbs starting to get heavy. She closes her eyes and drops her bag to the ground. Athena leans forward and her stomach flops onto the bed. Before Athena could drift farther into sleep, her mind started to go back to her father.

It was too much of a coincidence that she came out of her coma with all her critical injuries healed at the same time as her father dying. Nothing that day day right with her. A part of her wanted to admit that she was obsessed with finding out the truth because she felt guilty. But the other part of her didn't even want to admit that, because she still held so much anger towards him.

Athena quickly opens her good eye and sits up. She goes to the bathroom and closes the door. The girl looks at the mirror and she taps her fingernails against the walls. Athena gnaws on her lip and walks over to the mirror. She takes her bandage off and looks into the mirror. Her scar was healing. Slowly but surely. The stitching still looked fresh. The lining of the scar was dark red and purple with a mix of yellow.

Even though, Jo tried to assure her that scars were cool. Athena hated this scar. It reminded her of one of the worst days of her life. In the back of her mind that day had its benefits too.

Athena grabs the hydrogen peroxide and cotton swabs. She pours the peroxide onto the cloth and lightly cleans her eye. Sam taught Athena how to clean her own eye. The girl's become more independent and she's been trying to prove to everyone that she could handle herself. She thought it was complicated, but it was pretty simple to her.

After Athena was done changing her bandage, she went back to her room and grabbed her notebook. It was filled with random writings about her thoughts of the day she wake up from her coma. Even though she doesn't remember anything while was in her coma, Athena wrote down everything she observed. From the doctor's explanation of her healed injuries to her last conversation with her father.

She sat down at her desk and put her curly hair into a ponytail. Athena chews on her lucky red pen, her good eye anxiously shifts through all the words, trying to understand her own thoughts. "Is my writing always this unstable?"

Athena was so deep in her own obsessive thoughts, that she didn't take a serious notice of the rummaging in the room next to her. Athena figured Sam was looking through things. That was until she heard a thud against the wall and grunts of pain.

Athena quickly stops chewing on her pen and drops it. Her breathing quickens and panic rises in the girl. She stumbles off her bed and speeds out of the room. Athena makes it to the boy's motel door. "Sam?!" Before the girl could raise her hand to grab the handle, Sam yells.

"Athena, Run!"

Athena's eye widens and her heart drops into her stomach. She pulls her hand away from the handle and takes a step back. The girl swallows, reluctant to leave her brother. But Athena heard how much fear and panic was in Sam's voice. And she knew he would be more disheartened over the fact she got hurt too than if he just did. Athena turns on her heel to run away, but she bumps into a figure. She stumbles back and her heart jumps into her throat when she meets the woman's eyes.

"Ah, shit..." Athena holds her hands up. "I'll go willingly."

"What?! No!" Sam shouts through the door.

The woman looks at the door, then back at Athena with an arched brow. Athena lets out a bashful laugh, "Don't listen to him. He's a kidder..." she waves a dismissive hand. The girl then holds her hands out to the girl, "You can take me as long as you don't eat me." She softly laughs, but then her smile drops and her eyes widen with fear. Athena places her hands together, "Please don't eat me."

"Why would we eat you?" The woman asks.

Athena raises her brows, "Because you're a Vampire?"

"And you just assumed that I would eat you?" The woman places her hands on her hips. Athena's face drops, "Oh My God—I totally did." She covers her mouth. "I am so sorry..."

"...so, does this mean you're not gonna eat me?"

Sam's Motel door open and Athena turns to see two Vampires carrying her brother out. Athena's mouth hangs open, "Oh My God—you're gonna eat us."

"I'm just gonna put this over your head, so you don't know where we're hiding out." The woman crouches in front of the girl. "Are you gonna come willingly? I just want to talk."

Athena searches the Vampire's eyes. As soon as she senses the woman's truthfulness, she inhales a deep and grabs the potato sack. "I already said I was going to go willingly, you're just finally getting on my level." The girl places the sack over her head and the woman laughs.

The woman stands up and Athena places her hands on her hips. She holds a hand out, "I'm Athena Winchester."

The woman tilts her head, looking at the girl was turned the opposite way from her. "Wrong way."

Athena turns a 180 and faces the woman. "I'm Athena Winchester and you are?"

The woman chuckles and shakes the girl's hand, "Lenore."

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author's note.

hope y'all enjoyed the update!

words : 4919