Honey Apple Pie

Chapter Thirty

Emptiness was all Cas felt as he sat in the police station. He was supposed to be giving his statement, but his jaw clamped shut every time the bakery came into his head.

The officer sitting across the desk from him sighed, but continued regardless.

'Please, Mr Novak, we need to get to the bottom of this-'

'Cas.'

'What?'

'"Mr Novak" is what they call my father. My name is Cas,' Cas said, not really looking at anything.

'Okay then, Cas, can you tell me why you didn't report the graffiti problem?'

'I thought they'd get bored if I didn't give them a reaction.'

The officer nodded encouragingly. 'All right, and where were you the night of the incident.'

Cas fixed him with a blank stare.

'We just have to rule you out,' the officer said hastily.

Cas sighed. 'I was at home, asleep.'

'Can anyone verify that?'

'My partner.'

'Dean Winchester?'

Cas nodded. 'You'll need an interpreter if you want to speak to him...' He zoned out again, and his body stood up of its own accord.

'Wait, Cas, come back...'

But Cas didn't hear him. He walked out of the station and all the way through town, though giving the bakery a wide berth.

The apartment was quiet. Even Gracie had been subdued, and she sat on the counter watching Cas lock the door.

Cas sighed again and sat down on the couch, switching on the TV. He didn't pay attention to what was on; it's only purpose to fill the silence in the room while Cas stared at the ceiling.

And so it was the same for weeks. Dean came and went, always trying to cheer Cas up but never succeeding, and Cas sitting in the same spot, either staring at the ceiling or at the words he couldn't seem to absorb in his books. He only ever left the house for food, or to walk Gracie when she got restless.

One day, Dean came in and crouched next to him by the couch. He gazed at Cas, his eyes sad, and gently ran his fingers through Cas's greasy hair. Then Cas realised that Sam was there too. 'Hello, Sam,' he said, his voice cracking from lack of use.

'Hey, Cas,' Sam said quietly. 'I've got some good news for you.'

Cas tried to look interested, but was not entirely successful.

'They found the guys that did it. The building across the street had some security footage. It took a while but they identified the guys. Dean was right, it was the guys from his old job.' He glanced at Dean nervously and continued. 'They've been arrested for destruction of property, and they're going to go for a tougher sentence. They got caught on camera spray painting your building too, so they're classing it as a hate crime.'

Cas nodded, barely registering what Sam had said.

Sam glanced at Dean again, biting his lip. 'All right, well, I guess I'll see you guys later.' Sam left them, giving Cas one last pitying look.

Dean grimaced and sat next to Cas on the couch. {I hate seeing you like this} he signed sadly.

'Sorry,' Cas whispered.

'No,' Dean murmured back. 'Never.'

Cas shivered at the sound of his voice, as he always did, and lay himself down in Dean's lap. 'I don't know what to do now,' he admitted. 'It was my life.'