A/N : Thank you all so much for the love! I appreciate all the feedback and am so happy you all are enjoying the story thus far!

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"It's all your fault…you killed Mary…she's dead because of you, you worthless bitch. You should have been the one who died that night, not her. Everyone wishes it had been you. Me, Sammy, even Dean wishes you had burned that night. It's what you deserve. They never loved you. All you've ever been to them is a liability...a burden...on all of us."

Sophie Winchester slammed shut the textbook in front of her, dropping her head into her hands.

Those words haunted her…no matter how hard she tried to evade the cruel thoughts, she couldn't. They were always there, somewhere in her mind, ready to pounce.

She groaned aloud, running a hand through her long, dark brown hair and leaned back in her desk chair. It was going to be one of those nights.

Ever since her family had left her with the Grobers, she'd been having a lot of those kind of nights. Nights where sleep evaded her - she tossed and turned until morning, only her tortured thoughts keeping her company. Nights she reached for her phone, stopping right before her fingers touched it, not wanting to burden those she loved even more than she already had. Nights she would cry herself to sleep, silent sobs wracking her body so she wouldn't wake the kind strangers who took her in.

One of those nights.

It had been almost a year since her family left her.

Sophie had never wanted to leave. Her brothers were the only people in the world who made her feel safe and protected from the unimaginable evils of the world, they made her feel loved and worthy of that love. Dean and Sam were Sophie's world - they were everything to her, and not being with them killed her. And as for John, well, he was her father and she loved him- but it wasn't the kind of relationship she had with her brothers. Which made sense, on the account that Dean and Sam had raised Sophie.

In her opinion, their dad died the day their mom was killed.

The three Winchester siblings were all each other had.

It was the three of them against the world.

Dean not only had the role of big brother, but he also took on that father figure role his siblings needed. When Sophie was scared of the dark, he would lay in her bed and rub her back until she fell asleep feeling safe. When Sam was being picked on in middle school, Dean did what he had to do to make damn sure that never happened again. But Dean also did everything in his power to make sure his siblings grew up knowing how to take care of themselves if someday he wasn't around.

Sam took his role as big brother to Sophie very seriously. He had been following Dean around his whole like, studying him, trying to be just like him. When Sophie was born, Sam was just six years old, Dean ten years old, and both brothers already knew their purpose in life was to protect their baby sister. From the day she was born, that love never wavered.

And that was what kept Sophie up at night.

She couldn't figure out what had changed. Why her brothers suddenly didn't want her to be a part of their lives anymore.

Because you're a burden…you always have been. The thoughts were back.

"I'm a burden," Sophie whispered, feeling her throat constrict. She pushed up from the desk, moving to her bed and laying down.

She stared at the nightstand by the bed where a framed picture of Elaine and Tom Grober and their seventeen year old daughter Hannah sat. This had been her old bedroom down in the basement, but when Sophie moved in, Hannah moved upstairs to the main floor and into a room next to her parents'. A year later and Hannah still hadn't completely cleaned out her old room. She probably didn't think I'd last this long, Sophie thought to herself bitterly.

It wasn't like living at the Grobers was torture. They were nice people, probably the nicest people Sophie had ever met. They were normal. But they weren't her family…they weren't her brothers.

Regardless, Sophie shoved down her feelings, sucked it up, and agreed to reside with them like her father asked her to do.

She went to school, kept her grades average, ate dinner with the family every night - just like any normal sixteen year old. But it was like she was on autopilot, just going through the motions. She didn't care about any of this, about anyone, not even herself. She didn't care what happened to her - nothing mattered anymore.

Not since that night a year ago when everything changed.

"Don't make me kick down the damn door, Soph! You're using up all the hot water!" Dean yelled through the bathroom door, pounding his fists against it.

"Okay, okay! Don't get yourself all worked up," Sophie's muffled voice came through the door.

Sophie stood under the steaming water, letting the heat envelope her. A couple moments later she could hear her brother muttering curses and couldn't help but giggle. "I can hear you in there, you know!" she heard Dean's voice come through and let out a laugh before shutting off the water, wringing the water out of her hair.

She reached outside the curtain, grabbing a towel and wrapping it tight around her body, a shiver wracking through her.

Winter's in the north were brutal. It was the middle of February in Berkley, Massachusetts and ever since her family had gotten to this town, she couldn't shake this chill she had. The motel room they were crashing at had a small heater that barely worked and most of the few clothes she owned weren't meant for blizzards.

Sophie wiped down the fog from the mirror and stared at her reflection, tracing her features lightly with a finger. She had her father's eyes - light brown and warm, like honey. Her lips were full, the top one slightly smaller than the bottom, like her mother. She also had her mom's nose. At least that's what Dean told her.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Sophie pushed away from the sink and changed into yoga pants and one of Sam's old sweatshirts she had stolen out of his bag before he left for Stanford. She pulled it over her head and brought the material to her nose, breathing in deep - it still smelled like him. She felt her heart ache a little. God, she missed him.

With a sigh, Sophie hung up the towel and headed to the door.

"Finally!" Dean cheered once the door opened and pushed himself off the bed. "Thought you drowned in there."

Sophie nudged him with her elbow as he passed by into the bathroom, Dean ruffling her hair. "Dad's not back yet?" she called after Dean, surveying the room.

"Nah, he'll be back soon."

"It's getting kind of late, don't you think? Almost one in the morning," she murmured, unable to control the worry coursing through her.

"He's a grown man, babe. It's not like he has a curfew," Dean retorted with a grin. "Stop worrying so much. You'll get wrinkles," he continued, peeking out from the bathroom.

"Oh no! Not wrinkles!" Sophie cried in mock horror. "How would people tell us apart then?"

Dean scrunched his face at his sister. "You're cruel. You are one cruel fifteen year old."

Sophie shot her brother a sweet smile and flopped onto one of the beds as he shut the bathroom door. Seconds later she heard the shower turn on.

Dean sighed as what was left of the hot water beat against his back. He rolled his neck, feeling the tension stretch across his shoulders.

This latest case they worked, a simple salt and burn, had been much easier than expected. It was a nice change from a lot of their previous hunts where something always went wrong and someone always got hurt - usually Sophie, he thought bitterly. Maybe it was because she was smaller and younger than the others - an easy target. Or maybe she just had shit luck. Regardless, she seemed to draw every evil son of a bitch her way.

Sophie could definitely hold her own in a fight. She was a lot tougher and more skilled than most hunters out there twice her age, but when you pair a fifteen year old against a werewolf, the odds weren't really in her favor. But that's what Dean was for. He would always be there to protect her. The evil bastards would have to go through him first. The two siblings made an incredible team - each balancing what the other lacked, working together seamlessly in perfect harmony. Together, they were deadly. And then add Sam to the mix? The Winchesters were feared by man and beast.

But Sam had been gone almost three years now. It killed Dean to be away from his brother - it scared him even more. He knew Sam was an adult and could take care of himself, but that didn't make letting go any easier or ease his worry.

Dean missed his brother. It was that plain and simple.

Sophie felt her eyelids beginning to droop when she heard the shower turn off. Rubbing her eyes tiredly, she pulled herself to a sitting position and reached for her cellphone on the nightstand. Dialing a number she knew by heart, she held the phone to her ear and waited.

Suddenly, the other line picked up and she heard rustling before a groggy voice came onto the line. "Mm', hello?"

"Shit, Sam. I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"What? No, no, it's okay, babe," Sam spoke, clearing his throat that was obviously sleep ridden.

"We can talk later if you want," Sophie offered, absently playing with a string on Sam's old sweatshirt..

Sam laughed. "Stop, Soph. It's fine. It's really good to hear your voice."

Sophie felt a lump grow in her throat. "You too, Sammy. I miss you."

"I miss you too, sweet n'low," the older brother said quietly, a sad smile on his face. "How's everything? How's Dean doin'?"

As if on cue, Dean started belting some AC/DC song from the bathroom. Both Sam and Sophie couldn't help but laugh at their brother. "Well his singing sucks just as much as before," Sophie giggled, flopping onto her stomach.

"Yeah, I don't miss that," Sam laughed along. "How are you, Soph? Everything good?"

"Yeah, everything's good," she responded, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Don't you lie to me, missy," Sam said quietly. He hadn't been gone that long - he could still read his sister like the back of his hand.

"Really, I'm fine. I just miss you, that's all."

"I know, babe," he sighed, pushing away the guilt eating at him. The line was quiet for a minute. "How's dad doing?" Sam said, breaking the silence.

"He's alright. Gettin' shit faced, I think," Sophie laughed softly.

"Yeah, that sounds about right…" he responded, rubbing his eyes tiredly as he looked at the mound of papers surrounding him. He hadn't meant to fall asleep at his desk but the work load was taking a toll on him.

Dean emerged from the bathroom and gave Sophie a look, as she mouthed 'Sam' to him, pointing to the phone. The older brother crossed to the bed and held his hand out.

"Hold on, Dean wants to talk to you," she sighed, handing the phone over.

"Sammy!" Dean greeted, a big smile on his face. "How are you? You takin' care of yourself?"

"Hey Dean," Sam laughed. It was always good to hear his brothers voice. "What's goin' on?"

"We just finished up a case out in Massachusetts. And you'll never believe this. Guess who we ran into?"

"Who?" Sam asked curiously.

"The Grobers, dude. You were kinda young back then, but do you remember them? Our neighbors back in Lawrence?"

"Yeah…vaguely," he commented, narrowing his eyes. "Thats's crazy. Where'd you see them?"

"We bumped into them at this bar. Dad's still over there with them."

"Weird coincidence."

"Definitely. So how's being the big man on campus?"

Sam rolled his eyes, smiling. "Dean-"

"Any lucky ladies? Man, I love college girls. They've got the best set of-"

"Gimmie that back," Sophie interrupted, reaching for the phone and yanking it from her brothers' hand. "You have issues," she directed at Dean, giggling a bit, before getting back on the phone. "Anyways, I just wanted to see how you were doing...we haven't talked in a while."

"I know, I'm sorry, Soph. I've been slammed trying to prep for all my exams coming up," Sam explained, sighing as he attempted to organize the mess of papers. "Speaking of which, I've got a lot of shit to sort through for tomorrow's classes. I should probably get back to it."

"Oh...okay, it's okay," Sophie said, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice.

"I'm sorry, babe. We can talk later this week, okay?"

"Definitely," she sighed, already knowing that they wouldn't. "Night, Sam. I love you."

"Love you too."

With a sigh, Sophie hung up the phone and tossed it into her bag before flipping back to the head of the bed and wiggling under the covers. A few moments later, Dean clambered over to the bed and laid down next to his sister, grabbing the remote off the nightstand and flickering through the limited channels.

Comfortable silence settled over the room. But something was gnawing at Sophie - she couldn't stop thinking about it. As if he read her mind, Dean suddenly spoke, "You're thinking pretty loud over there, sis."

Sophie scoffed lightly, staring at her clasped hands. "Sam sounds like he's doing well," she mumbled.

"Yeah," Dean sighed, nodding his head slowly.

"He sounds happy," she continued.

"Yeah," he responded quietly, forgetting about the T.V.

Sophie swallowed the lump in her throat. "Do you think Sam was happy when he was with us?" she asked softly.

Dean was quiet for a moment, glancing down at his sister, his heart breaking. He wondered the same thing.

"Do you think he'll ever come back with us?" Sophie continued when Dean didn't respond.

"I don't know, babe," he answered honestly, staring ahead.

It was silent for a moment, both siblings lost in thought. Sophie kept her eyes down, avoiding eye contact with her brother. "Are you going to leave too?"

That pulled Dean out of his thoughts and he turned slightly to stare at Sophie. "Never," he answered fiercely.

Sophie continued to stare at her hands, bitting her lip anxiously. She didn't know where this was coming from - she usually had a pretty good hold on her emotions. But there were just some things she couldn't help being emotional about - like Sam leaving. It brought to life her worst fear - losing her brothers. "If you're not happy, you don't have to stay just for me, Dean," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.

"Hey," Dean said, nudging his sister so she would look at him. "Where else would I want to be, huh?"

"But-"

"No, 'buts', Sophie," he interrupted. "I'm not goin' anywhere - ever. I promise. You're stuck with me," he finished, giving his sister a small smile before opening his arms to her. Sophie immediately rolled over and put her head on Dean's chest, snuggling against him and taking a deep breath. He put his arm around her protectively, rubbing circles around her back, just like he would do when she was little.

Sophie could feel her eyelids getting heavy - the sound of Dean's steady heartbeat lulling her to sleep.

Right before sleep could take over, the motel door flew open. Dean and Sophie jumped up immediately, just as John came stumbling in, knocking over the lamp by the door in the process. "Dad!" Dean exclaimed, both he and Sophie hopping off the bed and rushing towards John. "Dad, hey, you alright?" he continued, grabbing one of John's arms.

Immediately, the smell of whiskey hit them as John let out a drunken laugh. "Mm' yea, fine. Good. Hows bout you's?" he slurred, stumbling over his boots.

"Shit," Dean muttered, hoisting himself under John's arm to support him, Sophie doing the same. Barely able to stand on his own two feet, Dean and Sophie half dragged their dad to the bed by the door and sat him down.

"Mmmm'…" John mused, his body swaying back and forth, "hey, Dean-O…food. Let's get somes foods. I think I might've had a wee too much to have to drink," he hiccuped, giggling a little.

Dean shot a wary glance at Sophie before grabbing his jacket from the kitchen table. "Yeah, okay, dad. We can stop at that 24 hour diner down the street. C'mon, Soph," he said, motioning for his sister to follow. Whenever John drank, things got messy. The last thing Dean wanted to do was leave Sophie alone with him. But as she made her way over to her brother, John shot out a hand and grabbed her wrist.

"No! Mm'…can you's please, hmm, stay with me, Soph?" John slurred, looking at her with unfocused eyes.

"Uhm…" Sophie mumbled, glancing between Dean and her dad. She wanted to go with her brother. Something didn't feel right. Even when John was more hammered than now, he never acted this way.

"Please," John pressed, gripping Sophie's wrist a little tighter.

"Sure, dad, I'll stay," she finally gave in, rubbing her wrist once he let go.

"Soph, I really think you-" Dean started but was interrupted by John.

"Jus' go, Dean-O. We will be a-okay," he grumbled.

Dean stared hard at his dad, trying to get a read on him."Okay…" he finally said. "Call me if anything," he said, directing it towards Sophie. "I'll be back in ten," he finished, shooting one more nervous glance at his sister before shutting the door.

A few seconds later, Sophie and John heard the Impala roar to life and drive away. It was silent in the room for a couple moments before headed to the kitchen. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and handed it to John. "Here you go, dad," she said gently. John grunted a thanks and took a long swig of water. Sophie watched him cautiously, chills running through her body. It wasn't from the cold this time.

"Why don't you lay down for a bit until Dean gets back with your food," Sophie offered hesitantly.

"You know, I never drank before your mother died," John suddenly said. "We would have a few beers when we went out or to an event, but I would never get drunk. After she was murdered though…after I heard her screams as her stomach was slit open…after I watched the flesh bubble off her body...I figured, what the hell, a man deserves a drink."

"Dad…" Sophie whispered, feeling sick to her stomach, the hairs standing up on the back of her neck.

What scared her the most was how straight her dad's posture was, how clear his eyes were, how coherent his words were.

John was stone, cold, sober.

Suddenly, he broke out into a fit of laughter, tossing his head back. Sophie slowly approached him. "Okay, daddy, why don't you lie down now…" she whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder. John's laughter ceased abruptly and he stared at her with cold, dark eyes. In one swift motion, he stood facing her, towering his 6'2" frame over her 5'5" one. He cocked his head and glowered at her, unmoving.

Sophie felt her knees buckle, but held her ground, as they stared at each other in dead silence. John's face suddenly twisted up into a sneer, eyes lighting up wickedly.

Without warning, John shoved Sophie backwards with full force, laughing as she lost her balance and hit the floor hard. Sophie gasped, the wind getting knocked out of her, and quickly crawled back as far as possible until she hit the wall behind her. She shot to her feet but before she could move, John had her.

He grabbed Sophie by the neck and smashed her head back against the wall. Sophie let out a cry as pain shot across the back of her skull, her legs giving out. Just as she was about to drop, John wrapped his hand around her throat and propped her back up. She didn't have time to react before John lifted her off the floor by the throat, feet dangling beneath her.

Sophie clawed at whatever she could - John's hands, face, body, kicking where she could, trying to land a good hit. But she could feel herself fading, her lungs trying to grasp air that wasn't there. With one last ditch effort, Sophie tore at John's face with her fingernails, leaving four bloody scratch marks across his cheek.

John dropped Sophie and grabbed his face. "Bitch!" he screamed. Sophie shoved past her dad, trying to get to the door, but before she could get two feet away, he grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her back.

Sophie cried out as she was shoved back into the wall, John slamming her head once again against it. This time, black spots danced in her vision as she felt the wall crumble behind her head from the force. "Daddy, please," she croaked, feebly trying to fight off her dad.

Within seconds, John had his hands around her neck again and held her against the wall. "It's all your fault," he seethed, grip tightening. "You killed Mary…she's dead because of you, you worthless bitch. You should have been the one who died that night, not her. Everyone wishes it had been you. Me, Sammy, even Dean wishes you had burned that night. It's what you deserve. They never loved you. All you've ever been to them is a liability...a burden...on all of us." he growled, his low voice full of venom.

Sophie still fought, her actions becoming weaker and weaker as she felt herself fading once more. She looked at her father desperately. "P-please…daddy," she choked out, struggling to get air.

John just sneered, before his eyes suddenly flickered from brown to pitch black. "Daddy's not here anymore."

Sophie was pulled out of the memory when she heard a gentle knock on her door. She cleared her throat quickly and sat up. "Come in."

The door opened and Elaine Grober stuck her head in, short auburn hair hanging to her cheeks, green eyes sparkling. "Hi sweetie, how you doing down here?" she asked, smiling sweetly.

Sophie plastered on a fake smile, the one she learned to master over this past year. "I'm great. Taking a break from all the homework," she responded, forcing a laugh.

Elaine's smile grew as she took a step inside. "Yeah, Hannah fell asleep an hour ago - I think that SAT prep work is taking a toll on her. She hasn't gone to bed before midnight since she was fourteen!"

"So not looking forward to it next year when I'm a junior," Sophie said, keeping a smile on her face. If I make it that long, she thought to herself.

"Oh, you'll do great, honey. You've adjusted so well this past year - I know it's tough being away from your family, but you're doing remarkably well."

Sophie's heart pained. "Thank you for having me here," she finished, really wanting this conversation to end.

"The pleasure is ours, sweetheart. You know, when your father approached us with the idea of you staying here so you could settle down in one place instead of hopping from school to school, we were more than happy to accept. Your family is so special to us, even after all these years. That never changed," she said, her eyes crinkling warmly.

"My dad says the same," Sophie lied smoothly, smiling just a little bit bigger.

"Well, I'll leave you to your work then. Tom and I are headed to bed. When you're done can you shut off the hall light out here?"

"No problem," Sophie said softly, nodding her head.

"If you want, this weekend we can see about cleaning out that extra room upstairs for you. That way you don't have to stay down here in the basement all by yourself."

Sophie plastered the smile back on. "That'd be great."

Elaine grinned, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she headed out. "I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight, sweetheart," she said, quietly closing the door.

Sophie's smile dropped from her face as soon as the door hit the frame. This mask of fake happiness was starting to take a toll on her.

She waited until she heard Elaine's footsteps disappear up the stairs before she got up.

Sophie reached for her phone on the nightstand and turned it on. When the screen remained black, she tried two more times. "Of course," she muttered, tossing her dead cell phone to the end of the bed. She glanced at the clock on the wall.

11:56 p.m.

Stifling a yawn, Sophie rolled out of bed and headed to her desk, shoving all her books into her backpack. She'd have to finish her work during homeroom tomorrow. Sophie sighed, already dreading the next day. It was an endless, miserable cycle day in and day out. But this was her life now. She'd have to suck it up and deal - the Winchester way.

She opened the door to her room and started down the hallway that lead to the stairs to shut off the downstairs hall light. Her room was the only room on this floor - a wide hallway with two small windows that faced the front yard lining the top of the hallway.

Sophie padded to the end of the hall and reached to flip the switch off, when all of a sudden, she heard a noise - a loud thud coming from upstairs, followed by scurrying footsteps and a slamming door. "What the hell?" she mumbled under her breath, straining her eyes. She craned her head around the banister of the stairs and looked up, seeing the upstairs floor still dark. Then, something caught her attention.

A flickering.

Sophie slowly raised her head and looked above her at the light bulbs that lined the ceiling all the way down the hallway and to her room. One by one, each light began to flicker. Slowly at first, then faster and faster until each and every one flashed chaotically. She suddenly felt a chill sweep through her, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up - she knew this feeling. "No, no, no," Sophie whispered, her stomach dropping.

And then the screaming started.

There you have it! What'd you guys think?!

How do you like Sophie so far? Thoughts on her character? Any questions?

I LOVE feedback so leave me a review if you so please! Much love.