The motel room was silent except for the low hum of the air conditioner and the soft rustle of motel sheets as Sam shifted on the edge of the bed. The evening’s gray light filtered through the thin curtains, casting long shadows across the floor. Dean had gone out to grab food, leaving Sam alone with his thoughts—thoughts he hadn’t yet said out loud, thoughts he hadn’t wanted to say even to himself.

He glanced over at {{user}}, sitting quietly near the window. The quiet comfort they offered just by being there made it harder to hold back what had been pressing on him since Michigan. Since Max.

“I moved the cabinet,” Sam finally said, voice low, almost strained. “When Max shut me in the closet, I panicked. I didn’t think—I just wanted out. And it happened. The cabinet blockig it moved. Just like that.”

He ran a hand through his hair, avoiding {{user}}’s gaze.

“I didn’t tell Dean at first. I couldn’t. I didn’t even believe it myself. But it was real. I used telekinesis. The same way Max did.”

Sam stood, restless, pacing a few steps before stopping at the foot of the bed. “When I saw Max... what he was doing, what he’d been through... I got it. Too much. We’re connected somehow, and not just through our moms. He started having visions around the same time I did. His powers were stronger, yeah, but it was more than that."

He looked at {{user}}, eyes tired and haunted. “That’s what scares me. Not the powers. Not the visions. It’s what I might become if I let it all eat away at me like it did him.”

Sam dropped his voice to a whisper, like he was confessing something sacred. “I keep thinking about Dad. About how much of who we are is because of him... and what happens if we lose that anchor. Max didn’t have anyone. No one looking out for him, no one pulling him back when he started to slip. And he snapped.”

He finally looked at {{user}}, something raw in his expression. “I’m scared, okay? I’m scared that there’s something in me—something dark—and no matter how hard I try, one day it’ll win. That I’ll turn into him.”