The Phoenix Ch. 03

Hello Reader!

Look's whos finally gotten a new laptop and is almost out of school for the semester! Woohoo! More time equals more stories equals more feedback from you, my amazing support. And a special shout out to my fantastic editor, Nehkara. Your patience knows no bounds. As always, please leave me constructive comments. I feed off the stuff. Enjoy!

-Curiouskatty

*****

"In darkest night hour, I search through the crowd, your face is all that I see, I'll give you everything, baby love me lights out, baby love me lights out, you can turn my lights out."

Erin swiveled her hips as she danced slowly around her room. She closed her eyes and Beyonce's voice lulled her into a fantasy world. Wyatt was there, his brown hair and green eyes looking celestial in the moon light. She moved her body for him, with him. His smile was subtle and alluring.

"Your heart is glowing, and I'm crashing into you. Baby kiss me, before they turn the lights out."

His lean body was closer, his breath tickling her skin. Erin smiled and leaned into his frame. She felt him all around. She was light on her feet as she twirled around him. Wyatt was whispering to her, but she couldn't quite understand the words. But it didn't matter then. They were together.

"Nobody sees what we see, they're just hopelessly gazing, baby take me, before they turn the lights out, before our time has run out, baby love me lights out."

Erin was aware of Wyatt's hands upon her, gripping her waist, trying to steady her and hold her close. But it was as if he wasn't there, like his hands were caressing her skin, like his lips weren't brushing themselves on her neck. So she kept moving her hips seductively to the beat of the music. She was lost in it, the music, her fantasy, her excitement. It was as nothing she'd ever felt before. All strange and unfamiliar. But she wasn't afraid. Not at all. She was calm, yet full of energy. That was, until her sister burst into the room.

"Hey Erin!" Morgan scream happily as she kicked the door open.

Erin's eyes shot open too late and she fell backward in fear, effectively landing square on her ass.

"Son of a bitch!" She shrieked.

"Oops," Morgan said, looking down at her guiltily, "my bad."

"Morgan, what the fuck!" Erin cursed at her, "this is how people get ptsd in the first place! Shocks like that!"

"How was I supposed to know you were practicing your twerking." Morgan walked over and offered her sister a hand. Erin smacked it away, hard. Morgan yanked her hand back and glared down at her.

"Well damn. I'm trying to make up for it."

"Fuck off." Erin growled as she used the side of the bed to get up.

Morgan stared at her peculiarly. Erin was standing, clad in a tank top and white boy cut panties. Her hair was thick and coiled and free around her head. Her deep complexion was hued and her faced was face was twisted in annoyance and something else.

Embarrassment?

"Erin, what's up?" Morgan puzzled.

Erin frowned at her. "My fucking butt cheek hurts, what do you think?"

Morgan waved that away. "No I mean what's with you. You don't dance, ever. Your hair is never down except on occasions and I think this is the most naked I've seen you since were children. What's happening?"

Erin looked away. "Nothing. It's just hot."

Morgan didn't believe it for a second. "Bitch it's December. Don't try that shit with me. Does this have something to do with Wyatt?"

Erin still didn't look at her.

"I knew it! You fucked him!" Morgan screech.

"Can you shut the fuck up?! Dannie's still in the house."

"Oh shut up. She's watching TV downstairs. So tell me, you get the D?!"

"Morgan can you sound anymore childish?" Erin shot her a look.

But Morgan wasn't having it. She reached out and pinched Erin's bicep. Erin squealed and swatted her hand away.

"Morgan!"

"Stop stalling. It's a yes or no question. Did you shag that adorable nerd?"

"NO!" Erin said loudly and punched Morgan's shoulder. Morgan groaned.

"Are you lying to me little me?" Morgan asked, rubbing her shoulder, "Because if you are-"

"What you gonna do about it?" Erin smirked. "I'm trained in combat, remember?"

"So?" Morgan challenged, "I can still whoop that ass little girl."

"Bitch, who you calling little?"

"Stop!" Morgan stomped her foot, "what happened, you're still not telling me!"

"He asked me out!" Erin finally said, exhausted. She sat on the corner of the bed and smiled up at Morgan, "he asked me out, big me. On a real date. Like a normal person. Me? Can you believe it?"

Morgan felt a pang of emotion in her heart right then, looking down at her sister. What seemed so normal to the rest of the world was so extraordinary to Erin. It was another one of those moments when Morgan really saw how much growing Erin had missed out on in the military. Erin was tough and cold and strong, but in matters of the heart she was naïve and scared. She saw how truly young and lost she was and it almost tore her apart inside. She walked up to Erin, leaned down, and kissed her on the forehead.

"Oh honey, of course he did. He'd be a fool not to."

Erin sensed Morgan's change in emotion. "You ok?"

Morgan just smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine little me." She sighed, then shook it off, "but what about you? Did he tell you where you all are going? And when is this date anyway?"

"On the 28th. He said it should be after Christmas but before New Year so he could say we went on our first date 'last year'."

"First date?" Morgan quipped, "is he planning on more than one?"

Erin smiled. "I certainly hope so! But he didn't say where we are going. Just that I should be prepared to have my socks knocked off."

Morgan couldn't help but roll her eyes, which made Erin grin more.

"I know, I know, he's a giant corn ball. But I've never been with a corn ball before and I've got to say, I really like it." Erin paused. "I really like him. Which is so strange 'cause I hate everybody."

"Yeah, you do." Morgan nodded.

Erin looked up at her sister seriously. "Ya know," She said, "I still think about the bad things with him."

Morgan sat down in the desk chair across from Erin and listened.

"I mean, I didn't understand at first, you know? The movies and books say that when you're with a great person, you forget the bad things. They melt away. Even he says it's sort of like that for him when we talk. But for me, it's different. I think about those things, heavily. I tell him about it. About the hot days and lonely nights. About the other soldiers, the people I've met. I tell him about the nightmares and the shakes and the random bouts of throat-clenching fear. And I think about it. I consider it. I turn it over in my head all day long. But with Wyatt, it's not bad. Not at all. It's like, when I tell him... when I know that he's the one that's listening, the bad things lose their power over me. I mean, it's awful, just not as much. I shake less. I sleep more soundly. The dreams don't rack me like they used to. I don't know if I'm explaining this right." Erin looked down and bit her nail.

Morgan smiled and patted her on the head. "I understand." She suddenly gained resolve and stood up. "Wyatt sounds like a special guy, so you need to wear something special on this date. You are trying to get laid right? Let's look for something for that."

"Morgan no," Erin protested, "I won't slut it up. It's our first date!"

"So? You guys will have been talking for pretty much a month by the time you go out. The date's this Saturday right?"

"Yes. And that don't mean I need to screw him."

"I'm not saying you HAVE to do the ookie doke," Morgan said as she rifled through her closet, "I'm just saying: bring a condom, just in case. And wear a push-up bra."

Erin rolled her eyes. "My boobs are fine."

Morgan turned her head and gave Erin's chest a glance before turning back around. "Eh." Was her only comment.

"The fuck you mean 'eh'?" Erin protested.

"Well, they fit your frame at least. And they're not little."

"They're just not your D-cups." Erin grumbled.

Morgan laughed. "Damn straight. Now where are those crotchless panties I know you've been hiding from me."

Erin gaped, shocked. "Morgan!"

'Abdi?'

Erin stared at the copper skinned man standing in the middle of the dusty dirt road.

'Abdi, what are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here.'

The man stared at her, his clothes tattered and crusted with blood. His left hand stuck out to the side and was trembling visibly, but she couldn't see his right hand.

"Who the fuck-?" Tristan asked before Erin cut him off.

"Slow it down. Stop the truck. It's Abdi."

"What?" David piped up from the back. "Where's Abdi?"

"Standing in the middle of the road. He looks fucked up." Tristan answered.

"Fuck. Some assholes probably attacked him after seeing him hanging out with us." David sighed.

"Oh no, his kids!" Erin remembered suddenly. She stared at Abdi. He appeared to be weeping. "We should help him." She reached for the door, but Tristan put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Erin no. Think for second. Why is he here? If the local thugs roughed him up, why come here? And how did he get here before us?"

Erin's jaw stiffened. "What? No Tristan, you didn't say that."

"And why was he just standing there Erin?" David said in the back.

Erin turned around and looked at him. "No. David you didn't say that either. This is wrong. You're saying things all wrong."

Tristan's grip tightened on her, focusing her attention on his face. "Erin think. The village we just left. The men. The suspects. What kind of man is Abdi."

Erin frowned in confusion. "What?"

"What kind of man is he!" David yelled in her ear.

"I don't know!" Erin yelled back and looked at Abdi. The sun shone on his shaking body. His eyes were pitiful as fat tears rolled down his dusty face, creating a trail. His expression was pleading to them.

"Answer me Erin," Tristan said, "what kind of man is he?"

"A... a sad man?" Erin stuttered as deep apprehension crept into her throat.

"No! Erin, think!" David yelled again.

Erin saw Abdi's right arm move.

"He's... a, um, shy man?"

"No!" It was Tristan that yelled this time. "Think!"

Fear burst within her now, expanding her chest. Her eyes became moist as she watched Abdi's right arm extend itself further. She was running out of time, and out of answers.

"He's a scared man." She whispered. Abdi stopped moving entirely. He was stone still, watching her.

"Yes Erin," Tristan whispered, "he's scared. He's afraid. And what would a scared man, with children, with a home, desperate to protect it all - what would he do to save all that he loves?"

Abdi's left hand shot forward. He was sobbing again, reaching for her. His cracked and bloody lips were moving fast, but Erin couldn't make it out. His right hand emerged. He was holding something. He stretched it out towards her.

An icy terror seized Erin. She ripped her arm from Tristan's grip and pressed her palms to the windshield.

"Anything!" She spoke the answer. Erin started pounding her fist on the windshield.

"Abdi no!" She screamed with all her might.

Then he pushed the button.

Erin vomited over the side of her bed.

Hot sticky mess poured from her and onto carpet below. She sobbed as it dribbled onto the bed skirt, but she kept on retching. Her nose clogged and her teary vision was completely blurred in the darkness of her bedroom. It burned her nostrils and mouth on its way out. She heaved until most of the Christmas Eve dinner was on the floor. Once the gagging subsided, Erin's body slumped weakly. She felt a small tremble pass through her. She closed her eyes and forced herself to stop crying.

'C'mon. Get it together.'

Drained and exhausted, Erin forced herself up and tiptoed into the restroom. She washed her face, brushed her teeth for what felt like an eternity, and changed her pajamas. She grabbed a bucket, scrub brush, carpet cleaner, a towel, and disinfectant and crept back into her room. She spent the next hour cleaning up the mess. She scrubbed and sprayed and pushed back tears.

"This can't keep happening." She said aloud. She looked up and saw that it was 2 am. She swallowed a lump in her throat and pushed back the dream. She scrubbed and scrubbed and changed the sheets. She poured out the bucket in the restroom and scrubbed it out as well. She worked numbly. Once she was satisfied that everything was clean, if a bit damp, she grabbed her cell phone from the charger and crawled back under the blanket.

What am I doing? He's asleep, I know this.

Erin's mind spoke, but her fingers kept moving. She scrolled down to the last name in her contacts, which didn't take long as she had no friends.

Wyatt.

She dialed.

'Just wish him a Merry Christmas. Just leave a quick message. That's not so bad. Even though it is almost 3 am now.'

She bit her lip and shut her eyes and the dial tone rang through. Her body curved and she seemed to surround the phone in a fetal position.

"Wyatt..." She whispered his name.

"Yeah?" A groggy voice on the other end of the line answered.

Erin hadn't known she'd shut her eyes until they popped open at the sound of his voice.

"Wyatt?!" she said almost frantically, "what are you doing up?"

"I'm not up," he answered in a hoarse voice, "I'm asleep. Besides, you're calling me. Why are you up?"

Erin paused before answering. "Um, I uh, wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas," she lied pathetically.

Wyatt didn't buy it. "At-" he stopped to check the time, "2:50 in the morning?"

"The Christmas spirit can hit you at any time, don't you know?" Erin chuckled weakly.

Wyatt wanted to laugh, and he would have, if he wasn't so worried. "Erin."

And that's all it took. Just the sound of his deep soothing voice, the soft way he spoke her name, was enough to break her. Erin let out a sob.

"I know this is childish, but I had a nightmare."

"It's not childish when you are dealing with the traumatic things you've had to endure. What happened?" Wyatt's voice was clearer now as he forced himself awake.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Wyatt sighed. "Yes you do. That's why you called me. You want someone to hear you."

"Yeah, I do. But not about this. I can't-" Erin's voice broke and trailed off again.

"Erin, sweetheart listen to me. Listen to my voice. It's real."

"Wyatt-"

"No Erin, hear me, right now. My voice talking to you over the phone, this is real. That dream is based on something very real, but it wasn't. That's gone now. It's done. But I'm here. Hold on to that. Hold on to me."

"I wish I could right now."

There was silence from the other end.

"Wyatt?"

"I'm coming over."

Erin heard shuffling and a jingle of keys. "What? Wyatt no, that's not necessary."

"What's your address?"

"Wyatt-"

"Erin, I'm coming. Even if I have to break into the school at 3 am and get Dannie's records to find the address, I will. But I'm hoping you'll make this a little easier for me. Please Erin."

She quietly rattled off the address.

"Thanks. I'll be there in 20."

Wyatt hung up before she could utter any more objections.

He's coming here. Now. Right now.

Erin hopped out of bed. She quickly wiped her tears and ran to the restroom. She examined herself and frowned.

'You look like shit on a shingle. Geez.'

She grabbed her knit hat and stuffed in her curls. She pulled on a cardigan over her tank top. She looked down and decided that nothing could be done about her checkered purple pajama pants. She shuffled downstairs and waited by the window.

'Fuck. I should have stopped him.'

She stared out expectantly for his car. She was glad that Morgan had made her get contacts. She didn't have to squint anymore as she gazed out into the blackness. She felt like a puppy waiting for their owner. She fidgeted and bit her thumbnail. In a sudden panic, she made a mad dash for the restroom. She brushed her teeth for the umpteenth time and spritzed herself down with vanilla sugar body spray.

'What are you doing?'

She sighed and went back downstairs as headlights pulled up on the curb. She watched the car park and the tall figure come out and up to her door. Before he could knock, Erin unlocked the door and opened it.

"Wyatt." His name fell from her lips, light and weak.

Wyatt didn't hesitate. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her body to his. He pulled her hat off in the process and buried his face in her hair. She closed her eyes and drank in his closeness. It was strangely exhilarating. His body on hers, her skin on hers, his warmth mixed with her own, it all felt like an immense hunger had been sated. Her skin was hungry for his. It occurred to her then that it had been years since she last allowed a man to touch her, to hold her, to fulfill this need for human contact.

Erin felt starved for him.

While Wyatt caressed her back comfortingly, whispering soft soothing words to her and rubbing in slow circles, he felt Erin's hands scan his frame in short frantic spurts. She shifted backwards and pulled him in until they were out of the doorway. She pulled away only to close the door before wrapping herself around his body again. Wyatt obliged, hugging her tightly. He wanted so much to be the warm friend she needed, but her hands were distracting.

He couldn't exactly recall when they made their way beneath his hoodie and the shirt underneath, but he felt her small cool hands excite his skin. Gooseflesh broke out as her fingers raked down his back slowly. The blood in his body started to change directions.

'No no no no. I can't be sleezy. Not now. Not here. She needs a friend, not a horn dog.'

But then Erin pulled back and slipped off the cardigan. She pushed Wyatt's hoodie over his head and tossed it aside. Her face set and determined. She knew what she wanted from him. And she was going to take it.

"Erin." He spoke her name tenderly. "Do you want to talk about it now?"

"No."

Her answer was short, as she wasn't really paying attention to his words. Her fingertips were dancing along his exposed arms. Her eyes were burrowing their way through his shirt.

Wyatt watched her devour him with her gaze and it only made his temperature rise. He felt oddly vulnerable and a little awkward. 'I don't understand. I thought she was sad.'

"Erin-"

"Hush."

Without warning, Erin got up on her tip toes, leaned to Wyatt's neck, and bit him.

Wyatt was stunned silent.

The bite was soft, but what got him was the feel of her tongue on his skin. It was hot, like a torch on his neck. Wyatt gasped as his cock hardened.

Erin didn't stop. She pulled him back close, her braless breasts mashed against his chest. Her nipples were hard and jutting enough for Wyatt to feel them beneath his own shirt.

'What the fuck? God yes.'

Wyatt fell in line and pushed a hand through her hair. Her mouth suckled at the spot on his neck. She licked and tasted and moaned against him. Wyatt caressed her back and went so far as to give her round ass a shy squeeze. When she didn't immediately push him away, Wyatt did it again. Erin sighed.

'She likes it!'

Wyatt grew bolder and pushed his hands into her pajama bottoms. He groaned when he felt her soft cotton panties clinging to her ass. He palmed both cheeks before giving them a generous squeeze.

Erin's mouth pulled away from Wyatt's neck so she could moan out loud. A flood of wetness dampened her panties. His big hands and tempered body were making her want to scream. She felt the bulge in his thin bottoms. She admitted to herself that she was shocked at its apparent size. She looked up into his dark eyes and she ground her body against it.