Call-Sign? Wolf.

Constructive Criticism

I laid in bed that night thinking about what Hangman had told me. I racked my brain with what I should do. Finally I decided that Hangman was out of line. I hardly knew Bradley, not on a personal level. That was the point of dating, to get to know one another. This was an extremely personal matter, definitely not something you tell someone on the first date.

Still, the question burned in the back of my mind. Not even a text? A call? A note? I want to give Bradley the benefit of the doubt, maybe it was the girl. Maybe she had cheated on him and nobody else knew.

As much as I thought about the positive sides, my mind had to cancel them out with opposing forces. What if he had cheated? Stolen all her money and moved across the country, never to be heard from again. Was his name even Bradley?

I was disgusted by my thoughts, Groaning at my minds endless running as I hauled myself out of bed. I stumbled to put on a pair of shoes I didn't care about as well as a sweatshirt as a top.
A walk would do me good.

It wasn't that late, only 10:30 pm, but the other pilots had went to their rooms to wind down for the night. I walked down the empty, dimly lit halls towards the doors that led outside.

"Wolf!" A whispered shout caused me to stop in my tracks and turn around. Phoenix had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, jogging with a wiggle of her shoulders to catch up to me. I smiled at her. I hardly saw her with her hair down, it was beautiful. Dark, almost raven colored hair.

"Hey Phoenix." I greeted my friend. "What's up?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Can't sleep, I assume you can't either?" She asked.
I nodded in response to her question.

"I was going to go for a walk outside if you want to join me." She nodded, a gentle smile on her face. I opened the door and we were met with the crisp, cool, California air. The sky was cloudless and the moon was full, providing us with a white lunar glow over the red and orange sands.

"It's always so beautiful out here." Phoenix hummed. I looked over at her, her olive skin illuminated by the moonlight, a soft smile on her lips.

"I missed it. I loved being on the base during school." I agreed with her, looking up at the star filled sky. My mind raced with thoughts from exactly what I was trying to get away from. I bit the inside of my lip thinking about what to do.

"I can practically see the smoke coming out of your ears. What are you thinking about?"
Phoenix's voice brought me out of my trance. I looked over to see her looking back up at me, head tilted slightly while she waited for me to answer.

"How well do you know Rooster?"
Slowly Phoenix's face lit up as the largest smirk grew across her face.

"He actually did it huh?"
I furrowed my eyebrows together in confusion at her comment. Phoenix let out a chuckle as she turned to face me.

"He's had it for you since the first day at the bar. I kept trying to convince him to ask you out, which I'm assuming that he did."

I shuffled my feet a little, kicking the rocks along the dusty ground.
"Yeah, he did."

"Oh yes!" Phoenix pumped her fist in a small victory which caused me to laugh.

"Oh he needs a woman in his life. He can be so sad and mopey sometimes."
Her jab at Roosters love life gave me the perfect opportunity to poke around for more answers.

"Has he had a girlfriend before?" I asked trying to keep the conversation mood light.

Phoenix looked off into the sky, her eyes deep in thought.
"I'm not sure about any serious ones. I mean I'm sure he had a high school girlfriend or two, a couple more in his 20's, but no serious relationships that I'm aware of."