The Dreamers

52: The Empty House

"Uh huh, okay. I understand."

Pyro talked on the phone as Serena sat on the couch. Her outfit was off, and there was a binder putting pressure on her wound in her chest. She had bandages on her face as she watched Pyro talk on the phone. Everyone had left. It was just the two of them in the house while Varrick and Leilani were in their rooms.

"Did Mira ever wake up?"

"Yeah, but she's still a little shaken up." Damion said through the phone.

"Understanable. Your brother has been possessed by a nightmare. He's more powerful than me and Serena now."

"Well, what can we do?"

"We either have to remove the possession his mother placed on him or we kill the nightmare inside him, but that's not excatly smart if you ask me." Pyro claimed, his gaze settled on Serena.

"I see. Well, I hope Serena heals."

"Me too, bye Damion."

Pyro hung up. He rubbed his face with his hand and looked down at Serena. She looked a little nervous to see his angry expression.

He paced back and forth. He glanced at her occasionally, fighting the urge to yell.

He eventually stopped in front of her. She stood up and looked at him. He sighed as he asked her.

"Are you going to say anything?"

She looked away a little nervous. He could tell that something was bothering her.
The pain, the fight, something else? He couldn't tell. He waited there longer, but she didn't answer him.

He sighed, and he put his hands behind his head. But when his hands were midway in the air, Serena was convinced he was trying to hit her.

He body flinched. She looked up and realized she was wrong. She prayed he wouldn't notice, but it was way too obvious.

His angry face dropped, and the worry was written all over his face.

She stared at him. Tears formed in her eyes. He kneeled down to eye level as he hugged her tightly.

His voice was apologetic as he looked in her eyes, "I'm so sorry, Princess."

He held her shoulders as he stroked her hair, "I didn't mean to scare you. You know I would never do anything to hurt you."

She hugged him as he felt her body against him.

"You're really warm." He said as he placed his hand on her forehead, "Are you sick?"

"No, no. I'm fine." She said, pushing him away. She sounded sick. Her voice sounded tired and whiney. He went into the kitchen and came back with the thermometer. He kneeled down a little and looked at her.

"Open your mouth."

"No." She said, moving her face away.

"Serena, Baby, I'm just making sure." She opened her mouth a little, and he placed the thermometer in there. He pulled it out to see the temperature.

"103.1?! Yeah, you're definitely sick."

She whined as she looked away. He didn't need a thermometer to tell she was sick. She sat on the couch and looked away from him. He sat down on the other side as he looked at her.

"Are you going to let me take care of you?" He asked, looking at her.

Her voice was strained and a little raspy, "No, I don't want you catching it too."

"Screw that, just let me comfort you."

She hesitated as she turned to look at him. He didn't take his eyes off her. She finally caved as she laid her head on his lap. He smiled as he stroked her hair.

"Do you need anything?"

"No, not at the moment..." she answered as he kept stroking her hair.

"Princess, why did you fight with Giddion? I told you to leave if anything went wrong."

She teared up as he heard her faintly talk, "I don't know. I just got caught in the moment. I couldn't stand that I couldn't do anything to hurt him." He heard her soft cry as he stroked her head.

"Shhhh, shhh. Baby, it's okay. I'm not blaming you."

She sniffled as he lifted her to his lap.

"God, I can't stand it when something upsets you." He said, stroking her cheek with his thumb, "Did something happen?"

She felt like telling him about Damion, but she didn't want to because she knew she'd be a crying mess if she did.

"N-nothing happened."

"Hmm, okay, love."

She cuddled into him. He felt warm, feeling her warm body temperature against him. But he wasn't about to tell her to get off him.

"I want water." She commanded like a little kid wanting something. He stood up carrying her cradled in his arms."

He walked to the cabinet as he grabbed her a glass, and he filled it up with water and a few ice cubes. He sat her on the island as he handed her the glass.

She took some sips of water as he leaned against the island.

"Is your chest doing better?" He asked, looking at the bandaged binder around her body.

She stopped drinking water as she nodded slightly.

"You sure you're alright?" He asked concerned.

She nodded slightly. He could tell that she wasn't telling the full truth, but he didn't want to get her upset while she was sick.

She hopped down off the island as she placed the cup in the sink.

"I'm warm." She whined. He patted her head as he took out an ice pack from the freezer.

"Come on, Baby." He took her hand as he led her to the couch. He sat her down as he turned on the rotating fan by the tv. He went a sat down next to her.

"This should help you cool down." He sat gently placing the ice pack on her forehead. She felt a little cold, but eventually, she relaxed. She leaned against his shoulder. He checked his phone as he thought to himself.

"It's midnight. We should be going to bed. He picked up Serena in his arms. She whined,

"I want the fan." She demanded.

"Shh, don't worry. I'll bring it upstairs in a moment."
He carried her upstairs to the bathroom. He let her take her shower to clean herself up. She changed into some pajamas that she wore over her binder.

He took her to the extra room in the bunker. He laid her down in her bed as he tucked her in. He left and came back with the fan. He placed it a good distance from her bed. He crouched down as he tucked a strand of hair out of her face.

"Goodnight, Princess." He kissed her head as he got up and left the room.

He he got in the shower as he felt warm water touch his skin. He washed his white hair as the water droplets landed on his defined abs and muscles.

He got out, drying himself with a towel. He noticed her phone on the bathroom counter.

"I'll just give it to her tomorrow. I don't want to disturb her." He thought to himself.

He left the bathroom wearing a pair of sweatpants while his chest was exposed. He held Serena's phone as he went to his room. He turned on his nightstand lamp and turned off the main light. He got into bed as he heard the door creak open. Serena was still not asleep.

"Is everything okay?" Pyro asked from his bed.

"I'm cold." She whined. He looked at her sympathetically. Before he could say anything, she jumped into his bed and climbed on top of him. He blushed a little surprised, but he didn't object to it.

He stroked her hair as she nuzzled into his collarbone.

"Clingy, aren't you." He said as she fell asleep on his chest. He moved her next to him as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. He felt his eyes get heavy as he held her close to him. She was warm. It was such a comforting feeling. He fell asleep holding her. A thought played in his head as he lost consciousness.

"I don't know what happened, but I'm gonna find out."