DEATH WISH - Twisters

Nightmares

2024:

YOU NEVER truly recover from death. Especially not when it's someone close to you. Especially not when it happens right in front of you. And especially not when you blame yourself for it. And that is exactly what Phoenix Collins has been doing for the past year.

From the outside looking in, you'd think she was fine. Hell, she was so good at hiding it that even people like Dani and Boone believed her. The only person who didn't was Tyler. He saw straight through her masks and lies, he saw straight through her defences and saw exactly who she was; a broken woman.

She'd never recovered from losing Dakota. And she'd also never opened up about what really happened. Tyler knew about the shed, how they hid, but that was it. Lily knew the same, she knew that Dakota had died to the tornado, but again, that was it.

Phoenix's nights were often filled with nightmares, and tonight was no exception. As usual, she was tossing and turning in bed, muttering to herself, most of it unintelligible. As usual, tears flowed down her cheeks and dripped onto the pillowcases. As usual, she whimpered in fear.

But the one abnormality tonight was that someone heard her.

For the past few weeks, Tyler had had a suspicion that Phoenix hadn't been getting as much sleep as she claimed, and he had been trying to figure out if that theory was true. So tonight, unbeknownst to her, Tyler had gotten the room next to hers and was currently sitting cross-legged on his bed, his ear pressed against the wall connected to Phoenix's room.

And the second he heard her muffled pleas for help, he shot out of bed and ran outside in nothing but a pair of jeans. Her door was shockingly unlocked, which he opened quickly and rushed inside, shutting it behind him.

Phoenix was breathing heavily, most of the covers on the floor as she tossed and turned, mumbled words escaping her lips. "Phoenix. Phoenix, wake up. It's just a dream, just wake up. Nix. Nix, wake up" Tyler grabbed her shoulders gently, shaking them slightly to wake her up.

Her eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly, smashing her forehead into his accidentally. "Ow, fuck" she hissed, placing a hand on her forehead as Tyler continued holding onto her. "Are you okay?" he asked and she looked at him. "Ty?" she frowned. "Yeah, hey, hi, answer the question. Are you okay?" he asked again.

"Apart from smashing into that thick head of yours, yeah, I'm fine" she joked, trying to mask the fear in her eyes. "Bullshit. You were having a nightmare, I could hear you through the wall. Talk to me, Nix" Tyler dropped his hands to his sides and she sighed.

"I don't even remember it" she shrugged and Tyler gave her a look, his hands resting on his hips. It was then that Phoenix realised he was shirtless and her eyes trailed up and down his body before she cleared her throat. "Sorry if I woke you or...whatever" she licked her lips, fighting to keep her eyes on his.

"You like what you see or somethin'?" Tyler smirked, hoping to change the subject to make her happy. "Shut your mouth" she pointed a finger at him. "You're welcome to look darlin'. I'm yours for the takin'" Tyler continued, hooking his thumbs into his belt loops.

"I-shut up" Phoenix blushed, looking away. "Eyes on me, baby girl" Tyler leant forward and placed his finger under her chin, tilting her head to look at him. She gulped as her eyes flitted around his face, their noses practically brushing against each other. She could feel his breath on her lips and god, did she yearn for more.

Tyler pulled away, a smirk playing on his lips as he stood up straight. "Listen, Nix, I know you aren't okay. And I am right here if you wanna talk about anything" Tyler smiled before walking towards the door. "Stay" Phoenix blurted out and Tyler turned around, eyebrow raised.

"Please. Stay. I-I don't want to be alone" Phoenix admitted and Tyler nodded, walking back towards the bed. "Him" Phoenix spoke after a few moments. "I'm sorry?" Tyler frowned. "I keep...I keep seeing him. That's what the nightmares are" Phoenix sighed and Tyler sat down on the bed next to her.

"Oh, Nix" he breathed, pulling her into a hug. She sniffled, trying to keep the tears from spilling out but she gave up quickly and she hugged him tightly, crying into his chest. She soon cried herself to sleep and Tyler smiled down at her, gently laying down on the bed while continuing to hold onto her.

"Goodnight darlin'" he kissed the top of her head as she slept with her head on his bare chest.

~~~~

Boone opened the door in the morning to see Phoenix curled up in Tyler's arms, her leg draped over one of his as his hand rested on her waistline, somehow underneath her shirt. He giggled to himself before taking a picture of them and sending it to everyone else, who all quickly gathered around the door to look at them.

"God, they're adorable" Dani smirked knowingly and Boone chuckled at her. The noise caused Phoenix to hum softly as she opened her eyes, squinting at the bright sun outside. Her eyes went wide as she noticed her friends gathered in the doorway, snickering to themselves and she frowned.

And that was when she noticed her rather compromising position with Tyler. Instead of reacting in shock, she shrugged slightly and flipped everyone off, laying her head back on his chest and closing her eyes again. "Fair enough" Lily nodded, all of them walking away apart from Boone.

"Phoenix, I'm sorry but we gotta go. Storm Par are gonna steal our storm..." Boone said teasingly and Phoenix inhaled deeply, opening one eye to look at him. "Fine" she muttered and Boone smirked before taking one more picture and walking out, shutting the door.

"Ty. Ty" Phoenix craned her neck to look up at him and he stirred. "Five more minutes" he mumbled, his words very slurred and Phoenix smiled. It wasn't often she heard his morning voice but god, she loved it. It was intoxicating and addicting, exactly the kind of thing you want to hear every morning you wake up.

"Believe me, I want all the minutes but we gotta go. Storm Par's gonna steal our 'nado" Phoenix sighed and Tyler raised his eyebrows but kept his eyes closed. "Fuck them. This is nice" he mumbled, pulling her in tighter. "Yes, yes it is" she smiled. "Come on. Up" she pressed a kiss to his cheek and quickly sat up, getting out of bed.

Tyler's eyes snapped open and he went a brilliant shade of red as he cleared his throat. "Apparently a morning voice isn't the only 'morning' thing you have" she teased and Tyler sat up quickly, only to find she was screwing with him. "You're an asshole" he deadpanned. "I know" she sighed contentedly, running a hand through her hair.

"Now get the fuck outta my room so I can get dressed" she said seriously and Tyler chuckled before exiting the room with a mock salute.