Beasts

50: The World is Whole Again

  It's been eight days since I've woken up. I walked back to my bed with the last book in the Bone series when I saw my violin. I placed my book on the nightstand and grabbed the case. Slowly, I opened the clips and took it out. A small slip of paper fell out. I bent down and picked it up. It was crumpled pretty badly and a bit dirty too. I opened it up and realized it was the one Phoenix gave me. Written in his neat writing was:

June, a warm summer month.

Able to warm me even when I'm fireproof.

I've said this before but I'd travel across the world for you.

You are an endless supply of pure gold to me.

Worth more than anything else.

Then it was his signature.

P.S. You'll never beat me in Crossy Road. And I assure you that I'll get that first kiss before turning 20.

P.P.S. I like chocolate. I wrote peepee... Ha! It's childish but still funny!

  I smiled at that last part. It was so sweet, not so much at the end though. I read it again and put the paper on top of the Bone book. Then I turned around to Phoenix. "You wanted me to play at your funeral. Only God knows what's going to happen to you so I'm going to play now and you can't say anything about it." I raised my hands up and noted how the pain was toning down. "You better see and hear this in your coma heaven." I said before starting to play.

  Even after this train wreck of my life, I still played to release my emotions. Let me tell you, I had a lot of emotions built up in me. Crying and talking can only get me so far. I stepped to the other side of the bed and a golden trail followed behind. What was the purpose of that even? Drain the little magic I had? Just for aesthetics? Useless to me.

  Phoenix's sleeping face stared at me. I remember the many times I've seen him as he slept. It looked so peaceful. He had this happiness to him even in sleep. Even now he looked happy. Like the last thing he did caused him to have a smile as he died... I replayed what happened in my head and still couldn't believe it. I should go see Eddison now that I didn't always need my IV. Yet I was scared. Even though he was a living statue, he still wanted me dead. He could jump any moment and stab me in the heart with his long, sharp claw.

  I played the last note of the song long and soft. Tears pricked my eyes but I blinked them back. In that blink, the trail I had created started to move inward to Phoenix. It was like watching bathtub water go down the drain. The gold trail of magic was sucked into his heart then...nothing. I was expecting something, but what could of happened even? That trail is useless.

  I plopped down on my bed and started packing away my violin. As I did, I sneezed into my arm. "Bless you, kitten." I froze. Was I hearing things or-I turned my head and Phoenix was flipped over so he was now facing me. I smiled big and felt the tears starting to flow. That gold trail is the best thing ever.

"Phoenix, tell me I'm not dreaming." I said with a cracking voice and knelled down in front of him.

"You aren't." He said in a raspy voice and held my face. For once, his skin felt normal instead of hot.

"You're cold." I said and put my hand over his.

"With you I'm not." He stroked his thumb on my cheek and smiled weakly. "I can't believe I'm not dead. I feel immortal." He tried to joke.

"I told you you were, did I not?"

"You also told me I'd get cake if I had my first kiss before I turned twenty. Where's my cake?" He said and held out his hand for the cake.

"I don't have cake, but I can offer this." I leaned in to kiss his forehead but he moved his head up and I ended up actually kissing him. He had a silly grin at first but then it melted into a frown.

"I'm so sorry. I forgot that you're married now." He panicked and wiped my mouth with the back of his hand.

"That's okay." I laughed. "I'm so happy that you aren't dead. Actually, you weren't dead to begin with. Just in some coma state." I said and hugged him. I recalled the countless times I've held him before. Just held him. Let, not only our warmth, but our care for each other spread to the other. 

"You smell like watermelons." He said into my hair.

"It's my shampoo... How are you not hurting right now?"

"I can feel the bruises." He pulled back and studied my arm. "The real question is: how are you not hurting right now? It looks like you're turning into a mummy." He moved his arm down my bandages which left a tingling feeling on my arm. 

"Danny magic." I said and sat down on the bed beside him. "I have a feeling you want to know what has happened in the two weeks that you were out."

"Two weeks!?" He said with his jaw wide open.

"Yes, two." I said and closed his mouth with my finger. Then I processed to tell him everything. Except for the Danny kissing. That he didn't need to know about. He listened well. Only interrupting once to ask if we really were going to merge the tribes.

  "Wow." Phoenix sighed and leaned against the headrest. "And I was asleep during all of this... Oh, by the way, I heard when you were talking to yourself. Asking what you were going to do now. You know that you don't need me for all that stuff."

"Yes, I do. It wouldn't be the same if it wasn't you."

"Hey, how did I wake up?"

"No clue. I played my violin. There was that magic train, I mean trail, then it got sucked into your heart and woke up." I said and waved me hands around as I spoke. Phoenix stared at me like I just spoke Japanese then put his hand to my forehead. "Um...what are you doing?"

"Checking to see if you have another fever. You're acting more delusional than normal." He explained. I knocked his hand away but he laced our fingers together. "Did you read my note?"

"Mhm. It made me feel a thousand times better than I really am."

"That's because you think of yourself a thousand times worse than you actually are." He twirled my bangs around his finger before tucking it back. "I can't believe my first kiss was with you. I mean, I've wanted it to be ever since I laid eyes on you, but I never thought it would be. What with Danny being perfect for you."

"Danny!" I remembered. "I gotta go tell the others you're awake!" I tried to get up but Phoenix kept his hold on me.

"Please do it later. I feel like I could fall asleep any second now and you'd look like a liar if I did. I think it was your story that bored me so much it made me sleepy." He yawned and sunk into the pillow. I quickly studied his eyes and realized how tired they were. How they were sunken with dark circles underneath. Before, all I saw was the fire in them. The fire that would always be there even in times like these.

"Very funny." I said and pulled up his blanket. "I'll get you a change of clothes while you sleep." He moved under his blanket then pulled out my fireball.

"God, who cares about Danny's magic. Your fireball is as immortal as me." He said before closing his hand over it and putting it back in his pocket. "Come closer for a second." He waved me over with his hand and I crouched down beside him. He used his elbow to push him forward and kissed my forehead so softly I barely felt it. "Goodnight, kitten." He smiled and snuggled into the blanket. I smiled and shook my head before walking to the door. "Love ya!" He called out in a childish voice and waved his hand. I waved back with a smile before closing the door. I close feel myself smiling like an idiot but I didn't care. Phoenix was back. The world was whole again. My world was whole again.