Phoenix Rising (re-writing)

Chapter 12

I drop Nana off at the house and run in for my phone. I pull up the pictures of me Nix painted that clad the art room in school. I yell at Nana where I am heading out then grab her jacket before racing to her house, breathing in the night air. It's a beautiful night with a big full moon. The peeper sings with chorus frogs and somewhere in the distance, an owl adds in his special blend of sounds. I'm full of nerves knowing what I'm about to do. Knowing she won't believe me but hoping and praying she will hear me out. I promised her, in the beginning I would be honest. Now, I guess it's time to man up. The black crotch rocket sits in her driveway, I had forgotten all about it. Deciding I don't care I am going to try anyway. I beat on her door, slightly out of breath from how hard I was running. I can see a movie's lights flicker inside the dark house. Her face emerges from the shadows, I start to doubt my intentions but push them away. The dog yips excitedly at me as she opens the door. He nudges me demanding love to which I give. What? He is growing on me.

"Hey, what's up?" She asks, then telling the dog to settle down to which he faithfully listens.

"First of all, how are you?" I pause to fully examine her. "You look better, do you feel better?"

"Um, yeah, I'm good." She shifts, she's lying. Of course, she is I already told her she freaked me out. All things considering I'd lie too.

"Can we start over? Pretend like last night never happened if I promise to explain everything?" She looks at me trying to read me.

"How about we work back up to that? I'm still pretty confused and hurt by how you treated me." She wraps her arms over herself.

"Okay, Let's start with your dreams. You said you think you dream of me?" I ask.

"I know it's crazy, can we get over it already?" She groans.

"No, because you do dream of me and I can pro...." I stop seeing Zeke at her door. "Well hello," I say my confidence quickly shrinking.

"All ok babe? You're missing the movie?" He glares at me as he says it. How dare he call my babe, babe? Oh, I want to rip his throat out.

"I've already seen it anyway. I'll be in soon." He nods and walks back in. "He only called me babe to upset you. By the looks of it, he did." She looks up at the moon, by the way its light shines on her, I'd say it looks back at her. "Follow me." I do. She leads me down a steep slope, to stairs covered with moss, by the river. There is a dock stretching 10 feet in. she sits on it dipping her bare feet in the water. "Continue." I sit next to her pulling my shoes off, and putting my own in the water making ripples. "The dreams." She says reminding me what we were talking about. I dig my phone out of my pocket handing it to her.

"These are pictures taken two years ago." She takes my phone scrolling through the pictures. "They are the same ones you painted in art. Just slightly different angles in some."

"How is this possible?" She looks at me with those big blue eyes reflecting the light of the moon.

"It's not, but it happened. Trust me when I say it's about to get weirder." I pause looking up at the moon. "I've been dreaming of you too; I didn't make any fancy painting so I can't prove it. For me watching you was always too blurry to make out details, like the pixels sucked. The sounds were weird too, distorted and echoed making it impossible to understand words or voices." She leans against me. Her arms are chilly. "Oh, right I brought your jacket." She shrugs it on smiling at me before leaning back on me.

"I guess I can see why that freaked you out." It is so tempting to leave it there, let her believe that's all it was just so we could stay like this. I wrap my arms around her and pull her to me. "Now, what happened today, at Johns?" I hold her closer glad she wasn't going to leave it to me. I would have caved.