• A sound slithered through my head.

    I felt my eyelids grow heavy. It was an unbearable feeling trying to keep them up. A battle I knew I wasn’t going to win. I sighed and let my eyes slowly close.

    There was a slithering again. I kept my eyes closed and ignored it. My body felt heavy, so heavy. It was like the mattress was disappearing under me. Everything seemed to collide.

    “Doc…” The name made my body twitch. I needed to open my eyes. I needed to look around my room. I needed to….

    Someone was there. I rolled my eyes open lazily and stared up at my white ceiling. I couldn’t move. Panic took me.

    “You were having a bad dream,” my eyes snapped open to the low voice. Wait, weren’t my eyes already open? “You were having a bad dream.” A face appeared above me, the owner to that voice. I attempted to focus my plain brown eyes and it took a second longer then I’d like to admit. I met light gray eyes and frowned.

    “I wasn’t asleep.” My words were short and clipped. I wasn’t in the mood to have a poking contest. I most definitely wasn’t in the mood to have a poking contest with this person. “What do you want, Phaze?” I couldn’t help but narrow my eyes into a steely glare. I sat up and my body hurt. There was a flinch around my eyes that I hoped he didn’t notice. Phaze moved back, straightening himself as I moved into a sitting position.

    “You were asleep, thus the bad dream.” A cool smile dripped across his lips. I blinked and an image flashed before me. I was perched on a street bench late at night and Phaze appeared. A cigarette resting between his lips. Red end glowing adding a hazy smoke color to his eyes. The smell of him mixed with the tobacco. “Does something hurt?” The image shattered before me as his words slid into my ears. I went back to glaring.

    “No, I’m fine.”

    “You flinched, baby girl,” The pet name made my glare soften. Don’t call me that, was all I thought. “You flinched around the eyes when you sat up. What happened this time?”

    “You tell me.” I hissed and moved my legs over the edge of the bed. I stared at my lap. I was wearing black patchy skinny jeans with a pirate skull patch above my right knee. Fuzzy gray socks and red slippers that always made me think of wine covered my feet. An oversized hooded jacket hid my torso. Did I really fall asleep in this? I don’t remember. I didn’t remember.

    I rubbed my eyes gently and looked around the room. It was my room. My bed. My mind seemed to be behind, as if I haven’t caught up to this day yet. What day was it? I scratched my messy chocolate brown hair as my eyes rested on Phaze’s handsome, blank face. The empty look in his gray eyes, the set to his body, mouth caused me to frown. What was going on?

    “I haven’t been around much lately, Doc.” He said the words smoothly. He didn’t even blink. Phaze was being cold and distant. Or maybe he was just being himself. What was himself? Have I ever seen the true Phaze?

    “********,” Was all I got out as I fell backwards on my bed. The bed frame squeaked. All these questions. All these thoughts, images, feelings all rushing in. I felt drained. Full. Exhausted. Energized. I didn’t know what I felt.

    A hand rested lightly on my knee and I didn’t move. I just stared at the green wall, the white ceiling. The bed moved and soon the green and white was lost behind Phaze’s face.

    He towered over me on all fours. I just stared up at him, unmoving, uncaring. Did I feel nothing or did I feel too much? So many feelings… so little space… so little words.

    I moved my lips but no sound came out. My tongue darted out of my mouth and I watched as Phaze’s gray eyes moved to follow its movement. Why did it feel like the only person who cared for me wasn’t even a real person? I wet my dry lips and felt a tear slide from the corner of my eye. “Help me,” was all I whispered, was all I was able to get out. Help me, help me, help me.

    Something flicked in his eyes. His blank face cracked a little. If I wasn’t watching, if I didn’t know him I would have missed it. Concern.. Feeling. I looked up at this man and stared into his gray eyes and saw something that broke something in me.

    Tears were sliding down from the corner of my eyes in salty wet lines. Phaze broke our eye contact and watched as he wiped the tears away gently with his thumb. “You’re a big baby, you know that?” His words were soft as he stayed over me on his knees and one hand. I just nodded, more tears coming. I would have said something but I was afraid what would have come out of my mouth.

    He leaned forward and kissed my forehead then the new tears. “I always seem to have to save you, Spike,” Phaze whispered softly, his lips hovering above mine. My eyes went wide as I nodded my head carefully. His face was so close, so painfully close. His gray eyes were the color of angry storm clouds. I searched his eyes. There was something there. But what was it?

    “Phaze…” I whispered softly, my voice weak.

    “Don’t worry, I’m here to save you… again,” He smiled sadly, lips almost brushing mine.

    Just then I noticed his hands had moved. I pushed up on my arms but they were pinned. The tears were forgotten as I finally registered where Phaze was, where I was… My pulse sped. “Phaze.” I said, voice breathy. It was too late. I had already lost.