I'm so sorry...(A fallout fanfiction)

21

"I don't care what you say, you can't stop the press!"
"That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that if we want to continue being welcomed in the city, I suggest you quit accusing the authorities of being synths."
"Nothing has proved that I'm wrong!"
"Nothing has proved that you're right."
Nate and Piper had been having this (playful) argument for the past half hour. Phoenix had managed to ignore it, with Dimitri asleep in her lap and a stack of comic books at her side. Nick had left over an hour ago, as he had been giving cases to work on right before they arrived earlier that afternoon. They had been recent, and he wanted to find any evidence he could while the trail was still hot.
Mac groaned and slid a hand down his face. "Can you both just shut up?!" He growled as he stood, making his way to the lowest loft.
I take it it's time for lights out
Phoenix signed and stretched, gently carrying Dimitri to the top loft in which they were the two were sharing. She had made a small makeshift bed out of multiple sleeping bags. After getting Dimitri tucked in, she lied down on the floor, it somehow being warm despite the cold draft.
~~~~~
The nightmares were back. But this time, they were slowed down, making each one excruciatingly more painful as she took in every detail. But each time her vision faded to white, simulating the bombs, the same smug-ass grinned face of her stepfather spun through her mind.  The grin spiraled into the memories of each beating she received. What was even worse, was she sped through a few times she witnessed her mother taking one or two. She could bear her injuries, but her mother's dug deeper than flesh.
     She tossed and turned in her sleep, each movement more violent until she scraped her back against the wall. She shook uncontrollably as she slowly sat up, gasping for air as she hugged herself in the dim light. Taking careful note of Dimitri, she climbed the ladder situated at the foot of his bed and flipped open the hatch.
Phoenix slid onto the roof, pulling her knees close to her body as her tear-filled eyes stared into the night sky.
"See that bright blue star over there? That's you. And that red one next to it? That's me."
She and her mother would play that game every night. They would try counting the amount of a certain color of star. Everything seemed okay then, they'd lay in their backyard, giggling at the shapes they created out of nowhere.
She now gazed at the two, finding the blue a darker shade. And the red. It was flickering dimly. It seemed ironic almost, as if those stars really were connected to them. The star gave one final weak flicker, before burning out completely.
~~~~~
The dark purples and pinks and oranges of the coming dawn stretched across the sky. A soft breeze tossed the loose curls of Phoenix's hair. She had stopped crying, but tear tracks stained her cheeks, and her eyes were bloodshot and puffy. The hatch behind her opened, Dimitri struggling to pull himself onto the roof. In a few moments he was leaning his head on Phoenix's shoulder.
"You okay?" Dimitri frowned as Phoenix didn't move.
"Well, when I'm sad, I talk to my friend. Do you need a friend?" Phoenix shook her head, the breeze cold enough that she flipped her hood up and buried her face in its fur.
Dimitri stood and scurried to the door, leaving the hatch ajar and he slid down the ladder.
Phoenix just wanted to be alone with her thoughts. She slightly looked at the guards patrolling the market. Well, what they called patrolling. They sat there, chatting and play-swatting each other with some cheap baseball bats they had nabbed from Joe Cronan. Her gaze jerked up. On the other side of town, stood the two figures she saw the one night in Goodneighbor. They just stared like last time, but were much closer. But like before, they were gone in an instant.
She continued to stare at the building, partially listening to the voices she could here in the floor below her.
"What do you want you litt-"
"On the roof-"
"She's fine-"
"No she's no-"
The broken and muffled argument ended as she heard a sigh and the ladder groaned. Maccready sighed and slumped down next to her. "Nightmares again?"
Phoenix gave a small nod, pulling her jacket tighter around her as she started down at her shoes. Mac stood, grabbing the shoulders of Phoenix's jacket and pulling her up with him.
"C'mon, let's get some breakfast. I heard the noodle stand was pretty good." Mac gave her a tight side-hug and was right behind her the entire way to the noodle stand.