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

35-fire

Phoenix walked along her usual jogging path, Mirk a ways ahead, and Adam beside her. "You may need a leash for that oversized lizard." He chuckled as Mirk came bounding back and circled around her legs. She only nodded, clearing her throat. "So...uh... why's your voice all morphed?" Phoenix snapped her head to face him, grinding her teeth as she glared. "My bad, shouldn't have been so blunt." He held his hands up in defense. After a moment or two, she sighed and pulled out a flip lighter. Flicking it open, a small flame swayed in the night air. Adam raised a brow, confused. "What, a fire?" A small nod. "Well what caused it?" She bit her lip, taking a breath as she braced herself. This was the simplest way to explain it. " I went to a concert with Nate and his wife. I forgot to vacuum or something of the sort. I left it, promising myself to get it done before he got home. I ended up leaving all sorts of makeup and wristbands and hair products around the house as I hurried to get ready. It was fun. I got home, and was telling mom all about it, when Pete came home." She coughed a bit. "Insanely drunk as always. He wasn't happy.  I made the mistake of leaving a can of hairspray out. He tossed his lit cigarette onto my shirt, took the can, and sprayed the whole thing. Before I even knew what had happening, the fire started eating through my skin." She pulled her hair to the side, lifted up the back of her shirt, and lifted her pant leg a bit. It revealed large, deep scars all across the visible skin. "Mom put me out just before it killed me. He didn't want her to help. Next thing I knew I was in a hospital bed three days later." She coughed viciously. Adam had stopped walking, and you could almost hear his stomach drop. "...what?" Phoenix shrugged, fixing her clothing and hair, and shoving her hands back in her pockets. It surprised her a bit as Adam growled. "Who is Pete?" Phoenix kept walking. "My Stepfather." Adam reached out, grabbing her arm and pulling her back with a surprisingly gentle touch. "Wait-" they both jumped back as a bullet hit the ground between them. "That's close enough." Mac spat as he lowered his rifle. Nate, Magnolia, and Nick stood behind him, all aiming a gun of their own. Adam raised his hands, stepping back a few paces. Panicking, Phoenix held out a hand towards her companions as she hurried in front of them. "Phoenix and I were just having a chat." Mac looked unconvinced, but dropped his rifle to his side as Phoenix gave him a nod. "Well this was all a big misunderstanding, then. After the boys came in and told me you wouldn't be workin, I tagged along back to the hotel with them to check on ya. You should have seen the look on MacCready's face when he saw that your room was empty, a mess, and that Adam was gone." A soft crimson crept onto Mac's face as he huffed and crossed his arms. "Yeah yeah, but I was perfectly fine to assume." Magnolia chuckled, nodding toward Adam. "We apologize for the misunderstanding."
"I don't-" Mac yelped as Magnolia casually kicked him in the shin. Adam laughed, shaking his head. "It's quite alright. Now, I see that it's getting late. We should all head back. Phoenix and I'll talk later." Adam gestured them forwards, taking the lead. The rest followed close behind. Phoenix stiffened a bit as she felt a hand softly and hesitantly grab her own. Mac leaned over to her, whispering. "Are you sure you're alright? That didn't look like a friendly chat." Phoenix exhaled and relaxed, smiling a bit as she nodded. Mac nearly jumped onto Phoenix's back as Mirk trotted up next to him. But he flinched in surprise as Mirk merely nuzzled his hand. He looked over at Phoenix, a bit of fear present in his expression. She only laughed, shrugging as the walked through the door to Goodneighbor.