Sweet Dreams Ch. 06

Dillon paced back and forth in the hotel room, stopping every so often to run his hand through his hair and stare at the phone. He knew that Phoenix needed time, but how long could he wait. It had already been two days and still no word. He was getting cabin fever from spending so much time in the damn hotel room. Just as he marched up to the phone to call and see what was going on he heard a light tapping at the hotel room door. For a moment he stood still. When he looked through the peephole he could see Phoenix standing there shuffling her feet. His heart gave a lurch in his chest as he unlocked the bolt and opened the door. At a loss for words he just stared at her as she stood there studying her shoes.

"I'm sorry," Phoenix whispered as she looked up. "I ... I shouldn't have left you waiting for two days... I just...This is hard." Her eyes glossed over with tears as she stepped towards him. "I know this isn't fair to you, you shouldn't have to deal with this. I... I was thinking that maybe I should spend some more time here... with Kate. I can't make you responsible for my problems, and I can't ask you to wait forever so... I'm sorry." The last words were almost whispered as she turned to go.

Dillon stood in shock as he watched Phoenix walk down the hallway towards the elevator. He wanted to run after her, he wanted to say something. He was frozen. As the elevator doors closed behind her he fell to his knees. This wasn't supposed to happen. How could she just walk away? He managed to get himself to the bed before he broke down and cried.

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The moment the elevator doors closed Phoenix began to sob. She didn't know if she could deal with this. It was too hard... but it was the right thing to do. She couldn't expect Dillon to just sit and wait around for her. She had already asked too much of him. As her breathing slowed, Phoenix wiped the tears from her eyes and squared her shoulders. She couldn't just lie around and cry all day. Danny wouldn't want that. She had to find a way to heal. On her way back to Kate's she saw a restaurant that had once been one of her favorite hang outs. On impulse she pulled the car into the parking lot and got it. It was time to face life head on, and this was as good a start as any.

It felt good to be somewhere she had often gone to eat with Danny. All of the waitresses had changed but the atmosphere was the same. Phoenix slid into the corner booth that she and Danny had always shard and ran her finger back and forth over the picture of the both of them standing outside of the restaurant that was trapped beneath the glass top of the table. That was one of the reasons she and Danny had loved this place... you remembered it and it remembered you. She smiled as she ordered a large chocolate shake and chili fries... Danny's favorites.

Phoenix pulled out her cell phone to call Kate and let her know that she was alright. She grinned at the cheesy music playing in the background as Kate answered the phone. Before she could speak a voice from the past made her breath catch, she went numb. Phoenix would know that honey smooth voice anywhere. "Long time no see... been hiding from me?"

Phoenix closed her eyes and whispered into the phone, "I will be home soon Kate, I'm just grabbing something to eat." As she pushed the end button she turned to see Justin standing behind her. "Funny," she said with as much malice as she could put into her voice, "I come here to remember and run into the one thing that I want to forget."

"Now is that any way to talk to the love of your life?" Justin slid into the seat across from Phoenix and smiled at her. "So... how about a fuck for old times sake?"

Phoenix dropped a twenty on the table and stood. "Sure honey, why don't you just go fuck yourself you egotistical bastard." Holding back the tears she swore she would never let him see she stormed out of the restaurant and dug around in her pocket for her car keys. Just as she felt the keys under her fingers a hand clamped around her arm and jerked her backwards. She opened her mouth to scream but another hand came up and pressed tightly against her lips. She didn't even have time to struggle before pain exploded in her head and the world went black.

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Dillon could hear a ringing sound from far off... the ringing began to get louder as he came out of his tear induced slumber. He groggily reached over and grabbed the hotel phone. "Hello," he croaked only to be met with the sound of sobbing. He sat up strait in bed, instantly awake.

"She's... I can't find her Dillon," Kate sobbed into the phone. "She stopped to get something to eat and she has been gone for six hours. I went looking for her and I found the car, but the waitress said she left hours ago. I .... I don't know what to do."

Dillon reached for his room card and the keys to the rental car. It didn't matter that he was hurting, it didn't matter that she had walked out. Phoenix was in trouble. "Where are you?" he asked Kate. "I'll be right there, just wait for me and I promise I'll help you find her." He was out the door in seconds, breaking several traffic laws as he followed Kate's directions to the restaurant. His breathing was quick and panicked. How could this have happened? Where would she have gone? She was pretty upset when she had left the hotel. He should have gone after her damn it... this was his fault... If he had only said something. The thoughts circled round and round inside of his head and by the time he parked in front of the restaurant next to a still crying Kate his mind was screaming at him to do something, to fix it, to take it back.

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When Phoenix came to the pain in her head was almost unbearable. She groaned, and realized that her mouth had been taped shut. Her hands were handcuffed over her head and she was lying on a bed. The room was dark and she was pretty sure that she was alone, but for how long? How had this happened. She searched through her memories... she had stopped to eat dinner and then... everything got foggy after that. Where was she? What the hell had happened? She couldn't move, couldn't speak, so she did the only thing she could do... she cried. She cried for Danny, she cried for her family and her friends, and she cried for Dillon. Dillon who would probably never know what happened to her. Dillon who would leave, thinking that she didn't care. Dillon who she had walked away from. She heard footsteps enter the room, and a voice from the past whispered softly "You know it isn't nice to call people names, I think I'm going to have to punish you to teach you a lesson. It's for your own good you know... If you had learned your lesson before I wouldn't have to do this now." Fear took hold of Phoenix, she couldn't think, couldn't breathe. The moment she heard that voice the memories hit her. She tried to scream, thrashing and struggling to break free. She felt the needle go into her arm, and she blacked out once again.

Justin stood over her still form and made a tsk tsk sound. Poor little Phoenix, wouldn't she ever learn. She was his. She had no cause to run from him. He had thought that with Danny out of the picture she would behave the way she was supposed to. Danny had always been causing trouble between them... giving Phoenix ideas. But no, instead of coming back to him she had disappeared. She had left him, and now she was going to pay.