Little Phoenix (The Census Book 1)

by Willow Dean

  Micah just continues to chuckle, completely ignoring Aus’s silent rebuke.

  “How did you know?” I ask, after I finally discover oxygen again.

  “Know what, Lala?”

  “How ticklish I was?” He shrugs.

  “Maybe I’m just that good.” A sly look crosses his face. A look that spells trouble with a capital T. “I wonder where else you are ticklish?” He smirks.

  I can’t help it when my eyes widen in surprise. Schooling my features quickly, I hope that he didn’t see my slip up.

  Clearing my throat, I only go and stumble over my words anyway. “No…no-where.”

  He doesn’t know, does he?! No. He can’t. There’s no way.

  There is a cunning twinkle in his eye as he rises out of his seat. Before he can even take a step away from the table though, Linc strides across the kitchen and ass whips his brother with the kitchen towel.

  The resounding crack and Micah’s yelp echoes across the high ceilings as he frantically jumps around the room rubbing his ass.

  My cackles, that had only just ceased, come back with a vengeance as the guys join in this time. All with the exception Linc who casually walks back over to the stove where he continues to cook with a triumphant smile on his face.

  My mind wanders back to his awesome pancakes as I watch the muscles across his back flex with each flip of the pan.

  They are so fluffy and sweet that I just can’t get enough of them. Melting on your tongue with pure sugary goodness, they are practically a food orgasm sent by the heavens.

  The room falls silent.

  Linc’s shoulders bunch up around his ears as he keeps his back firmly to us. All eyes apart from Linc’s, center in on me. Why are they all looking at me like that?!

  Micah starts wheezing as Jax coughs into his hand and looks away, his face flushing a lovely cherry red color. Rick and Aus just stare at me with their mouths hanging open like fish out of water.

  “What are you all gawking at?!” I demand almost petulantly.

  Micah saunters over and bends down behind me to whisper in my ear. “If I knew his pancakes were that orgasmic to you, I would have asked him to make me them so I could bring them up to you in bed.”

  Heat seers my cheeks and my mouth goes dry. Please tell me I didn’t…

  “Oh yes, Lala. Yes. You. Did,” Micah answers, his voice low and raspy as he enunciates each word. I drop my head into my hands and groan.

  I can’t believe I said that out loud!

  Micah returns to his seat, snickering at my discomfort as the guys all resume their conversations, giving me time to pull myself together.

  After a couple of minutes of literally hanging my head in embarrassment, I sit up straight to find Linc heading my way with another pancake.

  I avert my eyes as he places it on my plate, mumbling a quiet thank you. He diverts his eyes too, giving me a silent nod of acknowledgment before plating some more up for himself.

  “How’s the rehab going, M?”

  Pulling my hand in front of my face, I speak around a mouthful of pancakes. “It’s going well. I can manage to stay up the full day now without having to nap and I finally managed to make it down the stairs on my own yesterday. Supervised. Of course,” I state dryly.

  My reaction garners a few sniggers.

  “I still need supervision for longer distances, but I’m doing much better. Actually, I was hoping to try and make it up the stairs today if you guys wouldn’t mind? I’d really like to get back to college and stop being a burden on you all.”

  Finishing on a frown, I startle at the harsh sound of a fork being dropped on a plate.

  Glancing sideways at the direction of the noise, I see a furious Rick with his hands clenched in fists at the side of his plate, his shoulders taut. He catches me looking and his facial expressions disappear altogether.

  Taking a deep breath, he forces a small smile and releases the tension from his muscles like nothing ever happened.

  Everyone remains quiet, staring intently at their plates until Rick breaks the silence with a tone that brokers no arguments.

  “You are not a burden to us, Mila. I don’t want to hear you say anything like that again. You did not ask for any of this, nor was any of this your fault. Micah will be staying with you today and he will help you with the stairs.”

  Taking the napkin off his lap, he folds it and puts it on his plate before standing up. Giving Linc a pat on the shoulder, he thanks him for breakfast and then storms out of the room.

  I track his movements and go to follow when Aus places a heavy hand on my leg, offering a subtle shake of his head.

  “Don’t feel bad, Lila. It’s not you. We’ve all had…bad, experiences. Certain things still act as triggers and remind us of what we’ve been through.” He pauses for a second, considering his words carefully. “He’s still struggling with seeing you in a position that you shouldn’t be in, just give him some time to process.”

  “What happ-”

  “It’s not my story to tell, Doll. He’ll tell you when he feels able too,” he tells me gently. I nod in return, admiring Aus all the more for protecting Rick and not sharing a story that isn’t his to tell.

  I also understand why Rick closed himself off and removed himself from the situation so quickly.

  I feel like I should go after him, especially after all of the support he has given me, but Aus is right. He needs time to get his thoughts together.

  He’ll open up to me when he feels ready and able to, and I have to respect that. No matter how hard it is for me to watch him walk off upset like that.

  Everyone goes back to finishing their meals when Micah wanders over and holds his arm out for me to take as if he’s some sort of noble escorting me to a dance.

  “Come on, Sayuri. Let’s try these stairs, shall we?”

  I can’t help but grin at his theatrics as I loop my arm through his.

  “Lead the way, good sir.”

  15 Mila

  One week later…

  “…seven, eight, nine, ten and break.”

  Aus takes the weights out of my hands as I collapse back onto the sofa.

  We, or should I say, I have just finished another set of strengthening exercises on my quads and hamstrings. I’m glad to say that exercising is now becoming much easier.

  After two weeks of being at home, I’m ecstatic to no longer need supervision to walk around the house. Going upstairs can sometimes be a bit arduous, but it’s manageable at least.

  “Doc will be round in half an hour.”

  “Great! Hopefully he’ll allow me to go back to at least some form of normality. I’m fed up of just sitting around doing essays and rehab. I’m going out of my damn mind!”

  What I’d really like to be doing right now is some climbing.

  Despite having built up a significant amount of muscle and looking a lot healthier than I did when I first got home. I loathe to admit that I’m nowhere near strong enough for clearing that hurdle. Not just yet.

  What is awesome though, is that the shorter patches of my hair are growing out nicely and are barely noticeable now.

  Having a perpetual bad hair day was really beginning to cramp my style. Even more so than the crippledness that still plagues me from time to time.

  Up until a couple of days ago, I was still getting painful twinges here and there. But, all in all, I seem to have healed rather quickly. As I’ve always done.

  The color has even returned to my cheeks and my injuries are practically non-existent. Even living through the ordeal, I find it extremely difficult to ascertain where I was injured.

  At first, Doc -as the guys and now I, refer to him- was quite surprised at my speedier than usual recovery. After a couple of check ups though, his interest petered off and he hasn’t mentioned anything since.

  “Are you okay if I go and check in with the guys?” Aus grunts. Everything is always so gruff and brusque with him.

  “Yeah, sure. I’m going to go grab a show
er before the Doc arrives anyway.” Waving a hand above my head, I head down the hallway towards the kitchen as Aus disappears into the office at the back of the room behind me.

  I hadn’t actually noticed the two doors in the second living room until a couple of days ago.

  The door furthest into the room leads to a gigantic library and surveillance room, with the one adjacent to it leading downstairs to a fully equipped gym and weapons area.

  Both of them were tucked away next to the pine dresser, which is just that big, that it hides both doors from view. Especially if you are looking in from the hallway or from where we were just sitting on the sofa.

  Sneaky, sneaky!

  After snatching a bottle of water from the fridge, I go upstairs and take a quick shower. Not bothering to wash my hair.

  Throwing on some neon orange leggings and a blank tank top, I braid my hair loosely over my shoulder and totally forego any make up.

  With no reason to look fancy, there really isn’t much point in dolling myself up. It’s not like I usually wear much anyways. Just a quick swipe of mascara and lip-gloss and that’s my pampering done and dusted.

  Intense, I know!

  The doorbell chimes just as I walk back out onto the landing. Carefully taking my time on the stairs, I let Aus answer the door.

  By the time I reach the bottom, he’s already welcomed Doc in. In his early forties, Doc is a handsome guy with russet colored hair and bright green eyes.

  One of the best things about him is his bedside manner. Especially the way he strives to make you feel as comfortable as possible.

  Never one to rush, he is an extremely patient man. Even when I have trouble answering some of his more difficult or probing questions, he remains silent with a small smile on his face. Offering only words of comfort and encouragement every now and again.

  A grin stretches across his face as he watches me navigating the last couple of steps on my own.

  “Mila, how wonderful to see you up and able bodied. You’re looking much improved, how are you feeling?”

  “Dr. Hunter, it’s a pleasure to see you again.” I reach out to shake his hand.

  Before you ask, yes…I did call him Dr. Hunter. I can’t bring myself to call him Doc to his face just yet. It feels…weird? Creepy? I dunno, maybe I’ll use it after I get to know him a bit better.

  “I’m feeling great, thank you. The guys have been assisting me with my rehab and nutrition, and I can finally say that I feel almost back to normal again.”

  The words flow straight out of my mouth, leaving my mind to take a few seconds to catch up.

  My hand drops from his grip as my heart aches with the realization that I may never feel truly normal again. Especially after everything I lost.

  Noticing my change in mood, he steps forward and places a hand on my shoulder, lowering his voice. “And it’s okay to feel that way, Mila. You may never get your old life back, but that doesn’t mean to say that you won’t ever feel normal again. It just takes time. You have to be patient.”

  He looks at me for a second before giving my shoulder a small squeeze.

  “Come on, let’s examine you. I have a feeling that you will be well enough to return to most of your normal activities.”

  Yippee-fucking-do! At least I’ll have some good news for once.

  As we make our way into the larger living room, I head straight over to the sofa and lay down. Aus just stands there like a sentinel, watching and observing as Doc makes his way into the room.

  Of course, Aus wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t prop his hip up against the sofa, one leg over the other with his arms crossed over his chest in his signature bad boy pose.

  Doc doesn’t pay his intimidation act any heed as he steps around the sofa and places his bag on the floor. Dropping to a knee, he rummages around in his bag before starting my checkup. Making small approving noises as he goes.

  Stethoscopes, otoscopes, reflex hammers, blood samples, the whole shebang. Everything comes out of that Mary Poppins bag of his.

  You name it…he got it!

  “Well, I must say, I am rather impressed. You seem almost fully healed and your rehab seems to be progressing nicely. You’re definitely ready to go back to your normal activities, just make sure that you rest sufficiently.”

  He continues to speak even as he diligently packs away each piece of equipment. Each with their own, very specific place and orientation.

  “No contact sports or any high intensity exercise for at least another week, and if anything gets too much, take a break. Don’t over exert yourself. Although your injuries and strength are much improved, if you push yourself too much too soon, you’ll only prolong your recovery.”

  Seemingly satisfied, he zips up his bag and stands to leave.

  At receiving his permission to return to normal, my thoughts go into overdrive and begin planning a certain individual’s demise. Which of course, only serves to further fuel my motivation to improve physically so that I can get myself out there and make him pay.

  Aus moves to help me off the sofa to which I throw a pointed look his way. Giving him a reproachful glare, I get up myself and receive a raised eyebrow in return.

  Doc chuckles at our interaction as I turn to shake his hand. “Thank you for all of your help.”

  “It is my pleasure, Mila. If you’d like, we could have a meet up once a month to discuss a few things. If you feel that would help, that is?” Still smiling, his eyes soften a little at his question.

  During our sessions over the past few weeks, he’s helped me work through a lot of emotional stress that was so graciously dumped in my lap.

  I wasn’t too keen with his input at first, but it’s actually made a massive difference as to how I manage things.

  I also appreciate the fact that he hasn’t delved into any details in front of Aus. Most people just assume that because you take someone along with you to your health check, that you automatically want them to know the ins and outs of everything that’s going on with you.

  Sadly, and more often than not, that’s not the case.

  “I don’t think that’s necessary at the moment, but I’ll certainly keep your offer in mind. Thank you, again. You really have been a great help. In more ways than one,” I tack on quietly.

  I quickly avert my gaze so that Aus, who is off to the side watching me, can’t see the pain that lingers there. I already rely on them far too much as it is. I don’t want to drag them any further into my mess than they already are. They have enough to be dealing with as it is.

  Offering a knowing smile, Doc returns my handshake and walks down the corridor with us in tow. Reaching for the front door, he stops and turns to me one last time.

  “You have my number, just contact me if you need me. I don’t think you need twice weekly reviews anymore. I’ll come see you again in two weeks time.” His eyes move to Aus before he nods and walks out, closing the door quietly behind him.

  “Celebratory coffee, Lila?”

  “Mmmmm, yes please!” Aus squeezes my shoulder with a soft smile and walks back towards the kitchen. I practically skip after him, anxious to get my hands on some delectable goodness.

  Coffee time!

  “I hear someone’s got the go ahead to become a fully functioning, normal human being again?!” I squeal as Micah dashes into the room and grips me around the waist. With what strength, I do not know, but he practically throws me in the air like a babe.

  Catching me before I hit the floor, he spins us around silly until I start to get dizzy.

  “Put me down ya big oaf!” I giggle, slapping his shoulder.

  “Hey, be careful with her! Doc said no high intensity activity,” Aus growls, practically ripping me away from Micah.

  “Alright, alright boys! I’m not a bloody rag doll,” I chastise, putting a hand on each of their shoulders as I’m suspended between them like a dog’s chew toy.

  Their faces are even scrunched up like mutt’s do when they get territorial. I’m pret
ty sure there’s a flash of canines there too.

  “Enough, you two! You’re going to break her,” a rough voice grunts.

  Ever the alpha male, Rick strides into the room and simply plucks me from between the two prostrating men. Neither of them taking their eyes off of one another.

  Rick shakes his head as he turns away and puts me down gently on my feet. Spinning back around, I don’t see it, but I sure as hell hear it when he smacks them both on the back of the head.

  Looking away with my hand covering my mouth, I try to stifle a snicker. It’s less than a second later when I receive a small tap on the back of my head too.

  “Hey! What was that for?!”

  Rick towers over me with his hand still raised, a cheeky smile playing across his face. He shrugs. “You started all this.”

  “You- Wha- Huh?!” I exclaim, my mouth gaping open like a fish. “How was any of this my fault?!”

  Peering around the side of Rick, I can see the two previously snarling assholes exchanging a high five and secret grins.

  “Me?! I- You-“ I stutter.

  What the frick do I say?!

  Rick chucks me on the chin, effectively shutting my mouth and stopping me from making any more noise. I scowl at him.

  Leaning down, he whispers in my ear. “Don’t worry, you can get your pay back in any way you like. I give you free reign.”

  Oh…oh!

  The duo turn to face us and get a full frontal of the maniacal smirk that stretches my mouth impossibly wide.

  “What did you say to her, Boss?” Micah asks as the two of them pale.

  Rick simply laughs, striding back to the front door. “Nothing for you two to concern yourselves with. Now come and help unload the shopping,” his voice trails off as he makes it outside.

  “What was that, Lala?”

  Not saying a thing, I shoo them off with my hands. They step forward together in tandem as Rick bellows for them outside.

  Halting in their steps, I give them a little finger wave and lean back against the breakfast bar. Their eyes dart between me, themselves and the hallway, unsure of their next move.