Sofia: Phoenix Rising - Fire and Water Book 2
Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

I think I’m going to die... Ten minutes! I have been doing exercise movements with Kestrel for ten minutes. An ‘aahhh’ of disbelief escapes my lips as I look at my phone and see that what I thought was an hour spent has only been ten minutes. I feel like I could fall dead for how exhausted I am right now. “Could we take a break for a few minutes and then you can explain why all of this is necessary for uniting my two beings?”

Kestrel has barely broken a sweat! I hate her for this fact. I am panting like I have just run a ten-mile race. It is ridiculous to realize how out of shape I am but then again, I have never been the sporty, coordinated person like my best friend Lori is and like Kestrel obviously is. She watches as I plop down on the gymnasium spongy type mat flooring, not giving her a chance to argue with me about resting. For just one moment she hesitates but then decides to walk over to me and sit with me. Grabbing a water bottle, she takes a large gulp of it before offering some to me.

“Or I can grab an unopened one from the cooler for you if you’d rather. I know some people don’t like to share drinks.” She places the cap back on her bottle before hopping up and walking over to the cooler, grabs an unopened bottle for me.

“Oh, thank you. It doesn’t typically bother me on sharing drinks though, just so you know.” Somehow, I manage to catch the bottle she tosses to me and smile at her. “So, will you please explain to me why you feel torture is the best way to unite me and the phoenix?”

Kestrel laughs at my question which causes me to raise my eyebrows. “I’m not trying to torture you silly. Exercise is a good way to elevate your energy level which will help you to connect to your inner self and to your phoenix which is on the verge of breaking free from the restrains you have unknowingly placed around her.”

“Okay, I totally get that but... I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet or not, I’m not the most athletic, agile, coordinated person here. And I’m wickedly out of shape!” To prove my point, I wipe sweat off my forehead with a section of my tee shirt.

“Well, I will throw this out there. The more you practice and train, the more agile and coordinated you will become. The best thing for you to do is replace balance and to do that, you will unfortunately have to practice.” Kestrel states this so matter-of-factly that I feel there really is no other option than to continue forward.

“Switching gears for just a second, when will we tap into my phoenix and her powers, I mean our power?” Kestrel hops up and stretches her arm out to me, offering to help me stand up. With a sigh, I take hold of her hand and she jerks me to my feet.

“To answer your question, first we must concentrate on your outer shell before we can focus on your inner strengths. We have to see what weaknesses you have as a human so that we can make those areas stronger and then we will be able to move into the inner you.” As she is saying this, she waves her hand for me to follow her back to the center of the room and I begrudgingly do as she asks.

“First, we need to stand in a position where it looks like we just have landed from a jumping-jack. Legs set together, arms at our sides, fingertips pointing towards the ground.” I do as she instructs and everything else after that is blurred, I just know that around 4p.m. I feel like I’m knocking at deaths door. Every muscle in my body feels like Jell-O! My phone rings and I don’t even have the energy to answer the call. Looking at the screen I see it is Ash and a whimper barely makes it past my lips as I lift my hand so that I can swipe my index finger across the screen.

“He--lloo,” I cry the word into the phone.

“Sofia?” He has the nerve to chuckle at my whining! “Hey, are you on your way back to the house? I should be there in about five minutes and then we can head back to your real house so that we can go to school tomorrow.” I grumble words into the phone and hang up. Now I have to walk back to the house. Just shoot me. End my agony! I know, I know, I’m being a brat but whatever, my body hurts.

Ash and I sit in his red Jeep Renegade which is parked in my driveway. I lift my arm so that I can open my door but let it fall again. “Nope, I can’t do it! You are going to have to come over, open this door and carry me into the house. My energy is gone. ALL OF IT!” I slump against the seat so that he knows I am being serious. He guffaws at me, shakes his head and then gets out of the vehicle. A moment later he is standing by the passenger side, opening my door for me.

“Are you really going to make me pick you up and carry you into the house?” He looks at me and I can see disbelief on his face. So of course, I nod my head yes. If I must be put through torture, then so must he!

I do my best to give him the ’puppy dog look’, I’m not sure if that is what does the trick or not, but he stoops over, throws my arms around his neck and then scoops me up into his arms, cradling me to his chest like a baby. “Have I ever told you you’re my hero?” This statement causes him to burst out laughing, shaking me in the process. Luckily, I’m snuggled within his grasp, so I’m not shaken too much.

“You are such a dork Sofia Einan, you know that don’t you?” I tip my head back so that I can look at his face and then I grin and nod my head.

“But you love me all the more for it!”

“This is true.” Ash sits me on my feet so that he can open my front door. I don’t make him pick me back up, but I do lean on him heavily as we go inside the house. “Would you like to eat anything? I can make a mean peanut butter and jelly sandwich in no time.”

I shake my head no and then say, “I just want to go lie down on my bed and watch some T.V. Will you lay with me? It doesn’t have to be all night or anything, just until I fall asleep.” Secretly I hope he will stay all night in my bed with me. I like feeling him close to me. I feel like I sleep better when he is near. As I stare at him, I realize he is reading my thoughts as I am thinking this, and I roll my eyes at him. At least I know he will stay with me now that he has seen my thoughts.

He follows me up the stairs and into my bedroom. I don’t have energy to even change into pajamas. Walking to the edge of the bed, I flop face first into my blankets. The mattress shifts a little as Ash sits down next to me on the bed. “Turn over so that you are able to lay down comfortably on the bed. Do you want me to grab you some pajamas or anything? I will help you change into them if you want me to.” I look at him skeptically, doubting his innocent offer of helping me. He raises his right hand, three fingers in the air, “scouts honor, I promise I will behave and just help you into some clean clothes.”

“No, I’m just going to sleep like this. If I put clean clothes on, I feel like I would have to take a shower first and I just don’t think I can stand up long enough to do that.” As I explain my reasoning to him, I have scooted myself up and into the bed properly and am placing the comforter over my body.

“If you’re sure...” Ash doesn’t need to finish his sentence; my eyelids are already drooping as it is. The bed moves about a little more and I crack my eyes open just enough to see that he has climbed into the bed next to me. The last thing I see before I fall asleep is his beautifully naked chest snuggling up to me.

Late in the night I wake up in a cold sweat and am shaking. I have no idea what has caused me to wake in such a state. Turning my head, I see Ash sleeping soundly and am tempted to wake him up but then he sighs and smiles in his sleep making me think better of it. Instead, I stare into the darkness as I try to figure out why I am now staring at the ceiling and not asleep myself. Suddenly I am surprised by Ash’s sudden movements. His right arm drapes over me, and pulling me in close to him, nuzzles his lips in the crook of my neck and shoulder area as he embraces me from behind. Somehow even in sleep, he knew I needed his strength and comfort. Soon after, I manage to drift off to sleep once more.