{"id":3202,"date":"2017-04-19T00:00:52","date_gmt":"2017-04-19T04:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3202"},"modified":"2017-04-18T23:19:58","modified_gmt":"2017-04-19T03:19:58","slug":"nine-02-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3202","title":{"rendered":"Nine – 02"},"content":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Phelan’s point of view.]<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cDoes that mean that you\u2019re going to tell me whatever the hell is eating at you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Phelan choked on a laugh, a weak one, but a laugh nonetheless. \u201cWhen it rains, it pours,\u201d he said, as if that would explain everything. Jacqueline\u2019s exasperated sigh told him that it absolutely hadn\u2019t and Phelan scrubbed a hand over his face.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if I can do it again,\u201d he said simply. Jacqueline frowned, her brows knitting.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t know if you can do what<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how much use I\u2019ll be in the next fight, or the one after that, or the one after that,\u201d he said, his stomach hollowing out. Thinking it had been one thing, but putting voice to it was so much worse. \u201cI just\u2014I can\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand,\u201d she said softly. \u201cPhelan, what are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n

He sighed, closing his eyes. She wrapped both arms around him and squeezed tightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cTalk to me,\u201d she whispered. \u201cPlease, Phelan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry. It\u2019s hard, okay? Articulating it is\u2014\u201d he broke off, frowning and staring out over the ravine. \u201cWhat Matt and I were able to do at the battle against Olympium. I don\u2019t think I can pull off something like that again, or what I did on the ice that woke Leviathan\u2014not that I\u2019d ever want to do that<\/em> again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope you\u2019re never in a position where you feel like you have to, not again.\u201d Her lips brushed his temple and he shivered. \u201cYou\u2019re not the only one who can fight whatever bad guys show up here, Phelan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he murmured. \u201cI\u2019m just the one with the most experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething tells me your cousin would dispute that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shivered again. \u201cMy cousin was a boogeyman that people used to use to scare their children.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, at least he\u2019s on our side now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phelan choked on another weak laugh and squeezed her close. \u201cI love you, Jac.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love you, too.\u201d She squeezed him again, then drew back slightly. \u201cNow stop beating yourself up about things you probably can\u2019t help. Whatever happens, happens. We\u2019ll be okay. Somehow, we\u2019ll be okay.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Phelan’s point of view.] \u201cDoes that mean that you\u2019re going to tell me whatever the hell is eating at you?\u201d Phelan choked on a laugh, a weak one, but a laugh nonetheless. \u201cWhen it rains, it … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[240,250,14],"tags":[150,171,170,174,149,173,148,168,147,165,146],"class_list":["post-3202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-6","category-chapter-09-book-6","category-story","tag-awakenings","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-jacqueline-bell","tag-original-fiction","tag-phelan-ocredne","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-serial","tag-serial-fiction","tag-story","tag-web-fiction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-PE","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3202"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3203,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3202\/revisions\/3203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}