Here Without You

"A hundred days had made me older
Since the last time that I saw your pretty face
A thousand lights had made me colder
And I don't think I can look at this the same

But all the miles had separate
They disappeared now when I'm dreaming of your face

I'm here without you baby
But you're still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby
And I dream about you all the time"
-3 Doors Down

/Mary-Lynnette!/ It woke him up again. The same terrible dream. He would see her as she writhed in pain calling for him, always calling for him. He couldn't reach her though. She was always too far away.

/Ash?/ He jumped at Quinn's mental call. /Everything okay?/

/Fine, he sent back. He hadn't realized how loud he must have been calling. Quinn let the matter drop but Poppy didn't.

/What happened? You practically woke up the whole mansion./

/Again, put in James./

/Was it the dream?/

/Yes, and no I don't want to talk about it./ He cut them off and laid there staring at his cell phone wondering if he should call or if five in the morning was too early. It had been one year, and three weeks since he had seen her last. He had only called once. Hearing her voice and not being able to touch her was hell so he decided that calling her wasn't fair to either of them. They wrote though. He had every letter she had given him in a box on his desk.

He had been celibate since before he had gone to Briar Creek. For a guy who was used to a new girl every week, sometimes every day, that was pure hell by itself. It surprised him to realize that he didn't want any other girl. He just wanted Mary-Lynnette. God, how he wanted her. The fantasy of her laying under him, posing over him... His phone rang startling him out of his thoughts.

"Hello?" he asked not glancing at who was calling.

"Ash...? It's me."