The Phoenix: Chapter 2

“Wake up Phoebe” Phoebe’s mother said as Phoebe had just started to become aware of her surroundings. The first thought that passed through Phoebe’s mind was, had she really slept through the whole night without waking up once.

“Hayden’s here so you had better go wash up and get ready for school” her mother taped Phoebe on the shoulder and then left the room.

With a sigh Phoebe got out of bed and headed to the bathroom where once again she washed up as fast as she humanely could. Her mother always told her that it was rude to keep guest waiting no matter who they were. She went into her room and got dressed in what she had picked out the day before. She brushed her hair and pulled it back into a glossy, black, high ponytail. She grabbed her book bag and jacket and started towards the stairs. She was nervous and she couldn’t explain why. Something about meeting someone new or moving somewhere new made her frantic.

When she took her last step down the stairs and turned to go into the kitchen there he was. He wasn’t too tall; he was a good height. He had light brown hair and a light complexion. It kind of looked like he had a tan but not a strong one. When he turned around to face her he smiled. His smile shined so bright it made her stomach do flips. He was cute like her mother had said but she knew that there was more to boys than just their looks. She wasn’t about to let a charming, sweet-talking, gorgeous boy be the ruin of her.

“Hi” he said, “I’m Hayden”.

“Yeah, I know.” Phoebe said smiling at him. “I’m Phoebe; nice to meet you Hayden”. They just smiled at one another for a while until Phoebe’s mother entered the room.

“So you’ve already met Hayden I see” her mother said smiling and looking from Hayden to Phoebe.

“Yes” Phoebe said now looking at her mother “I have. Now I really have to be going. I don’t want to be late and before you ask yes, I’m walking.” Phoebe headed over to the door and picked up her boots. She sat on the couch and started to put her shoes on.

“Okay” her mother said rushing into the living room with Hayden following behind her. “Hayden can walk with you then.” Phoebe knew that her mother came up with some obscured ideas but this one topped all of them.

“Mom, no” Phoebe said still putting on her boots. “What’s so wrong with me walking to school by myself? I’ve never did anything to make you believe you couldn’t trust me so why keep me trapped in a place I’m supposed to can home?” Phoebe said looking up at her mother.

“I do trust you sweetheart. It’s everyone else I don’t trust; especially that Josh fellow. He’s a nasty one.” Her mother said sitting down next to her on the couch “I just want you to be safe”.

“Mom, need I remind you I’m 17 and Josh isn’t my friend” Phoebe said standing up and putting on her jacket “and besides I can take Josh.” She was getting ready to walk towards the door when her mother spun her around and said “Are you talking about fighting”?

“No mom, I’m talking about ignoring him like I have for the past year. I’m not stupid. I know who I can trust and who I can’t.”

“Okay but I still want Hayden to walk with you” her mother said standing her ground.

“It doesn’t make since for Hayden to have to walk me to school, as if I couldn’t do it myself and then walk back here” Phoebe said trying to make her mother see logic.

“I don’t mind” Hayden said. Phoebe didn’t even bother to look back at Hayden and give him a cold glare because she knew that no matter what she said her mother was going to win.

“Fine, whatever” Phoebe said grabbing her book bag, turning around, grabbing Hayden by his arm and heading out of the door.

Once outside Phoebe apologized to Hayden for having to witness the argument between her and her mother. “It’s fine. I fight with my mom all the time to that’s why I’m glad to get the chance to be away from her for a while” Hayden said looking down at her making her feel short. She hadn’t noticed how short she was until now.

“Oh. Sorry.” Phoebe said not knowing what else to say.

“Don’t be, it happens to everyone” Hayden said smiling “I don’t know where I would be without a good argument know and then with my mother”. Phoebe couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah, who doesn’t love a good argument?” Phoebe said looking up at him as they stopped at the corner of the street while the cars zoomed past them. “Can I ask you something?” she asked him.

“Sure. A good way to get to know people is by asking questions”. He said looking down at her, “and I really want to get to know you”. If Phoebe were capable of blushing she probably would have at that exact moment. She normally kept her emotions hidden but she could tell that her emotions were printed right on her forehead so she looked straight ahead.

“Uh, how do you know my mother” Phoebe said as the cars came to a stop at the red light and her and Hayden began to walk again.

“I’ll tell you what I know, but my mom’s a very secretive person. She isn’t one to tell me anything other than what I need to know.” Hayden said. “My mother told me that she and your mother used to go to school together and they were best friends in high school. She said that they had a bump in the road and stopped being friends for a while. They only started being friends again recently; maybe for a month or two. It took me 3 years to get this story out of her but as you can see there are still bits and pieces missing”.

“Wow!” Phoebe said feeling more curious than ever. “I wonder what the ‘bump in the road’ was”.

“I don’t even know you but by the look in your eyes I can tell that you are going to find out the rest of the story” Hayden said to her.

“You know me so well” Phoebe said smiling; “besides this could be some bonding time for us; finding out our mother’s past and all. My mother really wants us to be friends not exactly sure but she does. This is a nice way to start”.

“I’ve only been here for less than an hour and I already like you.” Hayden said; “I’m in. This should be fun.”

“Trust me” Phoebe said looking at Hayden while he looked at her, “It will be”.

After saying her goodbyes Phoebe rushed into the school building and into her first period class were Mr. Collins sat at his desk reading the newspaper and the students were again in conversation. Phoebe was really getting tired of the same old thing. She practically ran to her seat swung her bag around the back of the chair and out her head down into her folded hands.

“Phoebe may I talk to you for a second” Mr. Collins asked. Phoebe raised her head with a sigh and walked over to Mr. Collins desk.

“You wanted to talk to me?” She asked smiling as brightly as she could.

“Yes. I wanted to talk to you about yesterday’s incident. What was that all about?” he asked leaning in a little. Phoebe studied his face for a little while. He actually looked interested in her answer. This would be the second time that he showed interest in Phoebe’s life. She didn’t understand why people acted so weird on the last days of school.

“Nothing really; I was just nervous because my mom’s old friend was coming into town and he’s around my age. If you haven’t noticed I’m not good at making friends” Phoebe lied. She knew that she hadn’t found out about Hayden coming to visit until after school but the lie came out before she could stop herself. She didn’t think that he needed to know about her and her mother fighting.

“Boy troubles?” he said thinking that he knew all the answers.

She just replied with a simple “yeah, that’s it”.

“Okay; I hope that you enjoy your summer Phoebe. You may be seated” he said gesturing over to her seat. She quickly walked to her seat and sat in it; relived that she got through Mr. Collins interrogation.

“Hey Phoebe, what was that all about?” Drew asked suddenly appearing to the left of her.

“He just wanted to talk about my little outburst in class yesterday” Phoebe said glancing at him and then looking away.

“Oh right, what was that all about?” Drew asked.

“Nothing really; just an old family friend came to town and I was nervous.” She said this time not even looking at him; “Oh and by the way…” she went through her bag in search for the invitation. When she finally found it she handed it back to him, “I can’t go to your party. I’m sorry.”

“Why? What happened?” Drew asked without even reaching out to take the invitation.

“We have a guest and I have to hang out with him and get to know him better” Phoebe said sounding nonchalant about it.

“Is he a new boyfriend?” Drew asked. This made Phoebe look at him.

“No. He’s my mother’s friend’s son” Phoebe said trying not to show any anger but she was mad. She was mad that Drew automatically thought that she would make someone she just met her boyfriend.

“Oh, well then why don’t you just bring him to the party?” Drew asked.

“Um, I’ll see if he’s interested, but if I’m being honest he might not want to come” Phoebe said. The real reason that she didn’t want to go to Drew’s party wasn’t just because of Hayden but it was because she wasn’t really in the party mood. The party was tomorrow and she would have to go through her boxes to find something to wear.

“If anyone can convince him it’s you” Drew said giving Phoebe a slight smile.

“And why is that?” Phoebe asked him looking him in his eyes.

“Because you are very persuasive” Drew said looking her in her eyes as well.

“I’ll try” Phoebe said turning away. She didn’t want Drew to think that she liked him because she didn’t and she knew that he was just being his normal flirtatious self. When the bell rang she felt a wave of relief flash over her. She ran out of the classroom so fast she felt the wind thrust against her face even though there wasn’t a breeze.

Before she could get to her next class she bumped into someone she had never seen before. The girl’s books hit the floor and so did she. “Oh, I’m so sorry” Phoebe said helping the girl up and then bending down to pick up the books on her side while the girl picked up the books closet to her.

“It’s alright. It happens.” She said. “Hi, my names Elizabeth, what’s yours?”

“My name's Phoebe; nice to meet you.” Phoebe said handing Elizabeth her books, “I’ve never seen you here before. Are you new or…”

Before Phoebe could finish Elizabeth cut her off saying, “No, no. I’m old. I mean I’m not new. I’ve been going here forever. I even know where the bathroom is. It’s down that hall”. She point behind Phoebe.

“Actually it’s the other way” Phoebe said suppressing a giggle.

“Oh. I’m sorry. I tend to babble a little when I’m nervous.” Elizabeth said smiling, “It was nice to meet you though”.

“It’s okay and same here” Phoebe said, “I guess I’ll see you around. I really have to go, I’m already late. Bye.” Phoebe walked to her next class and into the room. The teacher didn’t even notice her which kind of made her think did it matter if she was late or not.

For the rest of the day all she did was sat down in classroom after classroom and endured people talking about god knows what. Most of them were talking about Drew’s party tomorrow. They talked about getting dates and what they were going to wear. When her last class rolled around Phoebe decided that she wasn’t going to attend it. She left the school building and went across the street to the park. The swings were in a part of the park that faced towards the school. Phoebe sat on the middle swing and swished back and forth for a little. She studied the school building. It was a red building with windows on every level. The windows were dirty and she couldn’t see in them and she doubted that they could see her; even if they could she wouldn’t care. The front entrance to the school looked small in the distance. It was a dirty yellow. Sometimes Phoebe thought that the school hadn’t been cleaned for hundreds of years.

The cool wind blew against Phoebe’s face as she swung back and forth on the swing. She looked behind herself every now and then because she felt as though someone was watching her but every time she turned around no one was there. She started to think about her life here and her soon to be life in Florida. What would she do there? Would she make some actual friends? How would things go between her and Hayden? She still didn’t have any answers to her questions but she figured that all the right questions were better than all the right answers. When the students started to flow out of the school like water flows out of a faucet she stood up from the swings and walked along the bars surrounding the park until she reached the entrance. She headed straight for home without even looing to see if her mother’ car was parked out front like it usually was. She just needed to walk today and clear her head of all these questions before she got home. Her mother could read her like a book when Phoebe’s guard wasn’t up like it wasn’t now. Phoebe was tired and just wanted to get home.

When she walked through the door her mother stood there with her arms crossed and Hayden was in the kitchen a few feet away sitting at the table. “Where were you?” her mother asked.

“At school” Phoebe said smiling, “Where else would I be?”

“I was told that you didn’t show up for your last period class. Do you know how worried I was?” her mother said while tapping her foot against the wooden floor.

“No mom, I don’t.” Phoebe said with no emotion.

“I was very worried. Anything could have happened to you.” Her mother said in a small scream making Phoebe stare at her.

“I can take care of myself” Phoebe said heading towards the stairs. Her mother grabbed her by the arm and swung her around so that they were face to face,

“I am your mother and you will listen to me”. She squeezed Phoebe’s arm.

“Ouch” Phoebe said snatching her arm from her mother’s grip, “You know what, I’m going for a walk and I don’t care what you say. You need to cool off.”

“Me?” her mother grabbed Phoebe again, “You aren’t going anywhere but your room. You are grounded”. Phoebe stayed silent. Phoebe wasn’t about to whine about being grounded because she knew that she was going to sneak out anyways.

“Okay” Phoebe smiled, “Whatever you say you majesty”. Her mother let go of Phoebe’s arm.

“Why are you calling me your majesty?” her mother asked.

“Isn’t that what you are?” Phoebe said laughing, “I don’t know why you think that I would explode on you but your wrong. I know how to keep my cool unlike you. I’ve been practicing for years ever since the first time you got aggressive. Your true colors are starting to show mom and you can’t hide them anymore.” She started to turn towards the stairs and then turned back to face her mother, “And by the way, most of the things you think you know about me aren’t true but dad could fill you in on some of the details.” Phoebe gave her mother a smile that had no happiness in it then ran up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door. Phoebe changed into her pajamas and just sat on the bed for a while.

After a while Phoebe heard footsteps coming towards her door. She had no idea who it could be. Her dad could have gotten home and was going to talk to her about the way she talked to her mother or it could be her mother coming to apologize for her aggressive behavior. Either way Phoebe knew that she wasn’t going to like it. “Can I come in” Hayden said as he stuck his head in the doorway.

“Technically you’re already in” Phoebe said waving for him to take a seat in the chair next to her desk.

“Thanks” he said walking into her room getting the chair at her desk and placing it closer to her. “Do you want to talk about, you know?” he asked.

“I’m fine” Phoebe smiled, “Besides you said it yourself everyone argues with their mother sometimes”.

“Yeah I guess, but I didn’t realize how intense your arguments were” he said leaning back in the chair.

“It’s fine, usually my father helps me out but he’s been working early mornings and late nights recently” Phoebe said shrugging.

“I was wondering where your father was at.” Hayden said.

“I guess he’s trying to get enough money so that we can move to satisfy my mom needs. She’s always the reason why we move.” Phoebe said lying vertically on her bed with a sigh.

“Moving isn’t all that bad is?” Hayden asked.

“I guess not” Phoebe said lying on her side so that she could face Hayden.

“You want to know something positive about the move?” Hayden said leaning closer to Phoebe.

“Sure” Phoebe said smiling, “enlighten me”.

“We’ll get to know one another better” Hayden said. He was so close Phoebe could feel warmth coming off of him.

“Oh really, that’s positive” she smiled at him. He laughed at her and leaned back in his chair.

“Trust me, it is” he said.

“I have something else to ask you” Phoebe said sitting up, “This boy I know is throwing a party tomorrow night. He invited me and said I could bring a friend. You want to come?”

“Aren’t you grounded?” he said smiling at her.

“Whatever gave you that idea?” Phoebe said smiling, “My mom will never know. Are you coming or not?”

“I’m game” Hayden said smiling back at her, “Your full of trouble aren’t you?”

“How’d you guess” Phoebe said, “Let me warn you, in about a minute either my mom or dad will come running up the stairs and into my room to discuss my smart mouth”. Phoebe laughed.

“Can I ask you something before they come?” Hayden asked.

“Sure” Phoebe said.

“Is this a date or just two friends hanging out?” Hayden asked.

“That’s completely up to you” Phoebe said.

“Okay” Hayden said, “It’s a date”. He got up put the chair back by the desk and walked out of the room.

As if on schedule her mother entered her room at the exact moment that Hayden left. “Hi sweetie” her mother said as she closed the door behind her.

“Hi” Phoebe said.

“Look I wanted to apologize for my behavior down there. I shouldn’t have gotten so angry with you and I shouldn’t have grabbed your arm” her mother said as if she wasn’t sorry.

“Mom, need I remind you I can tell when you’re lying just like you can tell when I’m lying and right now I know that you aren’t sorry” Phoebe said looking down at her feet, “the only reason that you’re here right now is because you feel guilty and you know what dad would say. You have always told me to mean what I say not say what I mean. If you don’t mean it mom, don’t say it. I’m not going to hold it against you and I won’t tell dad”.

“I truly am sorry, I’m just not good at apologies” her mother said sitting in the chair at her desk.

“I know that to mom” Phoebe said giving her mother a faint smile, “I just need you to trust me enough to believe that no matter how cruel people can be I will always be able to point them out. I know how to avoid them and how to protect myself. What I lack in muscle I make up in knowledge”.

“I know sweetie” her mother said nodding, “I just need to know where you are and how you’re doing. No matter how old you get you are always going to be my baby girl. You are my only child and I will not let this world of cruel people take you away from me. There is a lot that I’m willing to lose but you are not one of them”. Her mother took in a deep breath. For some strange reason Phoebe didn’t even feel sympathetic in the least towards her mother. She wasn’t angry with her but something felt wrong. She heard her mother say all these words and lock her up in the house for her own protection but she still felt like it was all a charade. There was something that her mother wasn’t telling her and she was hiding it away just like her mother had hid her away from the outside world.

“I understand” was all Phoebe could say in response to her mother. Obviously no matter what Phoebe said to her mother would always try to play the

‘I just want you to be safe’ card. What her mother failed to realize what that keeping Phoebe isolated in house after house wasn’t the solution to her problem; when Phoebe got older she was going to break free of her mother and go into the outside world but because of her mother’s crazy tactics she might not be ready for it. “Good” her mother got up out of the chair walked over to Phoebe and hugged her, “You’re still grounded”. Phoebe guessed this much but she didn’t really care whether or not she was grounded because she was, without a doubt, going to Drew’s party with Hayden tomorrow night.

“Okay” Phoebe said smiling. When her mother walked out of the door and closed it behind her Phoebe tip-toed over to the door and pressed her ear against it. She heard her mother’s footsteps going down the stairs and into the kitchen; Phoebe knew that the coast was clear.

She felt as if she needed answers and she knew the best way to find out about a person was by searching their room. She wanted to know all her secrets and she wanted to know them now. She slowly opened her door and looked left then right then left again. She went running to the right hallway towards Hayden’s room. She knocked and he opened the door quickly. “Hey” he said giving her his natural boyish smile.

“It’s time to find some information on our mom’s past” Phoebe said in a whisper, “I need you to keep my mom occupied downstairs while I look in her room”.

“Why now?” Hayden asked.

“Now is a better time than any. She isn’t in her room and she might have something in there to give us information” Phoebe said as quickly and quietly as possible, “Are you going to help me?”

“Yeah” Hayden said steeping out into the hallway and closing his door behind him, “Where is she?”

“She’s in the kitchen. How long do you think you can stall her?” Phoebe asked him.

“5 minutes in the least 10 in the most so let’s just play it safe and say 7 minutes” he said doing calculations in his head.

“Okay” Phoebe said, “You ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be” he said smiling and then running down the stairs.

As Phoebe opened her mother’s bedroom door she heard Hayden say, ‘Mrs. BlackRose may I speak to you for a moment’. Phoebe took in a deep breath then entered her mother’s bedroom. She closed the door with a click of the lock as it snapped in place. She had never been in her mother’s room but what she saw was not what she expected. The plain black and white walls stood out like she never thought that ordinary colors could. It was the only thing in the room that stood out. She knew that she didn’t have any time to waste so she went over to the desk in the corner of the room. She knew that she usually kept her notebook in the top left draw so maybe her mother kept a journal there too. She opened all one draw after the other; they were all empty until she reached the last draw. She prayed for it to have something in it because time was slipping away from her. She opened it fast thinking as if what was inside it might disappear if she didn’t open it fast enough.

At the bottom of the draw was a frame for a pick, it was turned face down. Phoebe looked around the room as if someone was watching her then picked the picture up and stared at it in disbelief. She was so shocked she dropped it back in the draw and covered her mouth so that she wouldn’t gasp. She picked the picture up and stared at with great intensity. In her hands was a picture of two birds, one as blue as ice and the other as red as flames. Half of the pictures background was blue and the other half was red. Phoebe had never seen anything like it before except once, in a dream.

The picture in her dream was bigger but it was definitely the same photo. Phoebe put the picture back in the draw and looked down at the watch on her wrist. She only had about 2 minutes left. She had to hurry. She looked under her mother’s bed, in the closet and the bed-side table but there was nothing of use to them. Phoebe figured that her mother must have packed up everything already except that picture.

Why did her mother have that picture Phoebe thought to herself? She had to get out of her mother’s room. She had run out of time. She opened the door and looked left to right, there was no one in sight. Phoebe squeezed between the door and the wall and entered the hallway. She closed the door silently then strolled downstairs were her mom, Hayden and her dad were.

“Dad?” Phoebe said in shock. Her dad usually had to work late and wasn’t home until after she went to sleep. She ran over to him and gave him a hug. “What are you doing here?” Phoebe asked pulling away from him slightly so that she could look up at him.

“My boss gave everyone the rest of the day off. He didn’t tell us why but he said that he had something to do and we would just get in the way” her dad said smiling, “At least we get to spend some time together”.

“Yeah” Phoebe said smiling back at him. It had been a long time since she heard her dad say that he wanted to spend some time together.

“Do you want to go to the park?” he asked her, “I know that you’re growing up but I don’t think that it’s childish to let your poor old dad swing you on a swing every now and then”. Phoebe laughed.

“Of course dad, I would love for you to push me on the swings”.

“Aren’t you forgetting something” her mother said in a stern voice, “You’re grounded”.

“I’ll be with her” her dad said, “She won’t have any fun”. Everyone knew that he was lying, even Hayden. She always had fun with her dad because she only got to see him every now and then.

“Come on mom” Phoebe said in a pleading tone, “It’s not every day that dad’s home”.

“Okay, fine” her mother said giving up, “We’ll just add another day to your punishment in exchange for this one.” Phoebe would have argued this but at this moment she didn’t care she was just glad to be able to spend some well-deserved time with her father.

“Okay, come on Phoebe” her dad said gesturing her towards the door.

“Wait a second dad” Phoebe said. She turned to Hayden and asked him if he wanted to come along with them.

“It’s okay. I wouldn’t want to interrupt your time with your father” Hayden said.

“The more the merrier” her dad chirped in. Come with us it going to be a lot of…” her dad looked at her mother and then said, “I mean it’s not going to be any fun”. As he said this he winked at Hayden and Hayden smiled.

“Okay, I would love to” Hayden said. As they were leaving her mother shouted something to them, but Phoebe was too excited about getting away from her mother, and away from the picture she had found in her mother’s room, to hear.