"PHOENIX" by Sarah Ryniker

PAGE LAST UPDATED ON 22/03/2002

Phoenix Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Epilogue

CHAPTER SIX

I felt myself being shaken, and from a distance I heard someone calling my name over and over again. I groaned and turned over, only the voice didn't go away and neither did the shaking. The voice merely got louder and the shaking more fervent. That's when I finally realised that someone was trying to wake me. I opened my eyes and blinked. I sat up and smoother down my hair and then rubbed at my eyes. I looked about the room and then turned to see Ella staring straight at me. I nearly jumped out of my skin. I hadn't expected to see her sitting so close.
    She laughed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," she apologised quickly, and then got up from the bed. "I told you I'd wake you up an hour before dinner. I decided to let you sleep for another half hour. I already chose what you'll wear and I had you a bath made."
    "Wow," I mumbled groggily. "I never even heard you moving around in here."
    "Well, you were so deeply in sleep and breathing so shallow I was certain you had died!" she cried, her hand pressed to her heart. "You certainly gave me a scare." She turned to the chair sitting at the vanity table. "Oh! I looked through all of your clothes. We will have to go shopping for you tomorrow. You had nothing nice to wear to dinner, so I got you something from Rachael's closet. You appear to be the same size she was when she was your age."
    It was the second time she had mentioned Rachael and I couldn't stop myself from asking, "Who is Rachael?"
    "Rachael was a good friend of mine. Actually, she was my stepsister and then my stepdaughter. She disappeared not long after I married your great-uncle. She is your great-uncle's daughter from his first marriage. His only true heir other than Jenny. Rachael never met Jenny."
    "Oh." I didn't know what else to say and it was the first thing to escape my lips. "I'm sorry you lost your friend."
    "Well, enough talk about that!" Ella obviously was much like an ostrich and liked to bury her head in the sand. "Go on! Take your bath and then I will help you dress for dinner." She smiled and then left the room.
    I got up from the bed and walked into the bathroom that was in the same colours as the other rooms were. The rose vanilla scent was stronger, and I could tell she must have added some kind of scented oil to the bath.
    I feared getting into that bath and drowning after falling back to sleep. My eyes barely managed to stay open; they burned from my effort to stay awake. I rubbed at them and stepped into the bath. I sat there for ten minutes and washed my hair and body. Then I got out and wrapped myself in the rose-coloured terry cloth robe hanging on the door. I wound my hair up into a towel of the same colour.
    When I walked out of the bathroom, Ella was waiting for me beside the vanity table. I raised my eyebrows at her. I had thought these rooms to be mine, yet I felt as if she had to be one of the nosiest people in the world. She could have waited until I was out of the bath. And I could most certainly dress myself.
    She stuck out her hand to hand me the dress that lay over her arm. I picked up the maroon-coloured dress. It had three-quarter inch sleeves with white lace that hung to the wrists. Its skirt looked rather long and the bottom of the dress was edged with white lace. The squared-off collar also was edged in the same white lace.
    It was obvious she wasn't going to leave me alone so I went back into the bathroom to get dressed. I slipped the dress over my head and pulled it down around my waist. It fit me around my hips and waist, but my breasts were a little too large for it and were pushed up a bit out of the top. I walked out of the bathroom to Ella.
    "Unzip it! It's too small; I can't wear this!" I claimed. I felt so uncomfortable in it.
    "No, dear, it fits perfectly! You look ravishing in it!" She clapped her hands together enthusiastically then grabbed me by my elbow and shoved me into the vanity chair. "Now we'll do your hair. When your uncle sees you, he will most certainly see his daughter." Why was she comparing me to this Rachael all of the time? How could I look so much like her if I was only distantly related?
    Ella fixed my hair just as she claimed. She dried it with a towel until it was just barely damp, and then she brushed it out until it was completely dry. "I know we're going to be late for dinner, but that is just as well. Everyone else is normally late, anyway." She curled the bottom of my hair and pulled it back into a beret. She fluffed my hair around my face and then helped me out the chair. She smiled at the work she had done. "Has anyone ever told you just how beautiful you are?"
    I shook my head. "I am not beautiful, Ella. But thank you." I looked down at my feet. She had given me a pair of black dress shoes. And I absentmindedly kicked at the carpet.
    "Oh, but you are! You have a special beauty, Phoenix. To me, you shine from the inside out."
    I didn't want to be complimented any longer. Compliments made me nervous. "We better get down to dinner," I said. I flashed her a quick smile and left the room. I waited for her halfway down the hall, forgetting how to get to the dining room. She caught up with me quickly and led me to where we would be eating.
    When we entered, my great-uncle was sitting at the head of the table, looking like a king. His dark hair, the same colour as mine, had streaks of grey running through it. To my utter surprise, he looked like my father, only older. His nose had a slight bump at the top as if it had once been broken. He turned to look at me and his eyes were just as black. He looked as shocked to see me as I was to see him. He looked me up and down, looking shocked to see me. Did I really resemble his daughter that much?
    He quickly regained his composure. "You're late," he snapped. "Where is everyone? Mitchell isn't even in here. That boy isn't much of anything but trouble."
    I expected Ella to defend her son, but she completely ignored her husband's comment. "Now, dear, Phoenix and I had to work on her hair. It would have been done, but the jet lag made her very tired and I allowed her to sleep."
    "Oh." He glared his black eyes at me. "Don't let it happen again," he growled, his full, thick lips pursed together for the rest of the evening.
    I took the seat that Ella assigned for me on the left side of Uncle Gerald. On my right there was an empty seat, and across from me sat Jenny. She had just come into the room and sat when I lifted up my head. She wore a pretty light blue dress and her red curls were pulled back on top of her head. Her eyes were the same black as mine, as my uncle's and as my father's. Yet, against her pale skin, which held the same pale tone as mine, and red hair her eyes seemed much more exotic, especially since they were almond-shaped like her mother's.
    She smiled charmingly at Uncle Gerald. "Hello, Daddy. Sorry I am late! I just wanted to make sure I looked beautiful just for you!"
    His face softened and he smiled warmly at her. "It's quite all right, dear. Let's just get to eating."
    With that, the meal began and I couldn't help wondering why we had waited for Jenny, but we couldn't wait for Mitch. Was he truly that much of an outcast in his own family? Is that why my instincts told me to trust him?
    We had been having dinner when Mitch wheeled himself through the doors. "Thanks for somebody waking me up to tell me it was time for dinner," he snapped, glaring icily at his mother.
    Ella merely smiled at him. "I'm sorry, dear, I had no idea that you were sleeping." She didn't seem actually apologetic before she went back to the plate in front of her.
    "You shouldn't be sleeping in the middle of the day, anyway." My uncle's eyes were on me as he said this. But just as I had never cowered from my father, I would not cower from him.
    "I'm sorry," Mitch spit through gritted teeth. "If I didn't have to take pain medications, I wouldn't find myself feeling so weak." And it was obvious he was having a hard time wheeling himself. That's when I pushed myself away from the table and got up to walk towards him. I grabbed the handles of his chair and began to push.
    "Where do you sit?' I asked.
    "You're going to make an enemy in your uncle if you become my alibi," he whispered to me as he pointed to the seat next to mine. Did they have to make things difficult on him?
    "I don't care," I whispered back. "I'm in need of friends and I have a feeling I am not about to be treated the same way as your half-sister."
    "You'll be treated worse if you are friends with me."
    "I have a mind and will of my own," I quipped. He seemed reluctant to befriend me, yet he had seemed enthusiastic earlier that day.
    I pushed him up to the table at the spot beside me. Nobody really paid much attention, and we all went back to our food. I said not a word, nor did Mitch say anything. We sat eating silently, listening to Jenny ramble on about her newest boyfriend and Ella becoming excited and talking about a shopping spree. They giggled and laughed excitedly, and the entire time my uncle ignored them. He sat, chewed and grunted at questions asked of him.
    When dinner was finished, I rose last from the table. I watched as servants came in to take dishes away and into the kitchen. I couldn't help wondering if I could ever get used to depending on servants. These people took care of this grand house without even the slightest of complaints. They didn't get paid as much as they deserved to be paid.
    I left the dining room and walked out to the garden. It was cool, especially for a California spring night. Summer was just around the corner. I wasn't yet out of school, but Ella was already enrolling me into school. I was nervous. It was the end of my sophomore year, and I hadn't been to regular school since the eighth grade. I didn't know what I was going to do. How would I ever fit in?
    I jumped at the sound of a twig cracking and spun around. Mitch was wheeling himself out of one of the mazes of flowers. Every one of the bushes in the garden was at least six feet tall and flowers surrounded all. The deeper into the garden you went, the more confusing it was. It seemed, though, that Mitch knew his way around the garden well.
    "You scared me," I said, stepping up beside him.
    He smiled up at me. "I didn't know you were out here. I'm sorry for scaring you."
    I licked my lips and thought a moment before I proceeded to ask him what was on my mind. I took a deep breath. "Why does my uncle treat you just a shade above a servant?"
    "Because I am not his child, and I resemble nothing of a Parish, nor do I resemble my mother. I look like a man he hated. That and I am what he considers weak. It is not my bronze, obviously, that I work with, but my brains. The man is all about physical force. I cannot be part of his family because I am crippled and cannot walk." He wheeled over by the nearest bench and ushered me to sit down. I did so quickly.
    "Well, you haven't always been in a wheelchair, have you?" I knew I was prying. I was being far nosier than what was normal for me. But I was curious about my family, especially the part of my family that seemed lonely and lost. He was an outcast like me.
    He didn't seem unwilling to talk, though. "No, I have only been in the wheelchair for two years. But even before then I wasn't always in fights as he was. I wasn't social, I strayed away from parties and I hid like a hermit in my room. I do not fit into his family. He has finally accepted that he will only produce girls and so Jenny, his actual third daughter, is his heiress."
    "Third daughter? But I have only heard of two." I was confused. There was Rachael and there was Jenny. Who else was there?
    "You know, his second daughter who is a mere three years older than me and five years older than you," he answered with a smile. I raised my eyebrows. What was this?
    "Who?" If I was finding out secrets about my family already, I couldn't imagine what I would find the longer I lived here. I felt a chill rush up and down my spine. I was afraid of what I might find.
    "Carissa." At first I wasn't sure that I had heard him right. How could that be right? Carissa's parents were dead. Weren't they?
    "But, how can that be?"
    "Carissa was only five years old when she left here with my great-aunt Lillian. Her mother had been dead for a year. My father was still alive then, and my mother refused to take care of her because she had me. Your uncle was furious that his second wife had given him another girl. He didn't need another girl; he had his hands full with his "full of attitude" daughter he had at the time. So Aunt Lillian took her with her when she moved up north. Lillian's family had gone bankrupt, but had been hidden well until her husband died. Karen married Michael, thinking she would become rich with the Parish fortune he would inherit. But something happened, I'm not sure what, and Michael was disowned, and she and Michael quickly followed up to northern California not long after you were born." I just stared at him. Why had they lied to everyone then? Was it to save Carissa of the embarrassment, because her father didn't want her?
    "So," he began, "I have revealed a lot about the family tonight that you had no idea about. You owe me, Phoenix." I could feel his eyes on me, and my head shot up to look at him. "What are you running from? What has made you decide to get your mother out of trouble?"
    "My father," I almost whispered. "He'll kill her if he ever finds out. But most of all, I just couldn't stay there. I don't know what I am going to do after that baby is born and my uncle kicks me out."
    "You'll stay here after the baby is born, Phoenix. You'll stay here because I won't let him throw you back to the place you seem to fear. There aren't many people who show me kindness the way you have, so I'll give you kindness in return." That night I made a special bond with Mitch. He became the first true friend I'd ever had. "It is late, so I am going to head on to my room. Would you mind pushing me?" He smiled charmingly and I smiled back and stood up. I took the handles of his wheelchair in my hands and listened to him as he gave me directions to where he felt the safest in the world. Barely a word was uttered between the two of us as we made our way to his room and parted at the door. We said our goodnights and then I walked away. But no real words were needed. We had proved to each other that we were worthy of the other's friendship. I just prayed that it lasted forever and not just a few short months.

I spent my first night in my new room tossing and turning. My miserable thoughts plagued me all night long. I had gotten away from my father and yet I still felt him hovering over me, ready to raise his fist the moment I said something he didn't like. What would happen if he ever found out what Mama and I were doing? Then I felt like smacking myself. I knew what would happen. I didn't want to think about what he would do.
    When the morning light burst cruelly through my window the next morning, I groaned and yanked the comforter over my head. Why did there have to be a window on that specific side of the bedroom, aiming right at me? I threw the blanket off of me just as a tiny maid stepped in. She carried a silver tray that looked far too big and heavy for her mousy body to hold. I went to get up; she caught me in mid motion, though, and told me she had everything under control.
    She got to my bed and laid the tray on my bedside table. She smiled warmly at me. "I'm Patsy," she introduced herself. Her brown hair was held tightly back in a bun on top of her head and she had high cheekbones. Her face and body were rather gaunt, as if she were under nourished. Friendly grey eyes smiled at me for a moment before walking into the large bathroom.
    "What are you doing?" I asked. I was curious about why it was eight in the morning and I was suddenly having breakfast in bed.
    "I'm your personal maid, dear, I'll be waiting on you. All of the ladies in the house have breakfast in bed and stay in their rooms until about noon or so. I am also making you a bath at the moment, unless you plan to have one later." She stood in the doorway of the bathroom with a bottle of bath bubbles in her hands.
    I was at a loss for words. I had never been waited on and treated like such a princess. It was highly confusing to me. "Well, I, um, I'm not quiet used to this sort of treatment. But I think I'll take a bath right after I eat. You really don't have to do this, though."
    "Yes I do, miss," she called from in the bathroom, where I heard the water rushing from the faucet into the giant ivory tub. "It's my job."
    Her voice held no argument in it. Then I thought about it. Were I to refuse her, she would lose her job and not be paid. That's when it hit me that these people chose this job. They were paid for waiting on the rest of this strange family and me. I shrugged my shoulders and began my meal.
    Afterward, I did just as I told Patsy I was going to. I got into the bathtub. I sighed as I slid down beneath the water. It was so relaxing. There was only a small window here in the bathroom, and rose coloured, lacy curtains covered it. Only a slight bit of the morning sun was shining through.
    The scent of roses and vanilla filled my senses completely. Suddenly it went from just relaxing to a giant bed of water. Before I knew it I was waking up again and the water was chilly, and the bubbles had all but melted into the water. Shocked, I sat up and rubbed at my eyes. I was always "good" at sleeping, but never once had I fallen asleep in the bathtub. I quickly washed myself off and washed my hair and got out.
    When I walked out, I glanced at the clock to see that already it was eleven in the morning. I had been asleep in there for a good two hours! How could I have allowed myself to sleep like that? Couldn't be jet lag. I was still in the same state.
    I noticed the outfit on the bed before I noticed the note attached to it. I walked over and peered down to see in the nicest, most elegant hand writing I'd ever seen on stationary that was just as feminine and elegant. On the small, pretty paper, was written:

Phoenix,
This is what I have out for you to wear today while we shop. It's just an old suit of Rachael's. She wore it when she was about your age, and you both are about the same size. Be dressed and down at the car by one. Thanks a bunch!
Ella.

    There was almost a ghostly presence about the suit. It was pretty and I thought a bit too fancy to go shopping in. Black slacks with a white shirt and black vest lay there. The sleeves of the shirt flared out at the wrists and the buttons were hidden not only by the black vest, but also by an extra cloth put over them. She had once worn it, I thought to myself. My father's cousin. One I'd never met but felt a strange connection with. Or maybe it was all in my mind. Ella had been comparing me to her since I had arrived yesterday.
    I slipped into the suit and to my utter surprise, Ella had been correct. It fit me perfectly. I picked up my hair and twisted it into a bun. I pinned it quickly and slid into the shoes that had also been left with the suit. They were a slight too big, but I didn't care. I was about to get more clothes and shoes than I'd ever had in my possession before. I was positive about that.
    I made my way down the stairs and was a little spooked by the silence of the house. The only noises were from the servants cleaning and dusting things that really had no need to be cleaned or dusted. I made my way back up the stairs, decidedly feeling safer up there. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, though, and suddenly I was standing in the middle of what was too obviously the library. Tall shelves lined the walls of the room except the west wall, which wasn't truly a wall at all. Just like in the ballroom, the "wall" was a giant window that started at the ceiling and made its way to the floor. It curved at the bottom, though, to give a rather dramatic affect. The scene outside was breathtakingly beautiful. It was completely the deep blue-green sea. It felt as if I were on a grand ship. I walked over to the window and peered out.
    I looked down at the part of the floor that had been made part of the window. Nothing but water was beneath me and it did give me a feeling of fear. Yet, it was so beautiful to look at. The sea rolled gently beneath the window, as if greeting me. I laughed out loud to myself.
    "Beautiful view, is it not?" I spun around to see Mitch wheeling up to me.
    "I-I didn't know anyone else was in here." I felt as if I had been caught looking completely insane laughing to myself. My face felt terribly hot was embarrassment.
    "Welcome to my haven, Phoenix. Nobody ever comes in here except for the servants that I allow to enter every morning to clean." He swept an arm out dramatically, a smile on his handsome face.
    "I'm sorry if I intruded into your private place, Mitch. I didn't know where I was going, and suddenly I ended up here." His smile was warm and welcoming.
    "No, it's all right. I don't mind you being in here, unless you have no appreciate for books. You see, after the lovely, mysterious Rachael left nobody ever used the library. By the time I was four years old, I knew how to read and this became my place. Rachael actually taught me to read. After she left, this place didn't quite seem the same." His smile became sad suddenly.
    "You knew her?" I was curious to know more about her. She seemed to be what had given this house life at one point in time. Why I knew, that I didn't understand. I just knew it.
    "Yes, for a brief while I did. She left only a couple years after my mother married your uncle. She was always depressed, unless she was with me. Though I heard, once she was not a sad beauty, but a fiery one. She had a passion for everything that she did. Then one day it was taken from her. Last time I saw her was in here. She was standing right where you are now; the sun was setting and I was five years old. She promised to come back and see me one day when I was grown up. I would always be her friend, she said." He sighed. "I believed her at the time, but not any longer. I don't look up expectantly every time the doorbell chimes throughout the house."
    "She was very motherly to you wasn't she?" This mystery cousin fascinated me. What had she been like?
    "Yes, more so than my mother was to me at the time. But according to some of the rumours I hear, she had lost a child in childbirth. It was only natural for her to take to me as she did." Suddenly I heard a gentle tapping on the door. Mitch and I both looked to the door just as Ella peeked in.
    "Oh, just the person I was looking for!" she exclaimed. "I had come in to ask Mitch if he'd seen you." Her smile, as always, was brilliant. "You look beautiful in the outfit. Come, let's go shopping!" she cried and left the room in a rather dramatic sweep.
    Mitch shook his head with a smile. "My mother, the drama queen," he said. "Have fun." He then wheeled himself out of my sight. He was rather fast on those wheels. And quiet. One minute he was there, the next he had all but disappeared. I quickly followed Ella's lead and left the library.

That day I was dragged in and out of so many shopping centres that I couldn't remember the names of any of them. But suddenly I was dressed in the most fashionable and expensive clothing that had ever touched my skin. All insisted on some make up, though I told her I probably wouldn't ever wear it. "Just for special occasions," she insisted. So I shrugged and went along.
    Along the way, she bought me not only nice pyjamas and nightgowns, make up, school clothes (for I would be going to regular high school here), but I was also fitted into five evening gowns. My favourite that was bought was a dark, wine red dress that reached my ankles. The top half was somewhat tight and it crisscrossed in the back and then swooped down in the front. It was tight until it reached my hips, where the skirt fell into thin, loose material that hung a little higher in the front than the back. Ella bought a pair of red heels to match. For once I actually liked the way something like that fit me. I didn't feel fat or ugly in it, but actually beautiful.
    The other four dresses were of similar styles; one was an elegant-looking, formfitting dark purple dress. I was afraid I'd never wear it, though. I had a little bit of a pudge in my lower stomach area and something like that, I just didn't feel comfortable in. I personally thought that Ella bought it because she liked it and hoped to wear it. I didn't care; nobody but Ella and the lady in the store would ever see it on me anyway. Then two of the dresses were black; one sparkled when in the light just right, and the other was made of velvet and was strapless with a full billowing skirt that touched mid-calf. The last of them was blue velvet and absolutely beautiful. Just like most of the other dresses, it had a full billowing skirt that fell to my ankles. The sleeves on it were made of silk and were thin and transparent. They hung loosely off of my shoulders. Then an extra cover of the transparent silk hung around the skirt. It dazzled me, that dress, my other favourite out of all five evening gowns.
    When we finally got home, it was only an hour before dinnertime. All of my things were taken to my room and hung up. I stood before my closet, just staring in awe of all of the clothes that were in there. Never in my life had I so many clothes. I wasn't sure if I'd ever even wear all of them!
    Tapping on my door shocked me, and before I could even go open it or tell the person to come in, my cousin Jenny thrust it open. She stood in front of me, her black eyes looking at me from head to toe. "Well, let me see what my mother got you," she demanded as she rushed over to stand beside me and go through my closet. "I must make sure all of your things are right for school and you won't embarrass me." She began pulling out clothes and holding them up to her. She raised her eyebrows to some of the clothes and scoffed at others.
    "Most of these will do, I'll even borrow some for myself," she said as she held up a nice black shirt and stared at herself in the full-length mirror. "Some I never want to even see on you, though."
    "I have awhile to worry about school," I said. I was scared to think about school. I hadn't been in regular school in so long, that the thought of actually going had my stomach in knots.
    "Summer flies by. Before you know it, you're hearing that oh-so-familiar, annoying bell ring, announcing your next class." She was still standing in front of my mirror, grabbing clothes from my closet and holding them up to her to see how they would look.
    "What is the school like?" I somehow knew not to trust Jenny, but I would be going to school with her. I needed to know what would be happening.
    "It's just the average public school." She turned to look at me then. "What, you've never been to school? You're supposed to be a junior, aren't you?"
    I nodded. "But, I haven't been to regular school since eighth grade because of my health."
    She smiled incredulously. "You've never been in a high school?" She raised her eyebrows, as she often did, I would soon find out, whenever she came up with an idea. Her smile, though luminous, was frightening. "The boys are going to have a blast with you," she laughed as she left my room. I didn't know what she meant at that point in time, but I would soon find out in September when school started.

Dinner was the same as it had been the night before. My great uncle barely uttered a word, my aunt and cousin babbled incessantly and Mitch was late. I would soon find out Mitch was always late because, in spite of his handicap, he had a room upstairs and had the hardest time getting down the stairs, even with a servant or two. I felt horrible for him, and the next night before dinner, I got dressed early and went down to his room.
    I knocked on the door softly and heard him holler, "Come in!" I pushed the door open and walked in. The room was very large and everything in the room was actually dark. The carpet was dark, blood red, and there was a large brown, almost black, rug in the middle of the room where the large, dark oak, four-poster bed sat. He was sitting before his mirror, just finishing dressing for dinner. He smiled when he saw my reflection in the mirror. He spun around.
    "May I help you?" he asked. I could smell the sweet, yet very male cologne drifting from him.
    "That depends on if you let me help you," I answered. He raised his eyebrows in question. He didn't have to ask before I was rambling off my answer. "I know you have a hard time getting downstairs, because the idiots in this family have put you in an upstairs room and yet expect you to be on time for dinner. So." I don't know why I was suddenly blushing, but I felt my face redden. "I have come to help you."
    His smiled broadened and lit up his blue eyes. "And what happens if you're late with me?" He was challenging me, telling me in his own way to back off because if I didn't, this family would treat me as they treated him.
    "Then that is my problem," I snapped.
    He laughed at my determination. "Then so be it," he said softly, his smile warm. "Well? Shall we sit here bantering back and forth or are we going down to the dining room?"
    Without a word, I stepped behind his wheelchair and began wheeling him down the hall to the stairs. One of the maids helped me as I helped him and his damned chair down the stairs. Oh, how difficult it was, but in the end, for the first time since his accident, Mitch was in the dining room on time. Everyone was shocked, but pretty soon dinner went on as it had the last two nights. As we all sat there, I looked over at Mitch, whose eyes I could feel on me, and smiled. There was no way around it. We were friends and would be for a long time. There wasn't any way I'd let him push me away. Besides, in a way we were both misfits. Especially in this family.

The next week seemed to fly right past me. Already I was annoyed by Jenny's spoiled, self-centred acts. I knew she didn't want me there. I was another female, the very same age as her, even though she was three months older. I had no intention of winning over her dear father, though over that first week, I caught him staring at me with the strangest look on his face. He always looked at me as if I were a ghost. Jenny didn't like the fact that she ever caught him looking at me, and often she would start her routine about something that she wanted, taking his attention immediately away from me.
    Jenny also liked to pull pranks on me. I didn't realise it was her putting gum in my hair, or pushpins in my shoes, or worms in my bed, at first. But one day I decided to follow her when I thought she was looking a little suspicious. I followed her straight into my room where I saw her dump a whole thing of what looked like red fruit punch all over three of my white shirts. I watched her do it and she didn't even notice me there until she turned from the closet and saw me standing there, my hands on my hips.
    "Isn't even safe for me to ask what in God's name you're doing?" I felt the anger growling deep within me, so much anger that I couldn't even yell.
    To my surprise she had the audacity to smile. "I'm making your life a living hell. But don't worry, this is just the beginning of it."
    "The beginning? Why would you even want to do the things you've been doing to me over the past week? What is your problem?" I demanded.
    "I don't like you. Nothing personal, really. It's just that your goody two shoes act annoys me." With that, she left my room, not allowing me another word in. My blood was boiling. I grabbed my shirts and stomped down the halls and to the study where I knew my uncle often sat after dinner.
    His head shot up as I slammed into the room, not caring to walk in or knock softly as I had been taught to do by Ella. "It is rude to enter a room without knocking," he growled.
    "Look at what your precious, spoiled daughter did to three of my brand new shirts," I growled back, thrusting the shirts out at him. I had learned long ago not to be afraid of anyone in my family. I had put up with my father, I could certainly put up with his uncle.
    "Is that it?" He looked at me as if I had gone completely insane.
    "No!" Then I began rambling off all of the things she'd been doing for the past week. "And I'm dead tired of waking up with gum in my hair!" I finished. I felt like tearing out my hair because of the look on his face.
    "Do you have proof Jenny even did any of this stuff? I don't know you, you might just be trying to get her into trouble and doing these things yourself." He was in complete denial about his daughter's guilt!
    I let out a frustrated cry. "I watched her pour bright red fruit juice on my brand new shirts! I haven't even worn them yet!"
    "I'll just have Ella buy you new shirts, no big deal," he said as he settled back down into his chair and held up the newspaper. "Now get out of here. I don't want to listen to you slander my angel's name any longer."
    "Angel?" I cried incredulously. "You call that monster an angel?" I couldn't believe my own ears. My cousin was no angel. She was definitely a devil.
    Before he had time to reply, I felt someone grab my arm and yank me out of the room. I was thrust into Mitch's lap as the door slammed shut. I was shocked at first, and then realised what had happened. I shot up from my sitting position and spun around. "What's wrong with you?" he demanded before I could even say anything to him. "Are you so hot tempered that you don't even know when to shut up? I know my stepfather, Phoenix, and he is a dangerous man. I suggest you do not make accusations about my sister, whether they are true or not. He'll never believe them."
    "Hot tempered?" I felt like beating someone and if that someone had to be Mitch, so be it! "I watched your sister ruin three of my brand new shirts." Suddenly my shoulders fell. I was fighting for nothing. Shirts could be replaced and I just had to make sure to lock my door and keep her from ever going in it.
    Which is exactly what Mitch said as he turned his wheelchair and began making his way toward the garden, where he spent his evenings until he went to bed each night. "It's pointless to argue with him, Phoenix. The Parish blood keeps him from listening to anything he doesn't want to hear." He smiled at me then, a smile so charming any other girl would swoon. Even I was won over by that sweet, warm smile. "I'm sure you know all about that, though, Phoenix," he laughed. "Come on, let's go take a walk in the garden." I didn't even correct him. We both knew I would walk and push him through the mazes of flowers. Why even voice it?
    The summer night was cool, and sounds of the ocean were faint where we stood. As we drifted farther into the garden, the scent of the sea wafted up and the sounds became louder. There was something calming about it. I felt my nerves relax. Already I had been in this place a week, and already my emotions were on edge. Was there any place on earth where things in my life wouldn't be so emotionally draining? I had a feeling the answer was no.
    Mitch and I barely said a word to each other as I pushed him through the garden. There wasn't much to say. All in all, it was nice just being in the company of someone you felt comfortable with. At least part of my family didn't hate me in some way, I thought bitterly. My mother's younger cousin seemed to be the only one who actually cared about my thoughts and feelings. I was glad for that, but why couldn't my family just be normal? Why couldn't I have a good, loving family where little things were dealt with quickly and lies were only myths? I suppose that lying was part of every family, and my dream of such a family without them was the true myth.
    It seemed as if I was doomed to forever live with a family that could hardly stand me. I seemed to remind Ella of her long-lost friend, and it was becoming painfully clear that my presence bothered not only her, but my great-uncle as well. Everyone knew how Jenny felt about me. Her hatred wasn't something she hid from me. She was more than willing to tell me how much she hated me. It was no better here than it had been living with my parents and siblings. I wasn't worth much to either family.
    Not that Ella was ever mean to me. No, that wasn't true at all. She was very kind to me, unless a fight broke out amongst Jenny and myself, and then she always took Jenny's side. Mitch said that was because she felt it was her duty to stand up for Jenny. Mitch also said that it was clear that his mother favoured me over Jenny because I reminded her of the mysterious Rachael. She just couldn't stand by my side when Jenny and I were battling one another, which we seemed to do often enough. Before I knew it, a whole month had past and Jenny and I had been in more fights than Celeste and I had ever been in.
    I decided, finally, one day, that I had to confront Ella about Jenny's behaviour. I walked into the garden and zigzagged my way through the flowers until I found my spot at the clearing. The clearing there was hidden for a good reason. It was there for Ella and Jenny to go tanning, either nude or with bathing suits on. Already I was used to the lack of modesty Ella had. I was used to seeing her nude and didn't care if she was sprawled out in a lawn chair completely naked.
    "Ella," I began, sitting at the table, under the giant umbrella. There was a pitcher of lemonade and an extra glass, for anyone who joined her, sitting at the table. "We need to talk about Jenny."
    It was almost humorous, the fact that the only thing she was wearing were sunglasses, from which she peered over at me. "What has my trouble making daughter done this time?" she asked.
    "Nothing as of right now." I crossed my left leg over my right one and cradled my chin in my right hand. "But I don't want her to do anything! Ella, there has to be some way you can keep her from pestering me all of the time. Hasn't she ever been disciplined?"
    She sighed and lay back, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. "Of course not. My daughter? Disciplined? HA! That child doesn't even understand the word. Mitch does, but never Jenny. I've never had a hand in Jenny's upbringing. I've always been her friend rather than her mother. If I dared to discipline her in any way he attacked me for it so I never did it. Funny thing is, he was much harder on Rachael."
    Ella always brought up Rachael when I talked to her. She compared every female she knew to the mysterious young woman, who was beginning to annoy me. Hearing about how beautiful and wonderful she was irritated me. Sometimes I wanted to shoot Ella for saying that damned name.
    "I'm not worried about how tough he was on Rachael. I'm tired of being treated badly by Jenny and my adoring great-uncle. I've never done anything to either of them, Ella. Please, talk to him, do something!" I was begging now. I was tired of finding my clothing ruined and tacks in my shoes and gum in my hair when I woke up in the mornings. Her childish pranks were grating on my nerves, and I was close to blowing up.
    She sighed again, shaking her head back and forth and rising from her chair. She walked toward me and poured more lemonade in the glass she held in her hand. She lifted her lavender silk robe from where it lay across the table and wrapped it around her slender, perfect body. Any woman would kill to have that sort of perfection, especially at that age, naturally. As far as I knew, Ella had never had any plastic surgery. Her beauty came right from birth.
    "If I could do something to put a stop to my daughter's tormenting you, Phoenix, I would. But there is simply nothing I can do. You know who runs the house around here." She seemed almost sad. I didn't really know the reasons for why she was married to a man that she didn't really care for. I knew there was a lot about this family I didn't know, a lot I was interested in knowing, but too scared to ask about. I knew that Ella was my mother's cousin and her husband was my father's uncle. How did these two families become connected like this when Ella wasn't much older than Mama, maybe a year or two older at the most. It confused me, but I didn't bother asking, for I feared what kind of pain, what kind of sheer agony, bringing up the past would bring to the people who had lived it.
    When I left Ella there, I knew she was completely right. There was simply nothing that she could do about Jenny. If she even tried, Jenny would run to her father and all hell would break loose, and I would be at fault again for starting trouble. Mitch had told me my uncle wouldn't throw me out, but something told me he was dead wrong. If I irritated Jenny enough, my dear great-uncle just might throw me out, and then where would I go? Could I ever face that family back there again? I didn't want to, that was for certain.
    I wasn't quite sure what was about to happen in this family. I was expecting Mama would be here within the next month or so to have Damian's baby. Maybe I'd feel more comfortable with somebody from my past back here. But the thought that Mama just might be different here in the world she'd been brought up in than she was back at home made me pause. Would she be different? Or could I confide in her? Why would I even want to when I didn't even trust her? I had never confided in her, really, before. Yet, this was different. Here I had only my crippled cousin to confide in and, sometimes, I didn't want his too wise advice. I just wanted to rant and rave and pretty much be ignored. Mitch never ignored what I said, though. He merely analysed my feelings and tried to help me out. I felt bad for being angry with him for that. All he wanted to do was be my friend and help me out with all of my mixed emotions. But still, I wanted to just go off on somebody, and I could never stay angry enough to actually go on a rampage when he was there. His friendly, heart-warming, sympathetic smile always stopped me dead in my tracks.
    As I walked and thought more about it, I decided that whatever happened would happen. There was no way of preventing the inevitable, whether it was good or bad. So, why worry over it? Yet, even while I thought that, my thoughts drifted back to their normal gloom and doom. There were many reasons to worry about it. Many! Why not worry about what was to come? I knew that I was rightfully scared; I always trusted my instinctive feelings. The inevitable, new drama in my life was about to begin. The question was; was I really ever going to be ready for it?

Phoenix Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Epilogue

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