Chapter 7

Phoenix and I sit at the beach until the sun rises, talking mainly about books and my family, and slowly like the night sky, the high wears off and has faded by the time the sun has risen above the horizon.

I lift my head off his lap and start to pull his jersey of my body. He stops me before I can fully take it off.

"Keep it. It will be your memento to remember me by."

We walk up to the car together, our hands close enough to rub against each other. He opens the car door for me and closes it gently once I am settled into the passenger seat.

"Phoenix?"

"Yes?" he replies while starting the car. He turns to look at me.

"We've just spent the night together and I hardly know anything about you. But you listened to me when I vented about my family, not judging, and I can't quite tell why you're so interested in me but I love the way I feel around you. I feel comforted."

He holds my face in his hands and leans in to kiss me.

We pull out of the parking spot and head home in the quietness of the morning.

**

When we get home, my car is still parked in the driveway as I had left it the day before.

"Thanks again," I say to Phoenix as I open the door.

"I have therapy this afternoon, I can fetch you later if you want to see your mother."

"Yeah, that would be nice thanks."

I want to ask him why he's seeing a therapist, but I don't want to seem like I am intruding on his personal issues, so I get out of his car and walk to the house.

I enter the house expecting to find my father sitting at the table as he normally does. He's not there and the house is strangely silent.

"Dad?" I shout.

No response.

I go upstairs and see Charles' bedroom door open. The last time I went into his room, he was still alive and I am still not ready to enter it.

I go into my room and get ready to go and take a shower.

After my long and hot shower, the tiredness kicks in and I remember that I have not slept in a while. I throw myself onto the bed and I doze off.

***

I get woken up by a hooter at the gate. I walk to my window and look outside. It's Phoenix. I smile, genuinely happy to see him again.

I quickly get dressed and walk downstairs. My dad is sitting silently at the table again.

"Who's the boy?"

His voice echoes throughout the whole room.

"It's Phoenix."

He stands up and walks towards me, with his glass still in hand.

"Where is he from?"

"I don't know," I stutter. He has a menacing look on his face that makes me feel uneasy.

"So you're not coming home at night, driving around with a boy you know nothing about?"

He puts his glass down on the counter.

"He's a good person dad, I..."

I don't finish my sentence before his hand lands on my face with a force that throws off my balance and sends me flying towards the ground. I hit my face on the wall on the way down. There's a sharp pain my nose and I can feel warm drops of blood dripping from it. My eyes start watering from the pain.

"Let this be the last time I see that car parked outside my house."

He picks up his glass and goes upstairs.

I feel a mix of emotions from disbelief and confusion to anger. I stagger to my feet, still feeling drowsy from the impact. I wipe my nose on my jacket sleeve and walk down to Phoenix's car. He opens his car door and gets out of the car as I walk towards him.

"Maya, are you okay?"

"Can we go."

"Your nose is bleeding."

"I just had a fight with my dad."

"And he hit you?" his face changes from concern to anger.

"Phoenix I just want to get out...I want to get out of here." Tears roll down my face as I fully take in what just happened. "I need to see my mother and I will be okay."