A Brand New Ending

Chapter 64

Phoenix



I inhale the crisp, clean air, my brain barely remembering that it once breathed this fresh air. Grasping the very little amount of food I have left I walk away from the bus, my body still not sure that I am actually here. As I walk through the streets of the small town I swear that nothing has changed, even down to the fliers on the windows. Memories of my time here take hold of my mind, seeming as though every inch of this place has one. Memories of my father.

Somehow my feet carry me on, my memory guiding me to where I knew I wanted to be all along. I don't know what to expect. What if a family lives there now? With the turn of a corner my eyes lay upon it. My feet move the rest of the distance and before I know it I am on the front lawn. Or where the front lawn used to be. In its place are weeds as tall as me. Bushes that were once strategically placed have now over grown, their branches climbing up the walls of the house. The paint on it is dull and cracked and it reminds me of a haunted house and not the home I once loved. I look around to see if there is anyone watching and when the coast is clear I walk around back, happy to see the tree still standing near what was once my bedroom window. Swinging my leg up I climb onto the first branch, pushing my weak body up until I reach the window level. When I do I sit there staring at it, the glass so dirty that I can't peer inside. I remember that the lock on this particular window always got stuck. Reaching my fingers out I jiggle the window and after a few forceful slams I hear it unlock, the window going up with ease.

Shoving my front end in first I tumble to the floor, a large scream leaving my throat. When I regain my composure I look around and amazed at what I see. Everything in my room is in its place. It is exactly how I remembered it. But everything is covered in white cloths. And just like that, my body heaves into crying and my head falls into my hands.

"What the hell am I doing here?" I mutter to myself.

After a few more minutes of crying I pick myself up off the floor, wiping the tears away from my face. My mind still doesn't believe that I am actually here. Leaving my bedroom I walk down the hallway and the sight before me almost causes me to breakdown again.

Rubbing my hand over each picture that is hung against the wall, I expose a new year of school pictures. My dad always hung the new one up every year, all of them in sequential order. I smile for a moment at the pictures of me when I was young, my hair more blonde, and my front two teeth missing. I try to think about, try to remember when I was that girl, but there is little to no recollection of it. Elaina and Carl stole that girl from this world. There is nothing left of her.

Making my way further downstairs I am somehow still amazed that mostly everything is in its place. It's as though I could close my eyes and envision my father coming down the stairs. But that won't be happening. But why is everything still here?

Walking over to the couch I pull off the sheet, it creating a cloud of dust in the air, it making me cough excessively. Lying down upon it I realize how exhausted my body still is. I feel as though I could sleep for decades. And just as I suspected, I fall asleep quickly.

~

"Phoenix!" his voice calls out for me, a sense of panic in the tone.

Slamming my brush down I pull open the bathroom door, flying down stairs in seconds. On the floor of the kitchen is my father, his body crumbled onto the ground.

"Dad?" I cry out.

Next to him is a shattered plate, food scattered all around him. I fly to his side and hook my arms under him, trying everything to help lift him but he is too heavy. Tears started to flow down my cheek and I try to stop them but I can't.

"I'm fine," he says softly, his breathing labored.

"I'll be right back," I say, pushing myself away from him and bound out the front steps to the house next door.

I bang on the door repeatedly, waiting for someone to answer. Soon after the door flies open, an older woman looks down at me, her eyes wide.

"Phoenix? What are you doing out here alone?" she asks.

"My dad fell down and I can't get him back up," I utter through heaves of my chest.

"Mitchell!" she screams and the three of us bound down the steps and back to my house.

When we reach him there is even less color in his face and I start to cry again. I bury my face into the wall, it all too much for me the watch. When they get him in the chair I peer out again, a small smile on my father's face.

"I'm fine, sweetie," he says, his breath short. His arms spread out towards me. I bound off the wall and slam my body into him, smelling his musky scent.

"You alright?" I hear Mitchell ask.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he huffs, his arms still around me, my hand stroking the back of my head.

"Don't leave me," I cry out.

I pull back from him, my vision blurry from the tears.

"I could never leave you, kiddo," he says. "As long as I am in here." He points to my heart.

~

I am startled awake by a loud banging on the door and I realize that the house is completely dark, a small amount of light being emanated by the street lights. I panic, my heart racing. A small part of me hopes that it is Braeden, but I know it won't be. No one knows where I am.

I walk to the front door and place my ear upon it. Reaching up on my tippy toes I peer through the peephole, seeing no figure in front of me, but instead there are red and blue flashing lights. I muffle a shriek. There is another loud knock on the door and my whole body jumps. I almost think about bolting out the back door but I quickly push aside that. There is nowhere else to go.

"I know that someone is in there," the voice calls out. "The neighbors claim they've seen movement."

Swallowing my fears I wrap my fingers around the door knob, the coolness of the metal pressed against my clammy skin. I pull open the door a few inches, a tall figure looking down upon me. He lifts up his flashlight, the bright light hurting my eyes. I become effectively blind for a moment but I can tell that the figure has not moved.

"Phoenix?" the voice calls out, it sending a chill down my spine.

I remain frozen, my body trying to connect that voice. I know that voice. He lowers the light and small dots dance their way across my vision, his full form coming into view slowly. I stare at him.

"Do I know you?" I ask nervously, ashamed that I can't remember.

I see him clutch his chest, the fast movement scaring me.

"I'm hurt that you don't remember me," he responds. "You used to spend a lot of time at my house."

And then it clicks.

"Tate?" I shout, my eyes widening.

"At your service." He smiles, tipping his hat.

We both fall silent for a second.

"Since when did you become a cop?" I blurt out.

He laughs lightly.

"That's a long story. Maybe if you let me in I can tell you."

A flash of panic goes through me; the idea of me alone with a strange man terrifies me. Tate would never hurt anyone… let alone me. Listening to my gut I push the door open, allowing him to enter.

"Thanks," he says, taking off his hat. "It's pretty cold out there."

He looks around the living room, realizing it's completely dark. I begin to get nervous. Was he here to arrest me? Kick me out? His eyes find mine again and I swear that he can hear my heart beating in my chest.

"We really missed you around here," he says, his face serious.

Tate was my best friend Hannah's big brother. He was only a few years older than us. We spent a lot of time at each other's house and Tate was always nice to us. He wasn't the typical older brother that ignores his younger sister. His whole family was my second family. Another thing I lost when Elaina took me.

I push back the tears trying to fall. He walks over to the kitchen as flicks on the light, the room illuminating. I stare at it like I've never seen electricity before. He notices.

"Did you not try to turn on the lights?" he asks.

I shake my head.

"I figured it would have been shut off. It's been…years," I utter. I turn to face him, my mind curious. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." He smiles.

"Why is it still here?"

His eyebrows furrow.

"What do you mean?"

I swallow before speaking again. "My father died, I…left." More like taken.

He shrugs. "I don't know," he admits. "There was some complication about the land after your father's death, plus I don't think anyone in this town would let them touch it. Your father was very important to this town."

My vision becomes blurred and silent tears start to fall down my cheeks. He takes a step forward and his fingers find my cheek, wiping them away.

"What happened to you, Phoenix?" he asks.

I laugh a little. "That's a long story."

"I've got nothing but time," he responds. "It's not like much happens in this town, you're the first call I've had all night."