Chapter 11 #3
I clicked send, content with my message, then added, Thank you for such a good couple of days .
Simple. Polite. Perfect. I set down the phone, but it lit up a second later.
The text from Barrett was only one word. Alatheia?
Before I could answer him, Phoenix messaged. Yes. I bought her a phone. Seemed the easiest way to handle the problem.
Julian was almost immediately next. Really?
Jeremy. Awesome.
A new chat opened with just Jeremy in it, so I tapped it to read, I’m so sorry I was such an ass. I make light of things sometimes. Like, if it all works out okay in the end, why dwell on the details? I’ve had to be that way, but it’s not okay. He took your wallet and scared you.
Tears threatened, and I clutched the phone hard. His apology rang more sincerely than Phoenix’s. What had he said to me? Oh that was right. Jeremy put his foot in his mouth. He wasn’t wrong.
It’s okay. I’m obviously not normal. If you want, we can put this to bed. I’ll leave the phone for Phoenix to come pick up and say goodbye now.
The other conversation had continued, but I missed a bunch of messages while in the separate chat. All I could see at first was Julian’s question on the bottom. What do you think, Alatheia?
Before I could reply or scroll up to see what he meant, Jeremy popped back up. Don’t do that. No Goodbyes. We’re all at Granny’s. Come down. And answer Julian.
Semi-confused, I went back to the other message.
What could Julian want? I scanned through the chat to catch up.
One of Barrett’s former classmates was having an art show, and they wanted me to go with them.
It wouldn’t be my first gallery visit. Sometimes, my Chicago aunt liked to attend them, until she realized I wasn’t cute nor skilled at public events.
I remembered when she told me specifically I outgrew my cuteness.
Despite that, I did like the art. You sure?
Come. Barrett answered. At least come down so we can convince you in person .
I’ll be there in a minute .
I decided not to go too crazy with the wardrobe. I tugged on a simple pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. I braided my hair, tugging the mass of it out of my face, but allowing a few tendrils to curl free before I slipped on a pair of silver earrings. My favorite sneakers finished off the outfit.
I paused, hand on the doorknob, not sure whether or not I should tell my aunt I planned to leave.
She’d told me to go, but I stopped before I made it to the door as it opened before I could touch it.
My uncle appeared, surprising me as much as I surprised him.
He stared at me for a second before he nodded and passed by me.
What is the state of their marriage? Should I even want to know?
I contemplated it the whole way down to their granny’s apartment. As soon as I knocked, though, Julian flung open the door and tugged me into a hug.
“Sorry,” he said as he squeezed me. “I don’t think any of us realized you were really upset. We’re all kind of used to Phoenix.”
A laugh sounded in the distance. “Thanks,” the person in question said, and I recognized Phoenix’s voice.
“Well, it’s true.” Julian shrugged.
Jeremy pulled me free from Julian’s arms to give me another hug, his scent enveloping me. “I was the worst, outside of Phoenix. I’m sorry.”
“I’m always the worst,” Phoenix spoke again. He looked down at his phone, not at any of us, but for some reason, my gaze kept straying to him.
Barrett sat next to him on the couch. He held out a hand toward me in offer, so I took it, allowing him to tug me close until I sat in his lap. So easy. It should have been awkward . Instead, I melted into his arms as if I found my way home.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered in my ear. “It was supposed to be a great day. Instead, it was just fucked up.”
I leaned into him, reveling in his scent as Phoenix said, “I tried to apologize, and she didn’t take it from me. But I tried.”
“Thanks for getting her the phone,” Barrett said then sighed, his arms tightening around me. “I didn’t think to try.”
Abruptly, the inappropriateness of my position occurred to me, so I stood. “Where is your gran?”
Phoenix glanced up at me, his eyes locked with mine. “She’s out with her friends. They play poker every Saturday night.”
His dark circles spoke of pain, and my soul yearned to ease that exhaustion.
I recognized them, oddly enough. My mother always looked like Phoenix, her gaze worn.
I tilted my head, finding it interesting that I’d forgotten it about her.
Why did she look so tired? Was it just the poverty?
Her family had tons of money she could’ve so easily accessed, so why were there still so many questions?
And what was wrong with Phoenix? My hand itched to touch his face, to smooth across his brow.
I shifted from foot to foot in annoyance. I wasn’t going to ask him. Not now, anyway .
“We were just going to have some food delivered before you texted. You can order with us then we’ll go see Lily’s show.”
Lily—his school friend, the artist?
Phoenix finally glanced up from his phone. “Sushi. I want sushi. We’ll go out for that. Come on.” He stood easily, unfolding his length and towering over his brothers despite being younger. “You guys know it’s better when we eat it there.”
“He’s not wrong.” Julian nodded. “That okay with you, Alatheia?”
My stomach rumbled, but I didn’t confess I loved it. “Sure.”
I didn’t want to go back home, that was for sure.
Phoenix rose, sliding his phone into his back pocket. “Oh, guys, The Poor Relation released. Did you see we got a new episode?”
My stomach clenched, my eyes widening so I kept my gaze down. He watched it? Did they all? Did they somehow … know?
I cleared my throat, asking casually, “You guys like Poor Relation ? You all like it?”
Barrett grinned at me. “ The Poor Relation is one of the few things we all agree about.”
I forced a smile, though my thoughts still swirled with unease. Barrett’s grin was reassuring, but the worry gnawed at me. What if they noticed my reaction? What if they knew I was the creator? Paranoia made my hands shake.
Phoenix must have sensed my tension, even if he didn’t know what caused it.
He lifted an eyebrow in the way I was starting to think of as the Lent eyebrow raise.
I forced myself not to jerk in reaction.
“Come on, Alatheia, let’s just focus on the sushi tonight.
The Poor Relation can wait. We can all watch it together later, since I can see you are now a part of their lives. ”
I ignored the last part of his statement, since I was pretty sure he was trying to be rude, and I’d already decided that sometimes I would just ignore Phoenix.
“Sushi sounds perfect.” They intended to watch it in front of me later?
I wondered if I could escape, not sure if my nerves could handle reactions from viewers in real time.
As we stepped out into the cool evening air, the city lights flickered around us, casting a comforting glow as the breeze tossed my stray curls.
Oddly, instead of feeling foreign and strange, the city seemed familiar, its chatter welcoming with the noise and the promise of delicious food.
I shook my head, amused at myself. It wasn’t like I could fit in quite that quickly, and I only even ventured into the city with them a few days ago.
Julian linked arms with me, the touch shockingly personal for a second until I adjusted. “Thank you for forgiving us. The next time Phoenix scares you, I promise to handle it appropriately.”
“Maybe he won’t scare me again.” One can always hope.
“Oh, I will,” Phoenix promised then laughed. “I scare everyone. It’s what I do. Come on, Barrett, are you calling a car or should I?”
Julian laughed. “You know he already has one.”
Barrett held up his phone. “If one of you three wants to start behaving like an adult, you can call it.”
“We do,” Jeremy came up next to me, kissing my cheek. “When you’re not around. But you have always been the default grown up in our little group.”
He groaned and Jeremy pressed his nose against my hair. “You smell so good.”
“You really do.” Julian whispered, from the other side, frying my ability to think. “I didn’t expect this.”
“Do I usually smell bad?” I tried to ignore the breathlessness of my own tone, focusing on the attempted joke.
Only Phoenix got it, laughing as he threw his head back. “Well done.”
The car pulled up then, so we all climbed inside, Phoenix making his way to the very back and Barrett taking the front.
My head started to swim. What is happening tonight? I rubbed at my eyes and squirmed. “Guys … this is … nuts.”
Barrett turned around to grin at me. “We know. Trust me.”
“Actually …” Phoenix laughed. “Currently I am the sanest person in this car. My friend Jo is meeting me outside, so I’ll meet you guys in there.”
Julian sighed, his expression dark. “Great. Jo. My favorite person.”
“Jo is going to want to avoid me, or else I might beat his ass.” Jeremy looked out the window and Phoenix laughed. The sound didn’t hold any amusement.
Phoenix admitted, “I fuck up all on my own. It isn’t Jo’s fault.”
Julian glanced over his shoulder, his expression stern. “He doesn’t help.”
I looked between them. “I’m missing something?
” Usually, I wouldn’t mind missing out on their family dynamics, but since it involved me, I felt compelled to say more.
“Listen, I have a hard time trusting people. Today probably didn’t have to get so out of hand.
That’s on me. But … I still have to genuinely ask, are you all going to turn on me and then make fun of me in some public way?
Because, if that is your goal, I would rather not play along. ”
Despite the fact I previously asked a version of the question before, Phoenix made it all different. I didn’t know them with Phoenix added as an unknown factor.