Phoenix Awakens: A Young Adult Paranormal Romance (The Phoenix Book 1)

by Eliza Nolan

  I sighed and took the phone off mute. "Dad, can I bring a friend home for dinner?"

  "Sure." His voice relaxed slightly. He was always too eager to meet my friends. "Are you bringing Clara?"

  "No, her brother, Graham," I said. I blushed as I said it because I knew what was coming next.

  "Oh." His voice danced with excitement. "You're bringing home a boy," he said in a half-mocking tone. This was going to be such a painful evening. "You won't be allowed in your room while he's there," he said.

  "I know."

  "Great. See you tonight."

  Yeah. Great.

  I hung up and looked at Graham. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Dad had so many ways to embarrass me. I had to remember to hide the photo albums. My stomach turned.

  "Your dad and I will get along fine. There's nothing to worry about."

  "You don't know my dad. He's not the same person who helped you when you were sick the other day. He'll make us feel awkward by making stupid jokes and telling you stories that I don't want you to hear."

  "Sounds like a normal father to me," Graham said. His lips tugged up on the sides into a wry grin.

  I whimpered. But what else could I do? I really didn't want to be alone.

  Graham drove us to my house, and we camped out on the living room couch and settled in to watch some television before Dad got home.

  Godzilla had just started and I snuggled into Graham. He put his arm around me and I linked our fingers together in front of me. I ran my other hand down his bicep, his white short-sleeve shirt hinting at his toned muscles, and onto his forearm. Even that was muscular and I prodded it to see how hard it was. Very. I glanced at Graham's face. He was smiling, but his eyes remained fixed on the TV.

  His skin was slightly tan and smooth. I traced my fingers up the inside of his arm. I tried to push his sleeve up over his bicep but he winced in pain.

  "What is it?" I said.

  "I don't know."

  "Your arm's really red." I gently pulled his sleeve up to fully expose the Phoenix tattoo and gasped. The bird on his arm had gone from a monochrome black outline to a fantastically bright, burning red.

  He looked down and instantly sat up straighter. "Shit," he whispered.

  I was used to guys swearing, but it sounded positively wrong coming from Graham. He was always so well-mannered and in control.

  "It's changing colors again." He ran his fingers through his hair.

  "What do you mean changing colors, again?"

  "A few weeks ago it changed to orange. We don't know how it does it. It happened to all the other guys' tattoos, too. That and the migraines both seem to be some sort of sign we're approaching the next level."

  Gravel crunched under tires out on the driveway. Dad was home. Discussion ended. Graham pulled his sleeve down and threw on his sweatshirt as Dad's key clicked in the front door.

  "Hey, Julia. Graham," Dad said as he entered.

  Graham rose from the couch and stood up straight, almost like a soldier to attention. "Hello, sir." It seemed overly polite; must've been a Southern thing.

  They shook hands. "It's great to see you again, Graham." Dad smiled. Great. Off he went, being so nice and understanding to everyone that wasn't…me. "I hope you're feeling better than the last time I saw you."

  "Much. And thanks for your help that night." Graham bowed his head briefly.

  "Are you kidding?" Dad set down his briefcase. "My brother got migraines when he was about your age. I know how bad they can be. I'm just glad Julia had the good sense to bring you inside instead of letting you drive home."

  "Well, I really appreciated it, sir. Thank you."

  "Sure, sure." Dad loosened his tie. "Listen, you guys finish up your movie; I'll go get dinner started." He headed to the kitchen.

  Graham spent most of dinner charming Dad. It looked like they were going to get along well. I grumpily added Graham to the long list of people Dad could get along with better than me.

  When dinner was finally over and we'd helped Dad with the dishes, at Graham's insistence, we sat down on the couch to watch another movie. My father went up to his room to give us some space, but sound travelled in the house. His door would be open, he'd be keeping his ears focused on us.

  So no point discussing the tattoo. Even if we lowered our voices, Dad would get suspicious and come down to check on us. I sighed and flicked through the options, finally settling on an 80s movie. Holding hands, we settled down to watch. But, not being able to talk about the Phoenixes just made my brain explode with more questions. My eyes watched the movie, but my brain was definitely elsewhere.

  Dad came back downstairs when the movie was over. "Looks like it's about time you got home, Graham." It was only nine o'clock, but there was no way I would be able to talk Dad into letting Graham stay later.

  Graham and I got up and exchanged a G-rated hug. "Bye," I said.

  "See you tomorrow." He turned to Dad. "Thanks for dinner, Mr. Long, it was wonderful." They shook hands and we both walked him to the door.

  Dad closed the door behind him and smiled at me. "He's nice. Where'd you say he was from?"

  "Charleston."

  My father's smile fell as he looked out the window at Graham. Then he shuffled over to the living room and eased himself onto the couch. "Charleston, South Carolina?"

  "Yeah."

  The color drained from his face.

  What did I say? He looked floored, like a house full of stress had just been pumped into him. "Dad? Charleston? What's wrong with Charleston?"

  "It's been so long, and Charleston is a big place." He stared at the living room carpet, eyes open wide. "Still, maybe it's time for me to tell you about your mother." He took a deep breath and blew it out. "I've been trying to protect you for a long time, by holding things from you. I thought it would keep you safe."

  I sat down in the stuffed chair across from him. Dad was offering up info about Mom. But how the heck was Charleston involved?

  "I told you I was from Atlanta and that I met your mother here in Minneapolis." He sighed and ran his hand over the back of his neck. "That's not true. Your mother and I met in Charleston, the city where I was born and raised - as was my father, and my father's father, and so on."

  "Bluebloods?" I said, getting a chill. That's what Graham called the original Charleston families. But why would Dad keep that from me?

  "Exactly. Your mother was going to school at the College of Charleston with my younger brother, Connor. He introduced us. Connor found it amusing whenever I displeased our father, which was easy for me to do since he was so traditional. Dad expected me to marry one of his friends' daughters and continue life as he'd lived."

  Dad raked his hand through his hair. "Instead, I fell in love with your mother - who was not only not a blueblood, but even worse, a foreigner. I fell out of good graces with my father, and Connor became Dad's new favorite.

  "But my brother wasn't done tormenting us. Connor and his friends harassed your mother at school and at her work. Then, one night, they broke into our apartment and tried to kidnap Natalie." His voice caught as he spoke Mom's name, something he rarely did. "The only thing that saved her was that one of our neighbors heard us yelling and came over with a shot gun. That scared them off." Dad paused and looked up at me. His eyes were distant, lost in the past. I waited, allowing him to return to the present.

  "So you called the police?" I suggested.

  He shook his head. "There was no point. The police left families like ours alone. The only thing to do was to go to my father and ask him to control Connor, which I did. But my father refused to recognize my brother had done anything wrong. He said I'd made it up just to get Connor in trouble. So that was it. There was nothing we could do except leave town."

  Dad's eyes searched the ground again before he continued. "Your mother had a contact who created new identities for us. She knew someone else who found us jobs and a place to live in Minneapolis. We lived here together for four years undisturbed. A
nd then one day, about a year after you were born, your mother sent me to the store with you to…" Redness spread up Dad's neck and cheeks. His voice faded as his breathing deepened. "…to get milk…

  "…I should show you." He got up from the couch and headed towards the stairs. "I'll be right back." He went up the steps and the floorboards creaked as he stepped into his room.

  I twisted a lock of my hair around my fingers as I considered all the new information. Where was all this coming from? Dad had a brother? I thought he was an only child and his parents had died. And holy crap, I was half Blueblood?

  When Dad came back downstairs, he held a folded-up piece of paper. He stood in front of me, just looking at it for a moment. "When we came home, your mother was gone. She'd left this." He handed the worn piece of paper to me.

  I gently unfolded it. Eager to read something from my own mother.

  Dan,

  Please forgive me. I thought I would be able to outrun them and keep everyone safe.

  Keep our Julia away from all this. Keep her safe.

  I love you both.

  ~Natalie

  I traced her signature with my finger.

  I read the letter to myself again. "Keep me safe from what?"

  "I don't know. At the time, I thought it might be my family, but I hired someone to check on them, and they were as clueless as ever about where we'd gone. Over the years, I've had more than enough time to think about it. It was so easy for her to get us new identities. It was so easy for her to relocate. Almost as if she'd done it before. But that's as far as I get. I don't have anything else that could give me a clue as to what she was really running from."

  "Is that why you never let me out? Because you think your brother or some other unknown creep will try to kidnap me? Why didn't you tell me all this? Maybe I wouldn't have resented you for being so overprotective."

  "I didn't want to scare you. You're my daughter, my baby girl. Parents don't tell their children about scary things like this."

  It felt like betrayal, Dad keeping all this from me. "I need to be alone." I got up and went to my room, closing the door, leaning against it.

  My mind was blown. All the new information about who my mom was, who Dad was. I had no idea how much stuff he'd been keeping from me. Was Long even his real last name? If it wasn't, what did that mean about who I was? I pulled my mother's necklace out from under my shirt, rolling the stone between my thumb and forefinger. What was my mom in to? I examined her photo, searching for any hint of a secret life, but her face smiled back at me, the same as it always had.

  Why was Dad so worried about Graham being from Charleston? His brother and the Phoenixes couldn't be connected, Charleston wasn't that small. Besides, Graham and Clara were from here, originally, and Graham said the Bluebloods wouldn't even talk to him.

  I changed into my pajamas, casting my shirt and jeans on the floor.

  The small pile of laundry I'd started in a corner had grown to cover a large portion of the room and threatened to swallow my bed whole. I filled my arms with as many dirty clothes as I could carry and walked to my closet where I kept my hamper.

  As I opened the door, I froze, dropping the pile where I stood.

  Just outside the closet window was a dark, hooded figure. I did the only thing I could think to do; I dropped to the floor hoping the person hadn't seen me.

  What if it was the guy Libby warned me about? What if it was my father's family? What if it was the other people my mother had been running from? My heart had never beat so fast. I lay still, trying not to move or breathe; maybe I could blend in with the pile of clothes I'd dropped.

  What if he had a gun? What if these were going to be the last few moments of my life? But I hadn't done all the things I'd wanted to do. I swallowed. I wanted to meet my mother, travel, make out with Graham, graduate from high school.

  I lay on the ground for an eternity, waiting for him to break in or shoot me, but nothing happened. If the guy had seen me, surely he would've kidnapped or murdered me by now. Maybe I could still get away. I crawled on my stomach back out to my bedroom and dug my phone out of my bag. I was about to call 911 when I saw an unread text from Graham.

  Could you unlock your window please?

  The panic drained from my body, I exhaled and gave a little giggle. How embarrassing.

  Pulling myself up, I went back to the closet and peered around the door to see him waving through the window. His hood was down now, and I could see his face in the faint light of the moon.

  I unlocked and opened the window.

  Graham crawled in. "You okay?" he whispered.

  "Yeah. Why?" I said.

  "Looked like I scared you pretty bad." He glanced at the ground where I'd dropped in fright only moments ago.

  I blushed. "I was sort of hoping you hadn't seen that. Next time just warn me before you try sneaking in my bedroom window."

  "I thought I had," he said softly, somehow managing to smile and frown at the same time. "I texted you. Anyway, sorry about that." He pulled me into his arms.

  I sighed, relaxing into his embrace. It was incredible how his arms managed to block out all of the insanity going on around me.

  Amazing as he was, how had he gotten up to my bedroom window? There was no way without using the stairs. I'd thought about it on countless occasions during my sneaking out phase last year. Maybe he'd flown up. Why not? He was absolutely beautiful with a perfect body. Maybe he was a superhuman with superpowers.

  I slipped my arms around his waist and held him close to me. My very own superhero, here to protect me.

  A cool breeze blew in from the open window. I released him reluctantly and went to close it. As I slid it shut, I noticed a ladder sitting against the small ledge outside my window.

  "Where'd you get a ladder?" I asked.

  "Back by the garage. How else was I going to get up here? Fly?" He snickered, and I blushed again. "Did you think I could fly?" he whispered.

  "You flying makes more sense than some of the stuff that's been happening." I felt so stupid. Of course he couldn't fly. I looked down at the floor in horror, but he nudged my chin back up to face him.

  He leaned over and whispered into my ear, "If one of us could fly, I'm betting on you." His warm breath caressed my neck and I closed my eyes for a second. He leaned in, brushing his lips against mine. I slid my arms around his neck, lifted myself up to him and kissed him. He held me so close. All of our problems disappeared and there was only us.

  And then he shifted and the floorboards underneath us creaked. He broke away.

  "Let's put you to bed," he said.

  Stupid floorboards. I sighed.

  He sat down on the edge of my tiny bed and patted the mattress with his hand. "Come on, get in."

  I crawled in and he tucked the covers up around me.

  "Sweet dreams, sweet Julia." He kissed me gently on the lips. The passion of our last embrace hadn't been forgotten. His scent, his taste, his warmth was intoxicating. Thank goodness I was lying down.

  After a moment, he pulled away and stood up.

  "Where're you going?" I asked. My bed was a tiny twin, the only size that would fit into my small room. But being snuggled up close to him didn't seem like a bad thing.

  "Just over there." He nodded towards the closet.

  "You can squeeze in here with me." I glanced down at the sliver of space between me and the wall and bit back a smile.

  Graham's eyes warmed as he briefly considered. "That's tempting, Julia, but I think it would be better if I slept in there. That way if your father comes in you won't get in trouble."

  He had a point. Besides, there might actually be more room in my closet than in my bed. "There's a sleeping bag on the top shelf in the back."

  He turned the light off and went into the closet.

  I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering how I could possibly sleep with a hot guy hiding in my closet, when my bedroom door opened. I shielded my eyes from the glaring hall light. Dad
stood in the doorway. For the second time that night, fear froze me. I'd never hidden anyone in my closet before.

  "Dad, don't you knock?" I tried to disguise the fear as anger.

  "I just came in to say, I understand your being upset. I kept a lot of things from you. But I was doing it for your safety. Protecting you is my job, as your parent."

  I wanted so badly to chew his head off for lying to me all these years, but I wanted him out more. I strained to see his eyes as he continued to stand there, not speaking. Was he checking out my room? Had he heard us whispering? Or was Graham too loud coming in the window?

  I waited for Dad to say something or barge into the closet and turn on the light. I had to force myself to breathe. I tried not to look at the closet door, tried not to look scared. If he found Graham in there, my life would be over. He would ground me forever.

  "We'll talk tomorrow after I get home from work. Good night, Julia." Dad closed the bedroom door.

  I sighed and let my head roll back onto the pillow.

  "Goodnight, Julia," Graham said quietly.

  "Night."

  * * *

  I'm in a small clearing that looks out over the swamp. Twilight gives everything a grayish hue. A teenage boy casually strolls up, hands in his pockets, and stops next to me, as if we're there together, taking in the view. He's short, just a few inches taller than me, but he has muscle. Short brown hair frames his twisted and angry face.

  I recognize him immediately. He's one of the boys who was carved up in the rituals. The one who saw me and tried to point me out to the others in the group.

  "Hi, Julia," he says. "I'm Jack. It's nice to finally meet you." He holds out his hand.

  "Jack? Graham's friend?" I don't take his hand.

  "So he still considers us friends." His tone is light, polite. "That's good, I wouldn't want him to get all bent out of shape about how we treated his sister. I mean, she did break the rules and all. She should've just let us be."

  "What do you want?" I say.

  "I want Graham back. But you know that."

  "He won't go if I have anything to do with it. He won't be safe with you."

  "Of course he'll be safe. He'll be with the Phoenixes. We protect our own."