Phoenix

Chapter 9

Jackson's POV

I laid in bed, staring at my message screen on my phone. Zero messages.

I sighed and tossed my phone onto the bed. I sent Phoenix the notes yesterday as soon as I got home like I said I would, but he hasn't even read it. Maybe I got the wrong number? No, I got the number from his phone, there's no way it's wrong.

He could just be too shy or nervous. That seems like something that would happen. He's always averting his eyes and stuttering around me. He's clearly nervous and I understand why. Everyone at that school treats him like s**t. I wouldn't be surprised if he thought I would end up doing the same to him.

That's not something I would ever do though, not after what I've seen and experienced myself. People can be nasty, even if you never did anything.

I guess that's the reason I keep wanting to hang around him even though I don't want to be anywhere near the school drama. I can relate to him and it pisses me off that people keep attacking him, just like yesterday morning. As much as I want to help him, I won't intervene in the middle of a fight. I just found another way around it.

I knew he played volleyball and typically when a coach wants to talk with the captain of the team, they listen. Luckily, my plan seemed to go my way and Phoenix seemed fine afterward.

My phone buzzed and I reached for it immediately, hoping that finally, he had answered me. 

I sighed when the caller ID said Grandma, not Nix, but I answered it anyway. She would kill my if I ignored her call. Besides, she would just come down here either way.

"Jackson! I've been yelling your name for five minutes. Don't make me come down there young man, get up here, I need to talk to you," My grandma yelled in my ear and I didn't get a single word in before she hung up on me.

Reluctantly I dragged myself out of bed and walked out of my room and up the basement stairs. The downstairs is like my den, it's my space. Only problem is, I can't hear people upstairs all the time. Really whenever I'm in my room. Which my grandmother finds irritating, but she puts up with it anyway because she knows I'm a teen boy that needs privacy.

That doesn't mean she leaves me alone all the time though. She's always checking on me. Which is understandable if you've been through what she has.

"Jackson," She started as soon as I entered the large kitchen that my grandma claimed as her space, attached to the dining room. "What have you been doing down there?"

I knew she already knew the answer to this question, but she asked anyway. I let out a small sigh and walked over to the granite counter top island and picked up an apple from the basket.

"I was meditating, you ruined my inner peace," I said, sarcasm dripping from my words. I know I should be nicer to her, I'm just not in a good mood today.

She rolled her eyes at me and picked up her rolling pin, pointing it directly at me, "Don't use your sarcasm on me, boy. I know how you teenagers are. You need to quit lying in bed all day. It's not doing you any good, go outside and get some fresh air."

I stared at her, biting into the apple slowly. She's been trying to get me out of this house for an entire year, she just barely got me to go to school this year. Now she wants me to go outside, too?

"What if I don't want to?" I ask, challenging her. It's not like she can force me outside, but I'm going to anyway. I'm just playing a little first.

"I'll get your grandfather," She said, narrowing her eyes at me. Oh. Grandma's serious.

"Alright, alright, I'll go," I said, giving in. Though I was going anyway, she's been through a lot, too and I know that. I peeled myself away from the counter I was leaning against and made my way over to the doorway where my shoes sat.

"Good, don't come back for at least an hour," My grandma said behind me and I nodded. "I swear, you're more of a child than your mother," She mumbled to herself under her breath, but I heard it. My breath caught in my throat for a moment and I didn't move for a solid second or two. I stood up and grabbed my coat before leaving, slamming the door shut behind me.

Why did she have to bring her up? She knows, she knows...

I swallowed hard, trying to blink away the tears that were starting to prick at my eyes. I can't, I don't want to think about them. I turned around and walked the opposite direction of civilization, towards the woods. The last thing I want to do right now is be around a bunch of people.

Especially after my mood was just brought down tenfold by that comment my grandma made. I know she didn't mean for me to hear it, but I did and it still hurt.

The heavy shadows of the tress covered my being from head to toe as I stepped through the rows of trees, just like it did for everything else on the forest floor. The wind carried the scent of fresh wet wood and pine as it passed through the delicate leaves, making a few float to the ground. Dead leaves and twigs crunched underneath the weight of my feet as I made my way deeper into the trees.

They became closer together, making it seem darker than it was at the edge. I kept walking anyway, looking around at the calm scenery. I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, all the tension leaving my shoulders. It's nice out here. Maybe I should come out more often.

It's far away from people so I'm by myself and then my grandma won't nag onto me about going out as often. All I have to do is find a nice place to call my own to sit down when I get tired.

I glanced around the area again, examining the dense forest. A few of the tall pine trees had fallen over, all of the maple trees seemed to disappear so all of the usual fall colors were replaced by different shades of green. The moss on the trunks and the ferns all over the ground made the place look like a green wonderland.

Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any hiding places where I could sit down. Even though the forest was a hiding place of its own.

A faint sound of rushing water caught my attention and I decided to head that direction. Surely there would be some kind of cave or even a little island in the middle of a creek that way. If not, I'm going to be highly disappointed that I walked that far for no reason. Now that I think about it, how will I even find my way back?

Right, I'll just use the GPS on my phone.

The water became louder the closer I got to it and soon, it came into view. It wasn't as large as I would have hoped. The water was rushing down a wall of stone on a small cliff leading off into a thin creek, little pebbles, and stones outlining it as the bank.

What disappointed me more than the fact that it wasn't what I hoped, was that someone was already here. Though, their back was turned towards me so I couldn't exactly tell who it was. Something about them seemed familiar though.

I stared at the small being for a little longer, taking note that they looked, male. He had messy dirty blonde, I couldn't really tell from far away, but it kind of looked like.. No, I must be mistaken.

The boy sat on a larger stone closer to the waterfall. I wonder what he's doing here?

I watched him for a little longer, surprised he hasn't noticed my presence yet. He must not be very concerned or aware. But, then I noticed something strange about the boy. Something orange and bright coming from his hand. Almost like... Fire.

I stepped closer to try and get a better view. Slowly I made my way closer to him till I was just a few feet away. There was no mistaking it now, it was fire, but how? How was he holding fire in his hand? I took a step closer to- A loud snap echoed through the air, making me stop where I was.

Shit, I thought as his head spun to look in my direction. I froze like a deer in headlights, staring at him. That's when I saw his eyes. He might have been a little far away, but I couldn't mistake those eyes. One blue, one brown. It was Phoenix.

He looked at me with wide eyes and his face paled till there was no color left, he looked like he was about to be sick. I was thinking of what I could say, but what do I say in this situation?

"Um.. Hi?" I asked warily, but I regretted it as soon as the flame in his hand was no longer there. Instead, it was heading in my direction! Before I could move out of the way, a wave of warmth washed over my body and my vision became blurry. I couldn't see anything and the world was spinning. I was.. Falling? Something wrapped around my body to keep me from hitting the ground. My eyelids felt heavy and forced their way shut, leaving me in nothing but the dark.