P H O E N I X

The garage was full of dust when I opened it. The majority of it was clutter really, diy things that dad didn't bother taking when he moved out. There was a random wooden block sitting to one side so I brushed off the dust and sat down. In the far corner of the garage were piles of cardboard boxes.

I knew if I got up and opened one it would be full of clothes or books. Matt's stuff. In a way, he'd made it easy for us. He'd already packed his stuff away to move out so there was no more 'Matt and Ethan's room', it was now just Ethan's room.

The biggest thing in the room was the car, the gift dad had given me. A tarp covered it now, collecting dust but I could still see the red paintwork peeking out front underneath. In this light, it was a more muted red like the colour of blood or the bottom of my wine glass.

Dad kept his promise and told everyone the reason for his absence in the months after the accident. Kat fell into his arms, asking if she could meet Khoni. She'd forgiven him within minutes and though I knew I had done the same, there were still doubts floating around the back of my head.

He'd invited us all to New York to stay for the summer. To meet Khoni, his other self, his other life. But I didn't think I was ready for that.

I heard my phone ring then. Zach's name lit up the screen. I ignored it.

Then a ping came from my phone. It was from Zach.

R u home?

I ignored it.

It's urgent

I frowned at my screen.

Please

I unlocked my phone, finger hovering over the contact before dropping it and shoving it into my back pocket. I got off the wooden block and poured the last drops of wine onto the gravel. The liquid ran through the cracks and out the slope of the garage.

I followed the trail to see approaching headlights. I squinted into the distance wondering if my mom had cancelled her overnight business trip. Other than her, I didn't know who else it would be.

The headlights came closer until the car was right in front of the garage. I shielded my eyes from the light but from under my raised arm, I made out a door opening. Zach hurried out of the driver's seat to the other side. He struggled to get something out.

First there was an arm, then a leg, a head and then-- "Kaden."

I got to their side quick enough to grab hold of his other shoulder and support him. My hand clasped his to find that it was it was encrusted in blood. I was too afraid to look up but when I did, I sighed in relief to see his eyes fluttering open.

With Zach on Kaden's his other side, we slowly carried him up the path towards the house. I felt the limp in his stride as well as his pain filled breaths. It seemed to ease slightly when we lowered him onto the couch.

He had one hand clutched to his side and that too was red. His clothes, hands. Everything was red.

"Phee." Zach snapped a finger in front of my eyes. "I said do you have a first aid kit."

"Yeah, sorry." I went to the kitchen, opening the drawer that had the kit. I dropped it once because my hands were shaking so much before giving it to Zach.

"Towels."

I went to get the towels. I got a lot of them.

When I came back I saw Zach had ripped open Kaden's blood soaked shirt. I winced when I saw the wound. It was a long gash across his torso, alarmingly wide too.

I didn't need Zach to tell what to do next. I took a towel and making sure that my hands were clear of the wound, pressed against his open skin. I winced when he let out a pain filled cry.

"Sorry." I said quietly.

Soon both the towel and my hands were covered in blood. The more moist the towel got, the more questions ran through my head,

Why isn't it stopping?

What if he doesn't make it?

Why the hell haven't I called an ambulance?

"Keep going." Zach encouraged as he rolled up Kaden's jeans where his calf was soaked through in blood. I watched as he found the source, cleaned the wound and put a dressing on it.

Meanwhile, I got another towel. "It's not stopping."

Zach frowned. "He might need stitches."

I looked at Kaden to see what he thought of all of this but his eyes were closed. There were multiple bruises across his face so I made sure to find a spot that was clear before I slapped him.

"What." He hissed, eyes snapping open.

"You need an ambulance."

"No." Both the boys said in unison. Kaden glared at Zach.

As they were having their staring contest, the doorbell rang which startled all of us.

"Is anyone home?" Zach asked anxiously.

I shook my head. Both Kat and Ethan were staying over at their friends' place. And I wasn't expecting mom to be home until tomorrow evening. Even if she had come early, she wouldn't have rung the bell.

I got up, Zach took over holding the towel against Kaden's torso much to his distaste. Cautiously, I went up to the front door and looked through the peephole.

It was Chloe.

Confused, I opened the door. She hugged herself and gave me a small smile. "Hi."

I was about to respond when I saw her smile drop. "What happened." She crossed the threshold and grasped both my hands which were now stained in blood.

I sighed. "You might as well come in."

So she did. From the hallway we could hear thuds so we quickened our pace. Chloe froze in the doorway of the living room seeing Zach and Kaden both on the floor.

"Son of a bitch." Zach murmured, backing away and clutching a bloody nose whilst Kaden grunted as he remained doubled over.

"What are you doing?" I accused them both, going to help Kaden back up. His breath was even more laboured and his eyes kept fluttering shut.

"Hey."

"I'm just closing my eyes for a second." He defended.

"You can sleep later."

"What happened?" I hadn't realised Chloe had come closer but she was now crouched down and inspecting the bloody towel.

"He got too cocky is what happened."

"That's rich coming from the guy who--"

"Shut up." Zach growled, shooting daggers at Kaden to which he returned. Chloe looked at me quizzically but I just shrugged.

"Can I see?" She motioned towards the wound and I cautiously peeled back the towel. After a few minutes of pressing down, it looked like the bleeding had receded somewhat. But that wasn't enough.

Chloe grimaced at the gash. "That needs stitches."

"That's what I said." Zach now had a pack of pees pressed against his cheek and two cotton balls up each nostril.

Chloe took off her jacket and rolled up her sleeves. She rummaged around the first aid kit, finding the things she needed. I just watched feeling a little more than helpless.

"This is going to hurt." She warned Kaden, uncapping the rubbing alcohol.

"I've had worse." But the look on his face was unsure.

It wasn't until the moist towel connected with his skin that he grabbed my hand in a death grip.

With an apologetic look, Chloe worked quickly cleaning the wound. "It's a good thing this wasn't any deeper otherwise you would have damaged something major and bled to death."

"Guess I was lucky." He muttered darkly under his breath.

Chloe tentatively examined the wound, taking out a needle and thread. With gritted teeth, Kaden lay on his back, white as a sheet. "Just be quick, please."

"You could go to a hos--"

"No." He deadpanned.

I shrugged at Chloe, telling her that I'd tried. She nodded in understanding. "I've never done this before so there's a chance I can screw it all up."

"Well, it can't get any worse than it already is."

As I watched Chloe sew the wound closed, I saw how confident she was despite her claims of never doing it before. Even Zach was silent.

When she saw me looking at her she answered my unspoken question. "I took a medical course a few months ago."

"Oh." Was all I could say. A few months ago we weren't on speaking terms.

"All done." She leaned back to examine her work. Her eyes scanned his torso for any more cuts then travelled up to his face.

"Thanks."

She reached up to touch the bruise on his eye and split lip, which he shrank away from. "Do you want some ice for that?"

"I'm alright." His busted lip curved into a small smile as his eyes began to droop again.

"How is it that we only see you a couple of hours ago and this happens?"

"I'm wondering the same thing." I looked pointedly at Zach but he was looking at Kaden. For once, they weren't glaring at each other.

Neither of them said anything. Until Zach did. "Well, I'm off."

"Hang on."

"What, Phee?"

I frowned. "Where are you going?"

"Home." He motioned towards Kaden. "He looks like he's in good hands so I'm off."

I heard Kaden mutter 'no thanks to you' but before I could get another word in, I heard the front door slam shut.

I sighed, turning towards Kaden but saw that his eyes were slowly beginning to close. I looked at Chloe and she nodded as if to say let him.

"Thank you." I whispered to her.

"It's nothing." She taped some butterfly straps to a cut on Kaden's temple. Again, I just watched. There wasn't really anything useful I'd done tonight. I'd even ignored Zach's text when he asked for help.

Seeing an unconscious Kaden lying on my couch made my stomach turn, the thought of almost losing him tonight. For a while, we both sat in silence listening to Kaden's breathing. My ears were fixated on the slight sound and my eyes on the rise and fall of his chest as if it would go still at any moment.

"We should clear all this up." Chloe said, gathering all the rubbish from the first aid kit. I saw all the bloody towels and then my own hands and clothes which were coated in the same substance.

We worked in silence, Chloe and I, clearing up any last smudge of blood from the floors and table. By the time we were finished, the only thing left to clean up was Kaden. His shirt was torn and his jeans were still encrusted with dried blood.

I went out to the garage for a second. On my way, I felt glass crunch under my feet. It was the wine glass I'd dropped when I saw Kaden coming out of Zach's car. I brushed it to one side with my foot whilst I went to the to the cardboard boxes in the corner. I opened one of them to find stacks of books. In another, I found clothes. I picked out the ones that I thought would fit Kaden and then carefully restacked the boxes.

When I came back, Chloe was in the midst of putting her jacket on. "You're leaving?"

"Mom's expecting me. You'll be alright though won't you?"

I glanced behind her and nodded. "Thanks, again."

She gave me a short hug before heading for the door.

"One more thing," I called after her. "Was there anything you needed to do before all this happened?"

She thought about it for a second. "Nah, I was just killing time."

"Thanks. Again."

After I heard the door close, I waited a few more moments before dropping onto the other couch. I put my head in my hands and let out a heavy sigh, the events of the night just catching up with me.

It didn't help that my veins were charged with liquor. My head felt dizzy. One Kaden turned into two and soon they merged into a blur.

And then nothing.