P H O E N I X

Dr Andrews wasn't my doctor. He was, however, a friend of my mother's and seemed to have taken it upon himself to fill in the role of my parents after the accident. Since dad was in another state and mom barely registering my existence, it was kind of nice to have some form of an adult figure present in my life. It gave a smudge of stability to all the chaos.

"How are you, Phoenix?" He asked whilst fitting the blood pressure cuff around my arm.

"Good."

"Has there been any side effects to the medication?"

I felt the cuff tighten around my arm as he read the number off the meter. "I've been having trouble sleeping."

He nodded as if expecting this. "It's common to experience disruptions in your sleeping pattern after a traumatic event. Just to be on the safe side, I'm going to give you something a little different this time."

I extended my fingers as the cuff came off. Dr Andrews tapped a few things on his computer before turning back to me. He was handsome for his age. A few prematurely grey hairs lined his head. His kind features made you instantly want to trust him; an advantage in his profession.

"I'm going to schedule you for a blood test in a couple of weeks time." He handed me a slip. "Just show this to the receptionist."

I stared at the signature at the bottom. The way he looped the first letter of his name around the rest of the letters. When I didn't move from my seat he gently tapped my wrist to regain my attention.

"Your first session with Dr Meyer is in a week."

I nodded, frowning slightly. "You don't have to do this. I know you might feel guilty or something for not--"

"This has nothing to do with that, Phoenix." He said firmly. "Your mental health is just as important as your physical health."

"Was it you or my mom that signed me up for therapy?"

He didn't answer for a while and when he did, it wasn't to my question. "We both want what's best for you."

I regarded him for a couple more seconds. He seemed sincere enough and it irked me that I couldn't find any fault with him except that he shouldn't have been the one doing this. He didn't have to make the appointments, he could have just asked me or my mom. Yet he still did.

I nodded, feeling the unease rise in the pit of my stomach the longer I stayed in the room. It now seemed smaller than when I first came in.

"One more thing." He called out just as my hand was on the doorknob.

"Yeah?"

"I suggest you change your cigarettes to e-cigarettes. It's a much safer option."

"How did you--" I stopped myself when another thought occurred to me. "You're not going to tell my mom, are you?" I asked hesitantly.

"That's the least you should be worrying about, Phoenix. Remember to look after yourself every once in a while rather than others."

I gave him a curt nod showing that I understood. He didn't pursue any further questions, leaving me to finish up in the waiting room.

Ironically enough, one of the walls in there had a poster that listed off all the downsides of smoking. Beneath it was an image of a mouth with an off-white yellow smoke coming out of it. I discreetly put a hand across my own mouth. My breath smelt like mint since I'd chewed gum on the way here along with spritzing my jacket with perfume.

I stared at the poster a while longer before turning to the other occupant in the waiting room. He slumped in his chair in a bored fashion, long legs splayed out in front of him. Black paint-spattered jeans enveloped them and there was a t-shirt that was in the same condition. His head was angled down, tousled hair brushing his forehead.

When he looked up I saw the bruise across his left cheekbone. It was a splotch of purple that marred his otherwise structured features. For a second he held my gaze before turning away. Even then, I couldn't tear mine away. He had this kind of rugged beauty about him.

Before I knew what I was doing, I covered the short distance between us and sat in the chair next to his. He wearily followed my actions.

"What?" He asked after a couple seconds of silence.

"Go on." She nudged me forward with her shoulder. "Talk to him."

"I can't." I chewed on my lip and looked at where Kaden was sat with a few guys. He was laughing, an expression he didn't often portray but when he did it was a nice sight. Beautiful even.

"You'll never know until you try." I turned to her. She smiled encouragingly at me to go talk to her brother. She looked just like him with her brown hair and light blue, almost grey eyes.

"What if he thinks I'm weird or strange, what if he doesn't like me back?" I worried, pacing back and forth.

She pulled my arm, making me come to a stop. "How can anyone not like you? My brother would be stupid if he didn't."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"It's the truth, silly." She pulled away and looked me in the eyes. Her's radiated so much warmth.

"Can I get a hug too?" A voice from behind said. Matt came towards us and kissed her on the cheek. "Hey, kiddo." He ruffled my hair and I rolled my eyes.

"What are you guys doing?" He asked, pulling her closer to him.

"Nothing." I quickly said and shot her a look.

"My lips are sealed." She winked at me and I knew she would keep her word.

"Oh no, they're not." Matt said, leaning in to kiss her.

"Not now, Matt." She pushed at his chest and then more quietly, "Your sister's watching."

Matt gave me a pointed look and I raised my hands in surrender. "See you later lovebirds." And with that, I walked away and left them together.

"You alright?" I looked up, blinking to get rid of the moisture in my eyes.

"I'm fine." Though my wobbly voice said otherwise. "It's this place."

"Can't argue with that." He mumbled.

"Can you believe people are born and die here?" At this point, I don't know what I'm saying.

Kaden's silent for a long time that I think he's ignoring me but then, "I was born in the backseat of a car."

The bizarre fact makes a grin break across my face. "Really?"

He nodded. "Guess I was impatient."

"I was a week late. So was Matt." I said absentmindedly before my throat began to close.

"Your brother." It's not a question. He already knows. Everybody knows.

I'd long stopped thinking about what others thought about me after the accident. But sitting here, beside a guy I'd crushed on a million years ago, I wondered how he saw me.

"Kaden." The voice of Dr Andrews called out, intruding our moment. He came into the waiting room, briefly surveying the two of us before turning to my companion. "Ready?"

He nodded and stood up to leave. As he crossed through the double doors a part of me wished he would look back.

But he never did.

-

It took a while before I got out of the hospital since there was a problem with the photocopying machine. By the time I was free to go the sun was beginning to set, casting a sleepy orange glow on the tops of roofs and trees.

Despite that, the air was cold and bitter. I shoved my hands deeper into my pockets and upturned the collar of my jacket. January had never been despised as much as it was now. A plume of white smoke escaped my mouth as I hastily got behind the wheel of my mom's car and turned the heating on.

Right now she'd be at home with Kat and Ethan which sparked a rare feeling and one that almost prevented me from turning on the engine. For some reason, I didn't want to face her. Not because I was in trouble but because of something else that I couldn't place my finger on. The debate continued inside my head until finally I decided to get a move on but the car had other ideas.

I'd only gotten a few feet when the engine began to stutter and I came to a complete stop. Still in the hospital parking lot, I got out to see what the problem was but after seeing the wires and other metal parts that I had no clue as to what their function was, I opted to call for help.

Unfortunately, my phone chose that moment to stop cooperating with me. There was 4% left. I prayed that it wouldn't die on me as I quickly dialled Jay for a ride but as soon as I brought it up to my ear the screen turned black. Letting out a string of curse words my next reflex action was to throw my phone against the furthest brick wall I could see.

Except there was no brick wall. It came skidding to a stop in front of a pair of sneaker clad feet. Only then did my actions register in my head.

"Car trouble?" Kaden asked, handing me my phone which now had multiple large cracks across the screen.

I swore at the useless piece of junk before begrudgingly shoving it into my pocket. "Could I borrow your phone?"

He surveyed my situation for a second and turned towards me. "Let me see if I can fix it."

Not having anything to object, I stepped aside and let him take over.

"Why are you helping me?" I asked as he looked over the hood with his brows knitted together in concentration.

"Now who's being the cynical one?" He mumbled. "I don't know why."

I didn't argue with that. Instead, I murmured a quiet thanks, "Thanks."

For a while I watched him tinker over the metal compartments, letting the grating sound fill the air rather than our words until finally, I asked one of my burning questions.

"So, what's your story?"

"Excuse me?"

"The cast." I'd noticed how it had been missing as he left. That must have been the reason why he was here in the first place.

"That was a surfing accident."

"So, did you always live in Australia?"

He looked up for a second, unfathomable eyes meeting the challenge in mine. "I think you know the answer to that."

"Now why would you think that?"

His jaw hardened as I felt myself hit a nerve. For a while, he didn't respond and I thought that was it until he asked a question of his own. "Are you afraid of me?"

"Should I be?"

He regarded me with something like suspicion but I couldn't be sure with the passive expression he radiated. "I don't know."

"That's not answering the question."

"You didn't answer mine."

He straightened up and I instinctively took a step back which he noticed and resulted in a raise of his brows. Other than that no other emotion was shown as he went to the driver's side and turned the key.

"You're welcome." He said, brushing past me with the sound of the engine roaring to life.

I turned around to see his shoulders drawn in, hands in pockets. A mystery that couldn't be solved but there was one thing. One thing that gave me an advantage. With that in mind I got behind the wheel once again and this time, I didn't look back.