P H O E N I X

I woke up in an awkward position. My body was at a vertical angle on Elsa's bed with her nowhere in sight and my head was under the pillow instead of on it. Pushing the hair that had stuck to my face out of the way, I squinted at the bright light shining through the windows and threw a cushion at the source to make it stop but to no avail. For a couple of seconds I lay there on my stomach waiting for the world to stop spinning and when it receded a little, I decided it was time to get up.

There was a slight wobble in my gait as I made my way downstairs and towards the kitchen. Once inside, I got myself a drink to satisfy my parched throat. Except I didn't get that far.

"Phee, seriously? You spent the whole of last night drinking and you're still at it." I stared at my empty cupped hand and then at Elsa who set down the beer bottle with a bit too much force on the countertop.

"Sorry." I mumbled, rubbing my temple.

"Go and get dressed. I'll make you lunch."

"Lunch?"

"You slept through the whole of the morning so you've no excuse now but to wake up." She made shooing motions with her hand. "Go."

I splashed myself with cold water from the tap before moving past her but she pulled me back and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. "Happy Birthday."

It took a second for me to process her words and still get air into my lungs but I finally managed to choke out a "Thanks."

"Oh what the hell, I might as well give it to you now." With a huge grin on her face, she left the room for a minute and came back carrying a huge parcel. Her previous mother hen approach now switched to full-on party mode.

I watched as she heaved it onto the tabletop and spread her arms out, "Voila."

"You really didn't have to get me anything."

"Don't be ridiculous, it's your birthday. We all chipped in, me, Connor, Jay and um Chloe."

My gaze rose from the red bow attached to the parcel and bore into Elsa. "Chloe was a part of this."

She nodded. "It was her idea. Open it."

Ignoring the hollow feeling inside me, I put that to one side as I tore the wrapping paper aside and just about obtained Elsa's excitement to reveal the pioneer.

"So, do you like it?"

"It's actually kind of perfect." I frowned. My finger trailed across the sleek black surface. "Thank you."

"Okay, now you really should get dressed. We're meeting the others in half hour."

I was about to ask what she was on about when I remembered that every year we'd get together at the movies as a birthday tradition. It began all the way back in freshman year and still held to this day. We'd all come a long way but least to say things had changed since then.

I thought about sitting out this year's trip but Elsa had already pushed me out and ushered me to get ready. So despite my hangover, I decided to make the most of my situation and shower. Putting on fresh clothes helped eased the throbbing somewhat but the harsh light from outside seemed to intensify it so I slapped on a pair of Elsa's sunglasses before heading out.

"I have something to tell you." Elsa glanced at me for a second before turning her attention back to the road. I waited for her to continue. "I kind of invited Kaden."

I snorted at that. "You can't provide a home for every stray you find." Her kind but slightly naive nature was something I'd gotten used to in the time I knew her. That was actually how we'd became friends in the first place. She took me under her wing and I decided I'd stay for a while. A while had turned into a couple of years.

"The guy could use some friends."

"I don't know. I think he prefers his own company."

"At least give him a chance. What do you have against him anyway?"

I sighed, turning to look out the window and the muted colours through my sunglasses. "Nothing."

"You've been on edge ever since he arrived."

"I haven't." I defended myself though that only seemed to strengthen her point. "Okay, maybe I have but you can't blame me. We don't know anything about this guy."

That was a lie. I knew plenty about Kaden but I wasn't so sure as to why I was keeping it from Elsa. Maybe I didn't want to shatter this rose-tinted view she had of him. Maybe I was scared of actually admitting it out loud.

"He seems nice enough." I shot Elsa a look wondering who she was deluding when that clearly wasn't the case when we'd first met him. As if reading my mind she said, "There's more to him than meets the eye."

"Whatever you say."

"You do remember that he was the one that brought you home last night, right?"

I racked my brain, recalling the memory of being held in strong arms while the scent of pine enveloped me. "That doesn't mean anything."

"Maybe not. But just know he didn't have to go back inside for you."

"Maybe he wasn't doing it for me." I counter argued.

She caught on to what I was hinting at, quick to dismiss it with a roll of her eyes. "I have Connor."

"But he's sexy and he can fight." I mimicked her words from last week resulting in another eye roll on her end.

"I liked you better when you were asleep."

"Hey, there's no being rude to the birthday girl."

"Just wait until tomorrow." I laughed, knowing that Elsa was much too soft to do me any harm.

"I'll be waiting."

-

When we arrived through the cinema doors, I spotted Connor standing near a sofa area looking at something on his phone. As soon as he saw us he tucked it away, a huge grin splitting across his face as he grabbed me in a headlock and ruffled my hair.

"Happy birthday, kiddo."

I squirmed out of his grip and retracted my fist, aiming below his belt. He quickly caught my wrist whilst using the other to shield his crotch. "You wouldn't want to be cooped up in a cell for sexual assault on your birthday, would you?"

"If you're in a hospital while I'm in a cell, then that's fine with me."

"Fiesty." He chuckled, though his hand remained where they were covering his groin.

For the moment I backed away to let Elsa see her boyfriend but not without shooting one last glare in his direction.

"Hey, babe." She reached up to peck him on the lips, completely used to seeing the usual greeting between the two of us. "What're we watching?"

"Flesh sisters."

Elsa paled at the sound of that making Connor and I burst out laughing. My good and righteous friend was not a big fan of horror movies. But I admired how she put on a brave face despite her fears of anything blood or gory related. "Great. Can't wait."

I was about to comment on how this would only give Connor the excuse to get his hands on her when I saw someone enter through the glass doors on the cinema.

He had on a leather jacket which fit him in an annoyingly attractive way. His shoulders were drawn in, hands in jean pockets and hair tousled as usual. All of it made me irritated for no reason. Noticing our trio he made his way towards us.

"Connor this is Kaden. Kaden this is Connor." Elsa introduced. They both inclined their heads towards each other in some sort of silent greeting.

"The new guy, right?" Connor questioned.

"One and only." His flat tone made it difficult to know if he was being sarcastic or serious.

"So, I heard you came from Australia. . ."

I blocked out the rest of their conversation, if you could even call it that and slumped onto the green coloured sofa. Standing up seemed like a massive chore today. I felt the throbbing in my temple begin to return.

"Phee, you want anything?"

"Huh." I looked up at Elsa's inquiring face.

"To eat. Do you want anything?" She repeated.

"Oh. No, I'm good."

"Alright." I watched as she and Connor left to go get snacks leaving just me and Kaden.

He sat in the seat next to me, making the collar of his jacket brush the bottom of his hair. There was a smudge of something red on his ear which looked like blood at first but then upon closer inspection, I realised it was paint.

"You've got something on your ear." I pointed out. When he missed the spot, I silently reached out to gently rub his ear until it came off.

"How much do you remember from last night?" He asked blankly.

The question came out of nowhere that it took a while for my slow brain to process it. I didn't get the chance to reply because just that moment I heard my name being called out. When I saw it belonged to Jay, I smiled but then I realised he wasn't alone.

"Happy birthday." He grinned, pulling me towards him in a bear hug. My chin rested on his shoulder as I looked past him at Chloe who was standing hesitantly a few steps away. A pair of butterfly straps held a cut together just above her brow and she was still sporting a cast on her arm.

Jay pulled away, smile faltering at the look on my face. "Chloe?" He made head motions, encouraging her forward.

As she took a tentative few steps forward, my pulse began to quicken. I was acutely aware that Elsa and Connor had returned and were watching the confrontation unfold. From my peripheral vision, I saw Connor slowly eat the popcorn he'd just bought, probably waiting for me to crack or do something else dramatic.

Turning my attention back to Chloe I decided I wouldn't give any of them that satisfaction. She offered me a hesitant quirk of her lips. "Happy birthday, Phee."

I made a noise in the back of my throat, whether it was from annoyance or to hold back tears, I wasn't sure. But one thing I did know was that I was too tired for this.

"Thanks." I ground out. Then I quickly turned to the others, attempting to lighten the mood. "Okay we're all here, let's go in."

I could just about hear the inaudible sigh of relief coming from Jay. They all filed through the doors of the cinema and I was just about to do the same when an arm shot out in front of me, barring me from entering.

I connected the extending arm to Kaden and raised a brow in question. "We need to talk." He explained.

Noticing that we weren't following them, Connor turned back around. "You guys coming?"

"We're just going to get more popcorn." Kaden said before I could get a word in edgeways. Then he grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from the doors. Only when he'd slapped down a few dollar bills in front of the guy working behind the snack bar did he let go.

"I don't want anything." I said carefully, wary of his actions. And it looked like he was the same since he didn't say anything. At least not to me.

"How much longer?" He called out to the guy working the popcorn machine who held up two fingers.

I stuck my own hands in my back pockets wondering why he decided to bring me along to get popcorn when he could have easily done it himself. The longer we stood, the more sceptical I became. Until I voiced my thoughts.

"Do you want something?" I asked once he'd received his tub of buttered popcorn.

He popped one into his mouth, chewed and swallowed and then, "What were you doing with Dante last night?"

"Who?"

"Male, latino, about this high," He spared one hand to give me a visual, "sports a barbell, looks like a snake. Sound familiar?"

"Yes." I said slowly, images of yesterday coming back to me. Now the question was what they mattered to him.

"What were you doing with him?" He repeated.

"Who wants to know?" I shot back.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be, Phoenix. Just tell me."

I decided to ignore the possible hidden threat in his words and said, "He's a friend of Zach's."

"Good friend?"

"Fuck knows. Ask him." I blurted out in mild irritation. What was so special about this Dante guy anyway?

I was about to turn away when he caught hold of my upper arm. "Did you take anything yesterday? Did he give you anything?"

My temper was running short by this point but then I was hit with a sudden realisation and everything became clearer. "You're asking if I took drugs?"

At his silence and the removed pressure from my arm, it didn't take long for me to figure out what he was thinking. Or at least take a guess at it and when I did, it made me feel quite insulted if I was honest. "You think I would stoop down to that level?"

He didn't answer.

"Is that why you came here? To interrogate me?"

Again, I was met with silence.

"Don't say I didn't give you a chance." I muttered bitterly and pushed against his chest so I could leave.

There was a force acting on my own chest as I grit my teeth and willed myself not to look back. I didn't know whether he would follow or not but my question was soon answered when I sat down in front of the big screen and saw the seat beside me.

It was empty.

-

It was later in the evening that I found myself with my mother at a booth in the Blitz. A small cupcake with a candle sat beside my right hand and her on the opposite. We both took a break from the avoidance game today. It felt odd.

"You're father said he called today." She sipped on her cinnamon latte, dressed immaculately though I knew it wasn't for my benefit.

"Really? I didn't check." That was a lie. I had checked. Several times.

"Well, he wishes you a happy birthday."

"Everyone seems to be doing that today." I smiled bizarrely.

"And you're about to hear it one more time." She pushed a small velvet black box across the table. "Happy birthday, sweetheart."

I took the present, knowing that my mother had immense patience but just not when it came to wrapping and instead left it out altogether. Inside the box lay a necklace with a key charm on it similar to that of my tattoo. A small smile fought its way onto my lips. It looked like she was finally accepting it.

Just as I was about to thank her, her phone rang. "Sorry I've got to cut this short."

"It's fine."

"It'll see you at home." She said, already accepting the call and turning on her heels.

I waited a couple of minutes after she disappeared past the wooden door of the diner, tapping my knuckles against the green surface, the silver chain of the necklace threaded through the other. The key dangled idly in mid air, almost like a taunt, till I shut it back into its velvet box and into my bag.

As I did this, something caught my eye and in a split second, I made a decision, making my way towards the counter. The doubts rolled in but I pushed them all to one side.

Isabel was there, scrolling through something on her phone and asking a half hearted, "What can I get you?"

I slapped down the flyer I'd seen to get her attention. "Room for one more?"