The Marx Brothers

Chapter Six - 'Dance'

I stood frozen, watching him walk away to make sure he wouldn't return as soon as I turned my back, and even when I was sure he was gone, I felt the need to continuously watch behind my back. I walked as quickly as I could home, holding my arm as I felt a trickle of warm blood seep out from where his fingernails had buried into my flesh.

Once home, I leaned into the letterbox, pulling out a few letters assigned to my sister. I clutched my arm and sighed, staring up at the house, the empty house which seemed to have become a doctor's office. It didn't feel like home anymore, it hadn't in a long time.

"You okay?" Yet another dark voice spoke, startling me

"I didn't mean to scare you" Phoenix spoke, holding his hands out as he stood from a rocking chair placed neatly on my front wooden porch surrounded by high green hedges

I walked towards the front door, slow and cautious

"I uh, just had a bad day, I'm fine" I lied with a fake smile.

I was once again fighting my eyes to remain on his face as his muscles stood out against his shirt. I forced myself to look to his eyes, the eyes I was becoming increasingly familiar with under such horrible circumstances.

"You sure?" He raised his uninjured eyebrow, his gaze catching me holding my arm where blood dribbled down my skin to my elbow. I re-adjusted myself, angling the injury from him. I gave a sigh and stepped up to reach my front door as the scent of his cologne washed over me. It was sweet, like hazelnut and freshly brewed chocolate.

"Yeah, I'm dandy" I scoffed

Tossing around inside my near-empty bag, I pulled my silver key out and pushed the cold steel into the lock. Once unlocked, I pushed the wood open, but before I could enter, a strong hand shot out and pulled the door back closed

"What happened?" He edged, the look in his eyes similar to the look he'd had when Jaz wrapped me into a death grip

"Well, where do I start?" I began sarcastically "Hm, oh, your friend Dylan says hi" I spoke as I tried to push the door open again, to no avail.

This time, Phoenix stepped directly in front of the door blocking any entrance possible

"I have a side gate and back door you know?" I continued as I looked up at him

"Show me" He nodded towards my arm as he folded his arms over his chest only making it harder for me to control my gaze

I looked down at the floor and then back up

"Let it go" I stumbled "Now please, move"

He shook his head as his eyes locked onto mine, keeping a firm hold on my brain as he lifted a hand and began to pull down the zipper of my jacket. I would have smacked him away, kicked him in between the legs but the way he held his eyes on me kept me frozen, still. When my jacket was undone, his hand reached up to my left shoulder, slowly pulling the corner down to reveal my black short sleeved shirt beneath, then the bare skin of my arm as the cold bit into me. That's when his eyes yanked from me to quickly run over my arm where I could feel blood begin to dry.

His eyes turned cold as he looked back up at me, his jaw clenched

"Dylan did this?" He asked in between teeth as he stared at the marks that I could now see as distinct finger holes

"How did I get involved with all of this?" I mumbled as he tore his eyes back to the floor, his hand dropping away from me as I pulled my jacket back over

"You got involved with Jaz, that's all it takes" He answered roughly before looking back down at me "Did he say anything?"

I wanted to lie, tell him he had just made snide remarks and that was all, because I knew that if I told him Dylan wanted to meet, he would go, and he would get hurt, again. He was already stitched up, he was already hurt enough