Phoenix Knight [A Bad Boy Story] - Editing

Chapter Ten

Today’s word of the chapter: ‘Rudimentary’. Definition: (Adjective) Of or relating to basic facts or principles; elementary.

Dedicated to DeathBySpearmint for making this update possible!!!! Check out her stories, particularly Boarding School With The Boys :)

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Chapter Ten

I stared at her like a gazelle when it first spies a lion, all wide eyes and no movement. Except, instead of dashing off once I realised that I was in trouble, I began letting a splurge of words roll off my tongue. “It’s really not what you think, mom.” I laughed uneasily and scratched the back of my neck. “The school was just exaggerating the whole thing and blowing it out of proportion.”

She straightened her body to her full height and crossed her arms over her chest. “So, you didn’t skip school twice with that troubled boy?”

“Well,” I drew the word out as I attempted to think of a means of evading the situation I was thrust into. “I did but it was only because I felt smothered in school and he offered to take me home on both days when I asked.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. But it wasn’t the whole truth. I was behaving like a politician.

She sighed in defeat. It was obvious that I was keeping information from her but she didn't continue to argue. My mother was one to quit all persistence once she realised that she would not succeed in getting what she wanted. "You have to promise me something, alright?" She waited for my response which came in the form of a nod. "I know that you are probably going through some form of teenage rebellion and I can understand why but we must not mention this to your father. He should never find out about it, do you understand?"

I knew exactly what she meant. "Yeah," I muttered weakly. "Where... where is he anyways?"

She smiled half-heartedly. "I haven't the slightest idea, probably working late at the office. I had left him there."

I nodded in understanding. "Well, that's... productive, I guess."

"Agreed." She beamed but it wasn't even close to touching her eyes.

My mother was a shadow of the person she once was, the person she was in every Sepia photograph that I found tucked in a box hidden beneath her bed. Her dark skin was wrinkling at the young age of forty-one and her hair was visibly wispy. Her back arched and her gait was overly forlorn.

I wish I could snap my fingers and bring back the old her but I knew that such a feat would take more than just a quick rubbing of two fingers. Sometimes I truly believed that she was forever lost to the ghost that she was now.

"I'm really sorry about skipping school." And I genuinely meant that. "Do you mind if I head off and try to catch up on some homework?"

Suddenly I felt guilty for my childish actions of running away with Phoenix and not considering her. Somehow I was starting to believe that by attempting to move on, I was leaving her alone in the dark mess that was our broken home to fend for herself. How could I be so selfish?

She stared at the ground in silent contemplation before nodding and then locking her dull, brown eyes on my face. "You can leave for now but please avoid that boy. He's bad news." That was all anyone seemed to be able to say about Phoenix. He was rather frightening in some moments but I was finding his personality more and more bearable.

I wished people knew him the way I was beginning to.

But no one ever would.

They were too deluded by rumours and appearances to bother.