Phoenix

chapter e i g h t

chapter e i g h t . Phoenix Montaluna.

boom, boom, boom, boom, boom....boo-boom.

My heartbeat.The only sound I could hear blaring through my ears.The sound reminding me that I am physically alive, but emotionally dead.It was so sad to say this, but the truth is like that sometimes, ugly, sad, horrible and unbearable, and having that bullet fly past me only to hit Noah in the shoulder made me sink into a blanket of disappointment. That bullet should of struck me in the back, killing me, putting me to peace, taking me away from this dark place called Earth, but it didn't. It only scared me to the point of passing out, but it also sent the memory-- nightmare back at full force to the point where I felt like I was reliving that horrible life changing moment.

one year ago.

I waved goodbye to my father, who was waving from the back of his limo off to the airport to catch a plane to Europe.I watched from behind the gate as those brown almost blonde curls of his bounced off into the distance down the private rocky street separating our mansion from the public street.

I was ready to turn around until I saw a car coming towards the entrance of the house, honking repeatedly to get my attention and when the Cadillac got closer to where I stood, excitement bubbled inside my stomach.I recognized the car so well and also the two people inside of it. Alessandro and Adriano, my older brothers.

The Cadillac parked outside the black gates with golden engravements in them,all which were written in Portuguese, both the doors of the beautiful black vehicle opened at the same time the black gates of the house opened for me to run to them.They were standing next to each other, waiting for me with their messy curly golden hair,grass colored eyes and open tattooed arms,and if anyone actually paid attention to their tattoos they would notice my name written on their arm in beautiful cursive writing.

I pulled them both into a group hug. I was beaming with joy after finally seeing my brothers after a week, a week of a lonely quiet house beside my dad keeping me company, a week of boring business trips for them and a week of separation. I knew they wanted to take me with them on this business trip, but dad didn't allowed it causing another fight between him and Alessandro.

I looked up at my oldest brother when I pulled away,feeling loved and grateful when he whispered endless I love yous against my forehead. I closed my eyes, feeling grateful that they both made it from The United States safely.I pulled both of them in for hugs again, telling them how much I missed them.

"Let's go inside, you guys can tell me all about the trip.I can tell y-" My offer to catch up with them was cut off by Alessandro, who pulled me back slightly making me quiet down.

"We need to handle business first,it's been a week." Alessandro said lowly, making the world around me crash slowly.I knew the phrase all to well, it was the phrase telling me that the color of his white t-shirt would be splattered with red by the end of the night for all the wrong reasons, but I couldn't and never found it in me to tell that I didn't want to go.I just knew to stay quiet, get in the passenger seat and obey whatever directions were given to me.My brothers looked at me,waiting for me to reply to them,but like always I simply nodded,chocking on the words I badly wanted to say as Adriano opened the passenger door for me,and when the door closed I could only cross my fingers that today was one of those lucky days were everything played out smoothly.The days without fights,violence and blood.My heart sped up just thinking of what would happen if everything didn't play out smoothly.

The sound of Alessandro lowering my window struck me out my thoughts.I made sure my seat belt was on,I quickly took off my diamond earrings that Adriano gave to me to hide in the car's glove compartment to prevent them from being stolen and I rested my arms against the open window trying to make sure anyone from the outside could see me as we entered the most dangerous and poor city of Brazil.Also the place our grandparents raised us.I saw the police cars on every other block of the neighborhoods,observing their surroundings,you could hear the sirens blaring down a street from us and the cops observed the cars closey to make sure no one even more dangerous from the people who already lived there,enter.Three chubby officers looked at me,shining me a smile and a nod,before looking at the other cars passing by.Alessandro and Adriano's sighs in relief made me feel proud of myself,nothing makes me happier than making my brothers happy,but that proud cheerful feeling vanished once we entered our old neighborhood.