LUST NOT FOUND

CHAPTER 16 - A LOT

PHOENIX SCOTT

"I fucking hate you!"

Phoenix's life was far from perfect—nowhere near it, in fact. If you were to define "perfect," it certainly wouldn't describe Phoenix. But then Gianni Laurier came into his life. Gianni was everything Phoenix could dream of: beautiful, funny, with the prettiest smile, the warmest touch, and, most of all, the kindest heart. Their coming together felt like a dream. Phoenix wanted to protect Gianni with everything he had, but he couldn't.

Phoenix never received love, so he didn't know how to give it. He couldn't even keep Gianni safe. The one thing Phoenix wanted to do was protect Gianni, but he failed. He felt like he couldn't do anything right—nothing at all. He saw himself as a failure.

"fucking failure!"

"how does one fail at everything!"

"can't do shit right to even save yourself!"

"pathetic"

It echoes, ringing in his mind like a plague every single day. These aren't old memories—they can't be—because each day history repeats itself. It never gets old.

The day before the class trip

"Ms. Anne, I only have $300 right now, but I promise I'll have the rest by this evening. Please—"

"Someone already paid for you," she said.

"Wait... who?"

"Check the book. Whose name appears before yours?" she asked with a grin. Phoenix looked at the name in shock. Why? Why would he do this? They're not even friends... Phoenix turned to Ms. Anne with a small smile, then awkwardly exited her office and headed home.

As he walked home, all he could think was, why? Why did he do that? Why does he have to be so kind? He's making it so hard to just ignore him. Phoenix hated this. 

By the time he got home, his father was already there, the house a mess and reeking of alcohol. That was when it hit him. He ran to his room and opened his drawer, finding it empty. His father had taken all the money. Furious, he stormed into the living room and found his dad drunkenly sprawled on the couch.

"Oh, son, you're home..."

"Where's the money I kept in my drawer?"

"Oh, that? I took it, used it to stock up the fridge," his dad replied, staring at the TV.

Phoenix angrily made his way to the fridge and opened it, finding only bottles of alcohol and beer inside. "You call this stocking up, Dad? Do you eat alcohol for breakfast, DAD?!" he yelled in anger, prompting his father to get up and slap him harshly.

"Raise your damn voice at me ONE MORE TIME and see what happens," his dad said angrily.

"I fucking hate you," was all Phoenix said before marching to his room. He heard his father stomping after him, holding an empty bottle of alcohol. Phoenix was scared, really scared. He ran to his room, praying for the lock to work. His prayers were answered as he quickly locked the door and grabbed the baseball bat beside his bed, crying and waiting in fear. His father groaned and walked away.Phoenix collapsed onto his bed in tears, fear washing over him. He grabbed his phone and tried to call Winter or Cole, but no one answered. He cried himself to sleep.

Phoenix woke up the next morning to the sound of construction happening right outside his door. It turned out his dad was trying to drill the door open.

"RISE AND SHINE, YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT, BECAUSE WHEN I'M DONE WITH THIS DOOR, I'M 

DRILLING YOU NEXT!" his father screamed maniacally.

Phoenix quickly grabbed his duffel bag and jumped out the window. He heard the loud sound of 

his father kicking the door open as he ran with all his might.

"YEAH, RUN! RUN, YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

Phoenix ran until he reached a bus stop. He pulled out his phone and saw 13 missed calls from both Winter and Cole. As he tried to call back, Cole's call came in, and Phoenix picked up.

"Shit, Phoenix, I'm so sorry for not picking up. Is everything okay?" Cole asked.

"I'm at the Oak Tree bus stop. Please come get me," Phoenix said, tears flowing down his face uncontrollably.

"Say no more. We're on our way," Cole said before hanging up.

A few minutes later, Cole's car pulled up with Winter in the front seat. Phoenix got in quietly, not saying a word.

"Cole, are you—"

"Just drive... please," Phoenix interrupted, his voice trembling. Cole listened and chose to stay quiet as they drove to school.

PRESENT TIME
THIRD-PERSON POV:

"Alright, everyone, settle down... let's welcome back, an unfamiliar face to some, but familiar to our new students, MARILYN SAMUELS," Ms. Jen introduced enthusiastically. Marilyn stepped in, laughing uncontrollably. Winter recognized her as the girl he and Andre had picked up at the airport.

"Ms. Jen, you didn't need to introduce me like that... heyyyy y'all!" she said happily. The students rushed to either squeeze her boobs or give her a hug, maybe both. "¡Oh, Dios mío, tranquilízate, no puedo respirar!" she cried in laughter as they finally let go.

Marilyn was the school owner's daughter, but she never really acted like one. In fact, no one knew until her dad formally introduced her at an event, yet she still acted normally with everyone, and everyone loved her.

She and Andre had been friends since childhood, and there was no denying that Marilyn had always had a little crush on him until she found out he was gay. This made her even happier, as it was the cutest rejection and coming out she'd ever heard.

"I like you."

"I like boys."

To say she was shocked was an understatement, but she supported him anyway. Now that he finally had a boyfriend, it felt like one of her dreams had come true. 

As she stood, she noticed Ariah and Andrew, the two unfamiliar faces. She first approached Andrew and introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Marilyn, nice to meet you," she said. "Nice to meet you too, I'm Andrew," he replied. "Cool," she said before approaching Ariah.

 "Hi... I'm Marilyn, nice to meet—" As Ariah raised her head, Marilyn was stunned. She was certain that Ariah had to be the prettiest girl she'd ever seen. Her voice got stuck, and she couldn't even speak. 

"I'm Ariah... nice to meet you too," Ariah said with a small smile as Marilyn just stared at her beauty in awe.

~~~

THIS BOOK IS GETTING TOO MUCH FOR MY HEALTH...