The Marx Brothers

Chapter Twenty Seven - 'Games'

Catching Penny up took a lot longer than I had thought, which made me understand the true nature of complication I was dealing with.

She could barely keep up and by the end of my tale, I almost felt bad for having ruined her trip away with all of my drama and whinging. As usual, the advice she had given me was as meaningless as a participation award at the end of a sporting event. I thanked her anyway and told her that some of her ideas were worth a try, knowing well enough they weren't. I lost track of time as we spoke, sitting in the break room of the warehouse, flicking mindlessly through the body building and healthy eating magazines in the middle of the table.

Ending the conversation with Penny was a little upsetting. Speaking with her was a taste of my past life, a life that I missed. Things were no longer as simple as they used to be, I wondered if it would ever be, to what extent would my life go back to normal? Jett was going to marry my sister, that in itself was going to change everything. I began to wonder how it would even work. Grace and Jett hadn't known each other long, they hadn't ever lived together, they could hate being in the same household as one another, could a relationship so fresh even work like that? Instead of paddling in the shallow end of the pool, they were diving straight into the deep end, I could see them struggling, thrashing to keep their heads above water. But what did I know? I knew nothing of relationships, nothing of how the adult world worked.

I was so lost in my own world that I hadn't noticed Phoenix sit opposite me in the break room

"What are you thinking?" He asked, snapping me from my trance, my eyes meeting his curious soft gaze

I shrugged "Lots of things.."

"Like?" He urged, watching me carefully

"What's your opinion on your brother and my sister?" I asked, not mentioning the fact they were going to wed

He paused for a moment, watching me "Jett told you, didn't he?"

"Told me what?" Did he know?

Again, he hesitated "You're a bad liar.."

I shook my head, avoiding his gaze, unsure

"Jett told me yesterday about what his plans with your sister are.." He sighed

My eyes moved towards him "He did?"

Phoenix nodded "My opinion though..." He shrugged, toying with the corner of a magazine in front of him "I don't really know, I mean what do I know about stable relationships, right?"

"That makes two of us" I mumbled "You do it to yourself though.." I spoke more prominently, making a point "I don't, well at least, I don't think I do.. maybe, I don't even know anymore.." I was staring into space again, my mood low

His eyebrows pulled together in the middle, he was staring at me. He sat up straight from his slumped posture and shook his head with a sigh "let's not get into that right now hey?"

I sighed back, taking the moment as the time to lay down some truths "So while I have you here, tomorrow, I'm.. I'm going out for a little while.." I avoided his focused eyes

"Going out?"

I nodded "I'm going to the races with Brody, and then to dinner"

I knew that I needed to get out, I needed to surround myself with positive people and situations again. Brody made me forget about all the drama, I liked that he made me feel so normal, so I had quickly decided that I would jump in feet first, enjoy my time as a 'normal' teenager.

After talking with Jett I was convinced that I would be okay. If I had Jett's approval, then that's all I really needed, I trusted him, I knew he was smart, I knew he wouldn't let me go if he genuinely thought something bad would happen.