Mute

Chapter 1

*Phoenix's POV*

First day back to school since the incident.

High school was hard enough without the tremendous burden of anxiety raining down on you every single day. Some days are worse than others. I guess you could say I had gotten used to a certain level of fear and anxiousness from how often I felt it. Honestly, I couldn't tell you exactly why it happened that day but I'm guessing it had something to do with the fact that it had been three years ago on that day since she's been gone.

My seventeenth birthday, to be exact. Although, my family stopped celebrating it three years ago. I got used to that though. It was painful for me, too. I could do without the yelling, however.

I think the yelling made everything worse. If I let myself think long enough, I still hear his voice screaming in my face, blaming me for what happened to her. I couldn't just let him get away with it but at the same time there wasn't much that I could really do. He was our dad. I knew he was hurting just as much as any of us. They were close, really close. But my mom got sick and tired of his behavior, especially after he decided to throw beer bottles at my head. She divorced him right after that and we haven't heard from him since. Good riddance, in my opinion.

Regardless of how much I despise the idea, I had to shake myself out of my thoughts and start heading out to school. Another day, another struggle.

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*Riley's POV*

I am already dreading my first day of school. I hated moving all the time just so my dad could remarry again. It was frustrating. This had been happening consistently for the past five years. Every time I get settled in a new place and find a way to tolerate the new wife, he does something to screw it up or she cheats and we have to leave again. How was I meant to make friends when I kept leaving?

I packed up my backpack and threw it over my shoulder as I thought back to my last school. It was a new record on how short of a stay we had there: Three months. But despite that, I still tried to dress to impress. I liked to be remembered. Today I was wearing black and white Converse with a red skater skirt and a black crop top that says 'REBEL' in white bold letters. There was a black beanie slouched on my head and my hair was braided to the side. This was in the general realm of what I would wear on the first day at a new school to hopefully give a decent impression or at least stand out.

My pride and joy, the one constant in my busy life of constantly moving around was my Mustang Shelby GT350. She was a clean white color with blacked out decals all over. My father has a pretty high paying job, so we were well off enough to afford something like this as soon as I got my license. Honestly, its the one thing I can actually thank my father for.

When I pulled up, another car parked beside mine. It was a beautiful blue Ford Raptor, a couple years older than my car. I was instantly in love with the truck. After admiring it for a good two minutes, I saw an incredibly hot guy step out of the beautiful vehicle. I mentally swooned. He was really good looking. 

I saw the guy walk straight into the school. I followed fairly far behind, eventually turning down a different hallway, going towards what I assumed was the office. Seeing that I was correct, I walked inside and grabbed my schedule, locker number and lock. This had become a basic routine for my at this point. It was almost like muscle memory.

#74, 12-24-1

I took a picture of the combo number since I never knew how long I was meant to stay for and there was no use memorizing a code when I wasn't going to be using it in a few short months or even weeks. I walked over to my new locker and put in all my stuff. Then I locked it up before heading towards my first class, music. I love music. It's helped me through so much. It gives me a proper escape or even a place to vent and just let everything out. I am lucky enough to be musically inclined and know how to play a few different instruments. 

I wanted to get to class early so that I could talk to the teacher and find out where I sit before hand. It saves me the awkward 'Please welcome our new student, she'll be sitting next to the person who least wants her there.'  Sometimes, anyway.

I walked into the classroom and immediately noticed that same guy from the parking lot. I mentally smiled to myself, maybe I can make a friend. I looked over to the teacher's desk and saw a middle aged women with brown hair and blue glasses sitting behind it. I assumed this was Mrs. Smith and prayed that it wasn't a substitute.

"Excuse me? Mrs. Smith? I'm new and I was wondering if I could find out where I sit before class starts." She looked up and smiled.

"Of course. You may sit next to Phoenix. He's the one sitting in the back. He's mute, so, don't be upset if he doesn't talk to you. He only communicates through sign language." I nodded and said thank you before heading to my new seat.

Mute? I wonder what happened. As my mind flooded with the many possibilities of why he is mute, I made my way to the silent and attractive boy sitting in the back of the class.

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A/N-
Heyyyyy, the pic is Phoenix.

**EDITED 01-31-20**