The Good in Sin

We're On Fire

Hey everybody,

Since I'm twenty-two today I thought I'd share a chapter in honor of my birthday ❤
Please enjoy!

- cilla

"You're friends with Gorda's brother?" Sin asked on the drive to Phoenix's house, and Phoenix released a thread of uncontrolled giggles at the name.

"Yeah, Kayden's funny." Phoenix said after the fit passed.

"So does his dad... like your mom?" Sin asked as he stared at the road, unaware of the wrinkle between his eyebrows sitting in concern.

Phoenix saw the look and smiled knowingly, "Oh Sin."

"What." 

"You know what."

Sin spared the boy a small look of defeat, but quickly turned his eyes back to the road. "Well, does he?"

Phoenix shrugged, sitting tall in the front seat that he had convinced Sin he was old enough for. It was clear the boy was too small for the front seat, but the drive was only a few minutes, so what was the worst that could happen?

"I mean, he does. But who cares? She doesn't like him."

"She doesn't like me, either." Sin said to himself thoughtfully, and Phoenix giggled again.

"No, but at least you care about what she likes. All people like Mr. Jim care about is what they want. They like her so they think if they're nice to her, she'll like them, too." The boy went on, his tone turning hard and his gray eyes glaring at the trees that blurred by. He may have been speaking about Mr. Jim, but part of him was thinking about Keith. 

Sure, the man provided him with the life he lived to that day, but why did he have to come around all the time? Why did she owe him coffee and his attention, and what did they talk about when Phoenix had to go to his room at the end of the night? 

Forcing the man from his mind, especially since he hadn't been around in a while, Phoenix looked back at Sin. "But you don't do that. You care about what she wants, too." 

"I also care about what you want, Phoenix. Let me know if you don't feel comfortable talking about it with me, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Sin. I'll let you know if you start to get creepy." 

Sin chuckled, continuing to drive to the boy's house, and upon reaching it they hopped out and rushed inside.

They ate cookies as a snack, and Sin grabbed a few throw blankets from the couch to wrap himself in before turning to Phoenix, who was sitting in his seat, eating cookies and doing his homework. "Hey, you want to take a break from that and help me with something?" Sin asked while seeing Phoenix was doing his work no problem.

With eyes lit up like a gray cloud passing over the sun, Phoenix sat up and stuffed the last of the cookies in his mouth. "I'm ready!"

Sin tossed him a blanket, and they trudged to the back of the house, a small space of grass before the forest of trees that made up the town they lived in. The shed didn't seem to interest Phoenix at all, rather it seemed he had been there before and found no interest in it. "What are you doing in here?" He asked Sin.

The box full of tools was still sitting by the furnace, and flipping it open, he handed Phoenix a flashlight. "I'm trying to fix your furnace, so your house is warm." 

"You can do that?" Phoenix said, child innocence bright in his widened eyes, and Sin enjoyed the way Phoenix looked at him as if he were some kind of hero.