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Chapter Fourteen
Logan
Replaying the events from yesterday has kept me up half the night. To make matters worse, I had to make nice with Taylah. I know what she’s like, and it’s obvious she sees Phoenix as a threat. As much as I want Phoenix to pay for what she did, I want it to be by my hands, not Taylah’s.
Rolling out of bed, I know I have the house to myself today. Mom and Dad have headed out to a farmer’s market, and as usual, Phoenix is at the dance studio. That gives me a few hours to get some plans in order. I need to really start acting on some of the things I have planned for her. She’s been here for a month and a half, and aside from some petty shit at school, I haven’t really had the opportunity to do anything else, and it is eating away at me.
Heading to the kitchen, I grab myself some breakfast, then pull out my phone to send a group text to the boys.
Me: You guys awake?
Caden: Wassup bro?
Ricky: Yeah whatcha doin?
Stryker: I am now.
Me: Good. Think you guys can come round here? I have some things I want to do.
Stryker: Yeah man, I can come round for a while. I can pick the boys up and be there in 30.
Caden: Sounds good to me
Ricky: See ya soon bro.
After arranging for them to come over, I head up to have a look at the lock Phe installed on her door. It shouldn’t be hard to break into her room, but I’ll need to grab another identical lock to change this one out. Switching the key on her keychain is going to be the hard part. Today, I just want to plant some cameras so I can see what she gets up to.
I need to have a chat with Stryker to smooth things over. I know what he said yesterday has some merit, and I’m man enough to admit he has a point about asking my parents about that night, but I also need to be sure he’s still on my side. I see the longing in his eyes when he looks at Phoenix. It’s the same way I sometimes feel when she enters a room—until I remember why I hate her so much.
Heading back to my room, I open my laptop again and pull up a search on her father. I’ve tried searching her name before, but with both her and Kyle being minors, they sealed those records. When nothing new pops up on the case, I log into Facebook to grasp at straws. She avoids me at home; how else am I supposed to find dirt on the girl?
When I click on her name, I’m flooded with a fuck load of pictures. She and the crew were at some club last night—pretty scandalous, all things considered. My tiny dancer doesn’t go to any parties, and she claims to hate crowds. As I scroll through the photos, I find a video at the bottom of her feed and click play instantly.
The heavy bass rattles my speakers as her crew moves fluidly across the screen. The camera zooms in on my tiny dancer, flying through the air and landing in some rando’s arms. Gripping the edge of my desk, I watch as she glides down the dude’s body. Jonah rips her from the stranger’s hands and into another move. It’s like I’ve had hot water spilled down my back—everything burns and aches, and I don’t know why. I’m not jealous; I’m pissed.
“Phwwwwhht. That was hot. Who was that dude she was dancing with, man? He looked like he was about to eat her up.” Ricky leaned in to take a closer look at her profile page. “Did you know she was going there last night?”
I wanted to lie to him—lie to myself. I could tell him I wanted to keep her home because she deserved to be miserable, but that’s not it. I wanted to be there—be the one with arms around her, and I’m angry because I don’t want to feel like this. “You think I would have been at Levi’s party last night if I’d known?”
“Man, chill, alright. So she went out clubbing. From the looks of it, it was an organized dance event. It’s not as though she went there because she had the feeling to go clubbing.” Stryker points to the screen. “Look, it was posted by the studio, and she was tagged in it.”
Looking back at the screen again, I notice he’s right. Every photo looks like she was tagged in it. I can’t act like she’s not talented—she’s an incredible dancer. I just couldn’t get past that guy with his hands all over her body, and yet, when I touch her, she shuts down. Is it the dancing or the guy that changes things for her? What does he have that I don’t?
“Soooo, what are we doing here anyway, man?” Caden pipes up as he lays down on my bed, making himself at home.
I smile and rub my hands together. “I wanna know what she’s doing in there. I can’t get to her at school, and she’s never home.”
Looking back at the pictures on the screen, I select a few to save. I have a plan for them this week at school, and hopefully, the camera footage will give me something I can use against her.
Getting up from my desk, I head into the hallway and take a picture of the lock on the door. After a quick trip to the hardware store, we get to work. The lock falls off easily, and I replace it with my own. Handing the cameras to the boys, we hide them around the bedroom and the bathroom. Once I’m satisfied with the new set up, I head down to the living room with the boys to play some PlayStation, making sure to leave the door ajar as we go.
“What’s the plan for tonight, guys?” Stryker asks as he reaches over for a beer.
“Not much, there aren’t any parties this weekend, and I don’t feel like hanging out with the girls. Taylah is a real pain in the ass now. I just don’t want to deal with her drama.” He laughs in reply, knowing exactly how I feel about Taylah already.
“Yeah, I getcha, man. She’s a bit intense. I heard her telling off Laura last week because she was paired with you for Chemistry. If I were you, I would hold off telling her anything else about Phoenix. She already has her claws out when it comes to her, and before you go saying you don’t care what she does, you don’t want her getting too involved. Some things you can’t come back from.”
The warning in his voice is hard to miss, but I have one more task for Taylah—not that he needs to know about it. He’s way too invested in what happens with Phoenix as it is. I nod at him, deciding to drop it. “Why don’t we all chill here? My parents sent me a message a while ago, they decided to stay in a hotel for the night. The house is all ours, boys. I’ve got the new COD; we can play that, order pizza, and drink Dad’s beer. Sound good to you guys?”
“Sounds like a plan, man,” all three reply.
