Page 44 of The Wonder of You
But something tells me I am wrong.
And something tells me this isn’t the end.
Chapter 32
I sit in bed waiting for Phoenix to get back from whatever business he is sorting. It was an early night for me. After our big location move, I am absolutely exhausted. I have been helping Lukas try to calm Maudie’s nerves too. I think she feels better now we’ve moved. Hopefully that means leaving behind the fear of those witches too. She won’t go anywhere on her own at the moment, even needing Lukas to hold her hand between our cabins when she wants to paint rocks with me. No little girl deserves that fear. I hope that will be the end of it and that we can settle now.
Phoenix is a while longer than usual. I don’t like sleeping without him beside me, so I continue to sit up and wait for him, wondering what is taking him so long.
Eventually, he storms through the door. I sit up straighter.
“Hey, what’s up?”
He walks forward and crouches beside me, putting his head on my lap. I run my fingers through his hair as I wait for him to calm down and speak.
“They found us,” he mumbles.
My heart drops.
No.
He can’t mean the witches, surely not?
“You’re joking, Phoenix? Please tell me it’s a joke.”
“I wish it was. I thought moving would mean they were gone from our lives. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to say to them anymore. They havehomes in the woodland, what do they want from us? Why would they expect us to give them anything after what they did with Maudie and attacking Henry? I think they’re just teasing us now.” He babbles as he stands up, throwing off his jacket and trousers. He begins unbuttoning his shirt and I notice how his eyes are extra dark; he looks so tired. I wish I could take away some of his exhaustion.
“Can Henry actually do something?” I remember his threatening words and I instantly feel guilty for what I am saying. I must remind myself that they not only attacked him, but they were trying to take Maudie. The idea sickens me. I don’t regret my words at all.
“Henry was pretty scary this evening, so was Toni, especially without Maudie around to witness it. They didn’t hold back, but the women just laughed at us. Then they started screaming and shouting. One of our guests sprinted out with her daughter. What am I going to do if they start affecting business?”
I sigh. I don’t have that answer.
“Why won’t they just piss off?” he adds as he climbs into bed beside me and puts his head in his hands.
I want to laugh at his wording, but there is too much concern and fear about this situation and what could happen next. The witches don’t like us and I see nothing good coming from this. I can’t imagine they’ll simply get bored and leave us alone. I don’t know how Phoenix is dealing with this calmly, it must be so irritating being the one who has to deal with them, not knowing what they’ll do next and how he will handle it.
“Hopefully they’ll get bored.”
I know this is a lie, of course, and my fear is heightened even more than I thought possible. I want to try and settle Phoenix down though, if only for tonight. I lean over and kiss his cheek. Then I pull him down with me to lay in bed. He allows himself to drop with me and rests his head on my chest. Moments like this, I feel such a strong passion to protect him. I know I can’t fight, or really do anything useful, but I’d give my life for Phoenix.
“Do you want me to kick their arses next time? I could try copying Toni,” I say light-heartedly. “Maybe there a good punch in me.”
I laugh at my own joke; Phoenix joins me before turning serious again.
“Stay away from them, okay? There is no way Maudie will ever go near them again so just stay away from them. Leave it to me.”
“Because you are a strong man and I am a weak woman, is that it? Even after witnessing what Toni did, well I say!”
Phoenix laughs again. “Shut up!”
I am glad to calm the moment, but I need to ask the important question for my own sake, for my own ability to sleep tonight. I swallow.
“You reckon we’ll be okay, Phoenix?” I ask as I run my hand through his hair again. I twist his black strands through my fingers and I hope for the best with his incoming answer.
“Yeah, we’ll get through this. It’s just one of those things, don’t worry and leave it to us, okay?”
I kiss his head and nod; he can’t see me doing it, but I know he can feel it.
