Page 70 of The Wonder of You
“Lukas, lock the doors and shut the curtains.”
Lukas does as he’s told.
Dad starts playing with his fingers nervously as we all stand around silently for what feels like a painfully long time. He glances at Henry every now and then. My heart sinks thinking my Dad might be feeling threatened by someone who means so much to me.
“Go sit down, fine sir. I’ll sort this one out.”
Dad nods and walks into the living room in some kind of dream state. Toni follows behind him with a coffee in hand.
I stare at Henry, what is his plan? How can he fix this?
“Phoenix, why don’t you help Renée clean herself up?” Henry smiles sympathetically at me as Phoenix takes my hand and gently leads me upstairs.
Chapter 50
Phoenix scrubs the speckles of blood off my face as I sit in the bath with my head down, my knees up, still sobbing. He doesn’t speak, he just helps clean me off. He knows I need this moment to let it all out while still having the comfort of him beside me.
After a few moments, Phoenix rubs his thumb on my forehead. He looks sad and I realise a bruise must be forming.
“Did he hit you?”
“Yeah, I-I tried to escape, b-but he hit my head on the table. It was so hard, I-I am su-surprised it didn’t knock me out,” I stutter. I think adrenaline from what happened must have brought me back into reality. The mention of my head makes it throb again.
“Renée, I am so sorry. When Lukas told me you left, I just knew… I knew something was off. Turns out Henry can run faster than me.”
“Don’t blame yourself, I never expected that to happen, I never thought I’d see him again.”
I lean forward and kiss him gently. He gives me a small smile and despite everything that has happened, he continues to look at me with that sparkle in his eyes.
“I promised I’d protect you and I’ve nearly lost you twice now. I mean it this time, I won’t let anyone close enough to hurt you, you hear me?”
“Yes,” is all I can manage. I’m so tired I could lean my head on his shoulder and fall asleep.
“I think we should leave after this, Renée.”
“Yeah, I could do with a nice long sleep in the cabin for a while,” I sigh.
“No, leave this place, this town… go back to the other world for a bit. We don’t know what Carl did before today, who he spoke to, if there will be any questions about his disappearance. We don’t want a link to it. I think your dad will be fine. He’ll act as if he never saw him.”
I fall into silence.
Phoenix is basically telling me to say goodbye to my father. I knew this was coming eventually, but it still creates a conflict within me. I know it’ll be hard saying goodbye to my dad, to this house and all its memories, good and bad. It’s not just a goodbye for now either, it’s goodbye forever. There’s a chance Gabriel will never let us return when he finds out everything that has happened. And if he does let us, Phoenix’s ‘a bit’doesn’t mean a couple of years, it likely means a couple of hundred years. A mortal’s lifetime. My dad won’t be here if we come back. If Lydia has a child, it’s unlikely they’ll be here either. It’s somewhat overwhelming, a length of time I struggle to comprehend, even with all the clear memories of my previous life. The feeling is not strong enough to change anything, though. Phoenix and this circus are always my first choice.
“Renée?” Phoenix lifts my face gently by my chin, turning me to look at him.
“I know, he’ll be fine with Lydia, he can move on from everything,” I say with confidence. Dad deserves to rest too.
I lean onto Phoenix and he holds my head to his chest. I listen to the steady beat of his heart and close my eyes.
“You still want me, Phoenix?” I ask weakly, knowing it’s a silly question, but wanting the reassurement of his answer. “Even though I am a bit broken?”
“Always, Renée, always. You are not broken. But if you feel that way, then I promise I will fix you.”
Walking back downstairs, I feel much better, although my head still throbs. I am shocked by the clean sight of the room where Carl was. There is no blood anywhere to be seen. The room looks just like it did before everything happened, beside the removal of the rug. Are they good cleaners or was there magic involved in this? Henry stands with two large black bags and my stomach rolls, knowing what’s inside of them.
I remind myself it was me or Carl though, and I am glad it was him.
“My sweet girl,” a voice croaks and I turn to see Arabella. She is hunched over. She looks so small and frail. Toni helps hold her up.
