by S R Watson
“Okay, babe. All of this just breaks my heart, but I want you to be happy. I’m rooting for you guys. I’m glad that he is that for you—someone who can make you feel whole again. I love you, Harlow. And when you’re ready to bring that sick bastard to justice, I will be there to hold your hand.”
I’m so glad that I got all of that out. There are no more lies between us. The kink between Phoenix and me isn’t a lie. I have to keep some stuff personal with my man.
‘My man.’ That has a nice ring to it. I wipe my own tears and try to put those painful memories away. I need happy thoughts. I need Phoenix.
“Do you mind if I use your car again?”
“You’re going to see Phoenix again, aren’t you?” She smiles and shakes her head. “You know you can,” she answers, even before I can answer.
“That transparent, huh?”
“Yeah. Pretty much. What are you going to tell Asher? That you’re there to visit him again?” She laughs out loud at her own joke. “You two are going to have to come clean sooner rather than later. That ruse you have going on is not going to last long.”
“I know. I’ll talk to him soon. It needs to come from me anyway.”
“Mm-hmm. Get out of here. Go see your man,” she teases. She hands me her keys, and I’m out the door within minutes. I’m giddy the whole drive over. This is what Phoenix does for me. He erases the pain when I’m with him. I wish I could make Asher see it that way, but there is no way in hell I’m ready to share what happened to me. He would go apeshit crazy. He needs to focus on their new record deal. I’ll just tell Asher that I wanted to see him and Lily again before she leaves since I didn’t stick around last night. I’ll figure out how to tell him the truth, but I need time. I just hope Phoenix is happy to see me.
The door is unlocked again, so I just let myself in. These guys need to really work on that. I run up the stairs. I didn’t see the Escalade parked out front, but I did see Phoenix’s bike. I’m hoping from the quietness that it means that they’re all gone. Alone time with Phoenix would be good right now.
“Sevyn, you need to get the fuck out of here before the guys get back. You know you’re supposed to wait for the green light to show up here,” Phoenix growls. Holy shit. I pause on the steps leading to the main level on the second floor. Apparently, neither of them heard me come in, due to their heated argument. I’ve only heard Phoenix take this tone once before, and it was last night when he was on the phone with this Sevyn person when I came up the stairs.
“Look. I know you’re pissed at me for what happened with Harlow, but I put a stop to it immediately. Don’t renege on our agreement. I need you, Phoenix.” I recognize that voice. Is he arguing with himself? Why is he saying he needs himself? What. The. Fuck? Curiosity gets the best of me, and I have to see what is going on. I’m not prepared for what I see. My whole fucking world has just been tilted on its axis. I. Can’t. Breathe.
“There…There… are twooooo of you?” I stutter. What the ever-loving fuck is going on?
“Fucccccck!” I don’t even know who in the hell is speaking. One of the twins paces the floor while the other takes a seat on the sofa and puts his head in his hands. I start to back away slowly. The hot and cold is starting to make sense. Apparently, I was with “Sevyn” yesterday on the sofa watching Elementary, and that is why Phoenix was pissed. “Harlow, wait,” the one pacing says as he reaches for me.
“Who the fuck are you?” I cry. The tears are back full force now. Oh, God. I kissed and dry-humped Sevyn yesterday. Have I fucked him too? Have I unknowingly slept with both brothers?
“It’s me, Phoenix. And that is my brother, Sevyn,” he says, pointing at his identical twin on the sofa. Shit, they’re identical down to their tattoos and swagger. That can’t be by accident. They have gone to great lengths to fool people, but why? I feel violated all over again. I thought I was in control of my sexuality, choosing whom I gave my body to. I don’t even know whom I fucked right now. How can Phoenix be this cruel? How can he break me like this? It took courage to get to this point, and he’s just undone it all in an instant. How do I come back from this? I cry even harder now.
“I figured that much, jackass. Stay the fuck away from me. You and your sick ass brother!” I shout.
“Please let me explain,” he begs, reaching for me again. I dodge his grasp.
“I don’t want to hear shit you have to say. You…” I can’t even finish my sentence. I don’t have the strength to argue with him right now. I’m about to have a total meltdown, and I’ll be damned if I give him the satisfaction of seeing it. I turn and run back the way I came, as fast as my feet will carry me.
“Harlow!” I hear Phoenix call after me.
“Give her some space, Phoenix,” I hear Sevyn say. It’s so crazy that even their voices are identical. One thing is for certain. I hate them both for what they did to me. I find myself back in the same mental place that I’d managed to escape from two years ago. I get into the car and peel off down the street. I don’t even know where I’m headed, but it is definitely in the opposite direction of the university.
Epilogue
Phoenix
The pain written on Harlow’s face when she fled is nothing short of heartbreaking. I can’t even look at Sevyn right now. He’s fucked up everything. He wasn’t supposed to even be here. I would have told her about my brother eventually, but we hadn’t gotten to that point in our relationship. We just made it official today, for fuck’s sake. Now it doesn’t even matter. She gave me her trust, and she feels betrayed. I can only imagine the thoughts running through her mind. I need to find a way to fix this, but how? I haven’t even told the guys I had a twin, let alone he has been here at the house as me on multiple occasions.
They’re going to feel betrayed, too. This is going to destroy our chemistry for sure. I don’t even know the future of Phoenix Rising at this point. Will they still want to be a band after they find out what I’ve been up to—Sevyn’s real identity? They know him by name only. They question why he never came around, but respect my privacy enough not to pry. This is all coming to a head, and I’m literally afraid of the outcome. I may just lose the woman who has actually come to mean something to me, and my band, in the same fucking day. I will talk to Asher first about Sevyn and try to make him understand. Our switch in and out of the house was not malicious or intended to hurt anyone, yet that is exactly what happened. This is one big cluster fuck, and I don’t know if I will be able to fix it.
Thank you for reading PHOENIX RISING: ISSUE #1, the start of our new rock star series with a twist! We hope you loved meeting Phoenix and Harlow. Continue their journey and find out what happens next in PHOENIX RISING: ISSUE #2
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Phoenix Rising: Issue #1 Playlist
Have Faith in Me ~ A Day to Remember
Fuck You All the Time ~ Jeremih
Come Undone ~ Duran Duran
I Wanna be Yours ~ Arctic Monkeys
Planes ~ Jeremih
Love. Sex. Riot. ~ Issues
Tonight (Best I Ever Had) ~ John Legend
Speechless ~ Memphis May Fire
One Way or Another ~ Until the Ribbon Breaks
The Dying Hymm ~ The Color Morale
The Worst of Them ~ Issues
Out of Exile ~ Audioslave
The Sinner ~ Memphis May Fire
The Downfall of Us All ~ A Day to Remember
Shackled Up ~ Alex Vargas
Scared ~ Mothica
Blank Space ~ I Prevail
Other Books by S.R. Watson & Ryan Stacks
The Playboy’s Lair Duet
Silas: A Playboy’s Lair Novel – Part One
Silas: A Playboy’s Lair Novel – Part Two
Forbidden Trilogy
Forbidden Attraction ~ Book #1
Forbidden Love ~ Book #2
Unforbidden ~ Book #3
Stand Alone
The Object of His Desire
Mister English
Peppermint Mocha Love: A Christmas Novella (written as S. Renee’ … co-authored with R.L. Harmon)
Her Favorite Christmas Gift (written as S. Renee’ … co-authored with R.L. Harmon)
Legion of Supernatural Academy Series
Quantum Entanglement: Part One
Quantum Entanglement: Part Two
Quantum Entanglement: Part Three
About S.R. Watson
USA Today Bestselling Author, S. R. Watson, is a Texas native who currently resides in Washington with her children. She grew up reading the Sweet Valley series (Twins, High, & University) among others. Although she wrote countless stories during high school, she'd never published any of them. She continued her education and became an operating room registered nurse. The pursuit towards earning her degrees, meant less time for leisure reading and writing for a bit. After picking up reading again, starting with the Twilight series and 50 Shades Trilogy, she decided to pursue her passion for writing once again.
S. R. Watson (also writes as S. Reneé) published her first book in 2014.
When S. R. Watson is not writing, or working as an OR nurse supervisor, she loves to read and binge watch her favorite shows.
About Ryan Stacks
USA Today Bestselling Author, Ryan Stacks, is a Washington native who currently resides in Kennewick with his wife Anna Harmon. Most would consider him a jack of all trades. His first love is wrestling and he's wrestled his entire life. In addition to his talents on the mat, Ryan has many achievements. He's a published international cover model and he released his first book, Peppermint Mocha Love with co-author, S. Reneé in December 2017. For this novella, he debuted as both an author and cover photographer. Ryan Stacks has partnered with S.R. Watson (also writes as as S. Reneé) to create more stories under his current pen name as well as R.L. Harmon.
When Ryan Stacks is not writing, he spends his time helping to build the wrestling sport within the community as one of the coaches for Richland High School as well as a youth program. In addition to his commitment to the community, Ryan has taken his fitness career to new highs as a men's physique competitor - placing top 3 at the national level.