Midnight Fire - Rise of the Dark Angel - Book One (7 page)

**********

             
Phoenix had never b
een a morning person
and she’
d stayed up entirely t
o
o late
writing
in her
notebook
causing her to be
crankier
than
normal
. She crawled out of bed, wanting to sleep
longer
but
desperately hungry
.
I
f she didn’t get there during the designated breakfast time
,
she’
d end up eating stale bread and warm water instead of warm eggs and toast.

             
She slow
ly made her way down the hall
,
disappointed to see nearly everyone else was already in there. She took her place in line
and soon had a plateful of food
,
then
went to find
a seat
.

             
“Come
over here
,
Phoenix,” Brian called
. She looked up in surprise
and delight, which quickly
deflated
when she saw Jessica
sitting there
,
too
.
Jessica
didn’
t look happy
at the invitation.

             
“Morning,”
Phoenix
managed to mumble
,
then
she
dug into her food. The conversation continued without
her. She wouldn’
t be in the mood to talk for at least another hour. She was even thinking
about
going back to bed for a while.

             
“We’
re going huntin
g after breakfast
.
I think you’
re on
picking
duty again,” John told her.

             
“Great,” she managed to mumble.

             
“What are you so
cross
about?” Jessica asked, seeming pleased by her grumpiness.

             
“I’
m just tired,” Phoenix mumbled
,
which made Jessica smile
even
more
.

             
“Some people
just
ar
en’
t very fun to be around,” she paused, “in the morning,” she finished with a vindictive smile.

             
“Well, some people
just aren’
t fun t
o be around
,
ever,” Phoenix said
with a sweet smile, which
belied
her words. Jessica glared at her, not even pretending to be friendly. Brian laughed as if the entire conversation was a big joke.

             
“I’
m all finished so I
’d
better
head out
with the other guys
,” he told them
and quickly fled the scene. The others stood up and were out of there just as fast, leaving her with Jessica. Ph
oenix figured her morning couldn’
t get any worse.

             
“He’
s mine
and you need to realize that, instead of hanging on him like t
he pathetic little girl you are. You’ll go away if you know what’s good for you,
” Jessica spat, not
wasting
any time. Phoenix sat in shock for a few moments, not believing
Jessica
would
talk to her like
that. She normally was snide
and underhanded
but
had never before
threatened her
.

             
“I
don’t like you
,
Jessica
and I’
m tired of pre
tending
I do
.
However
,
there aren’
t many people
who
live here and I refuse to
outright fight with you.
I don’t care who you like, or
dislike
but
yo
u
won’t
talk to me like that
and you certainly
won’t
threaten me,” Phoenix said
in a voice backed with steel.
She was
proud of
herself
for standing strong
. Phoenix normally didn’
t come across as
a
confrontational
person.

             
“I’m n
ot threatening you
, Miss Perfect.
I’m simply telling you he’
s mine
and he doesn’t play with little girls,” she spat, finally pulling herself together.

             
“Number one
,
I’
m less
than a year younger than you
.
N
umber two,
Brian and I
have been friends
for a lot more years than you’
ve known him. You
will not
tell me who I will and
won’t
like. You and I can pretend to
not even know each other because I’
m done with this conve
rsation,” Phoenix said
,
then got up and walked away.

             
She entered the hallway
,
then
felt someone grab
her arm
quickly yank her
around. She almost lost her footing.
Phoenix
turned to stare into the furious eyes of Jessica.

             
“You may have everyone here fooled by your little
M
iss
I
nnocent act
but
I’
ve never bought into it. You’
re just as conniving as
I am
but
you hide it much better. Don
’t you dare talk to me that
way.
I don’t care if your precious D
addy is one of
the founders of this place. I’
ll make your life a living hell,” she whispered furiously, taking care to not be loud enough for anyone to overhear their conversation.

             
Phoenix yanked her arm from her grasp and looked
at her incredulously. She couldn’
t believe the stupid girl was
picking a fight
. They stared at one another for several moments
,
until
Phoenix had her emotions under control.
             

             
“Jessica, I really don’t care what you think
of me -
not even the tiniest bit
but
as I already tol
d you, you
won’t
threaten me
and get away with it
.
Y
ou
certainly
won’t
lay your hands on me again. If you d
o, then I’
ll show you I’
m
no innocent little girl
and I will kick your
ass
. Unlike you, who skips out of classes every chance she can, I actually pay attention, especial
ly when it co
me
s
to self-defense
and
boxing.
S
o back off me
,
now,” Phoenix said
with a
sm
ile
. She
saw
the s
econd Jessica made her decision
because suddenly the girl was lungin
g for her
and Phoenix, who was
n
’
t normally prone to violence, was looking forward to
the fight
.

             
Jessica took a swing at her
, which Phoenix easily ducked. She could kick the spoiled girls butt without even breaking a swea
t. She easily dodged her swings
and waited a few moments for Jessica to
tire
herself out. She then took a fighting stance and swung her arm. Her fist con
nected with the other
girl's
jaw
,
making
a satisfying crunch sound. She was surprised by the slight pain it caused her own
knuckles
.

             
“You witch,” Jessica screamed
,
then caught Phoenix by surprise
and grabbed a handful of her hair. The pain was
excruciating
, as she pulled hard
er
. Phoenix swung her arm out again
but
missed. She calmed herself
,
then felt Jessica
on
her back and threw her elbow
with all her strength
. Phoenix then
lifted her foot
,
bringing
it down
,
hard. Jessica’s breath whooshed out of her and she groaned in pain.

             
“Are you finished yet because I’
d love to continue
if you’re not
?
” Phoenix
taunted
her. In answer
,
Jessica lunged at her
again
and the girls both tumbled to the hard ground. Phoenix fe
lt a shooting pain in her elbow
,
which
enraged
her more. The girls rolled on the ground, both of them landing some good blows
but
Phoenix knew Jessica was ge
tting the worst
end of it. She heard some voices
but
rage w
as rushing through her eardrums
and she couldn’t focus on anything being said.

             
Suddenly Ph
oenix was yanked off Jessica
and someone was grasping each of the
girls. Phoenix and Jessica
were still so angry
they
were pulling against the human
restraints, trying to get back at each other.

             
“That’
s enough, both of you,” a booming mal
e voice said with so much power
both girls suddenly stoppe
d. As Phoenix quit the struggle
she could feel the pain throughout her body. She hurt
everywhere
and as she glanced at Jessica, she could see she was in
a lot of
pain as well. Jessica was scratched up p
retty badly from the hard floor
,
bleeding from a few places on her rapidly swelling face.

             
Phoenix knew she
had to look
just as bad as Jessica, from the
way
she was feeling. She looked into the eyes of her father,
who was standing behind Jessica
and then several other faces who were staring at her in shock
,
and suddenly
felt shame. She’
d never even thought about doing something like that before. Her dad must be horribly disappointed in her.

             
“Wh
at were you girls thinking? We’
re a
family. W
e certainly don’
t fight against each other
. Isn’t there enough fighting goi
ng on in the outside world? I’
ve never felt such
disappointment
before
as I do right now,” her father said, causing a tear to fall
from her eye
. “B
ring them both to the infirmary
so
I can fix them up,” he finished
,
then
walked away.

             
Tears silently fell down
Phoenix’s
cheeks as
they
were led to the infirmary. No one trusted
them
to be alone together
and what
was
worse
was a few men stayed there with
them
, just in case
they
decided to go at it again.