Phoenix Rising - S. R. Watson Page 0,1

his vile words.

He turns on his heels and heads upstairs to the third floor. Our conversation is over.

I’ll go for now. He needs time to digest this news and work his shit out with Harlow. Our plan can wait. As I walk through the bushes to the motorcycle I have hidden, guilt gnaws at me. The thing is, I had an instant connection with Harlow. I look toward the docks, and I remember the first time I saw her there. Everyone was out enjoying the lake, and she just sat there in the fucking August heat in baggy-ass jeans and a black T-shirt. I shouldn’t have been attracted to her, but I was. Something about her intrigued me. Then she opened her mouth, and her sass pulled me in further. Phoenix had already warned me about their little spat, so I would be armed with the info I needed to double as him, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t going to let her stay mad. I didn’t change out of my clothes either. I sat my ass on that hot fucking dock with her and was determined to see her smile.

I knew she could never be mine, but each time I doubled as Phoenix in the house, my will was tested. Together, Phoenix and I had a plan, and she wasn’t a part of it. When Phoenix fell for her, I knew I needed to close the door on the possibility of Harlow and me. I know what my brother is feeling as far as Harlow is concerned because, sadly, I feel it too. I wanted to run after her just as much as he did. She managed to get through to both of us, and now she’s gone. Now I don’t have to pretend or keep my feelings to myself. I should be relieved, but instead, I hate that I squandered a chance at happiness for my brother. I really do hope they work it out, even at the expense of my own happiness.

Chapter One

Harlow

I stare into the full-length mirror in the dorm room that I used to share with Irelyn. The spring semester here at the University of Alabama starts in a few days, yet all my classes are online. I stare at the reflection of the dumbass looking back at me in the mirror, who might be about to make yet another mistake she’ll regret. I can’t believe I agreed to go on tour with Phoenix Rising. When I walked—no, when I stormed—away from the lake house two months ago, I swore I would never see Phoenix or his twin brother ever again. Phoenix nearly destroyed me. He let me fall for him while he and his twin brother substituted in and out of my life at their fucking convenience. Was any of it real? Hell, I don’t even know who my feelings were for.

I desperately wanted to escape Alabama at that moment, but my life was here now. I had school obligations. Not to mention, I was in Irelyn’s car at the time. These things kept me from running, but it was Irelyn who helped me keep my sanity. She wouldn’t let me go back to being the insecure girl who hid behind dark makeup and baggy clothes. Every day was a struggle to just exist, but I took it one day at a time. Although I still hurt, the pain fades a little more with each passing day.

“Are you having second thoughts?” Irelyn asks as she comes in and catches me staring blankly in the mirror.

“Well, it’s not like I’m anxious to be around Phoenix again. That part sucks, but this is not for him. I can’t let him fuck up this opportunity for me.” Irelyn nods approvingly.

“Smart girl,” she replies. I’m glad somebody thinks so.

Asher invited me last month to join their tour for a month or so. He thought it would be a great experience to continue documenting their journey. This is a valuable opportunity for my aspirations as a music journalist. My peers would kill for the chance. Textbooks and the classroom can only teach so much. Because of this, I told him I would think it over. Asher never found out about my brief fling with Phoenix, if you can call it that. He would have kicked his ass, and the band’s dream of a record deal would have probably been over before it started. No, Phoenix came clean about who Sevyn was and left the explanation at that. He never