The Phoenix Returns

Chapter 28 - I'm Not An H-O-E

(Scarlett's POV)

"Hey, Oak." I smiled, opening the door for him to enter as I went back towards the kids.

"What's up, sis?" He walked in and shut the door behind him.

It's around lunchtime and I was just feeding the boys and Olivia, Kennedy went out job hunting. She wants to start pulling her weight around here, plus, it will help keep her mind off of Nick.

Oakley followed me to the kitchen.

"Just feeding the kids." I spoke, plating their mac n' cheese and nuggets. "Kennedy went out to look for a job and I'm just chilling here."

I shrugged.

"Mind if I chill here with you?" My little brother hoped.

I beamed. "Not at all."

"Cool." Oakley nodded once, relaxing.

"Hey, umm, do you happen to have that picture of our birth mother?" I tested him. "I've been patiently waiting for you to bring it, but now I'm dying to see it." I bounced on my feet, anxious.

Oakley chuckled at me. "Yeah, my bad. I keep forgetting about it, remind me to bring it next time."

Can't remind you of you just pop up every time.

I'm a little bummed now. "Gotcha."

I'm never going to be able to see this picture, and it's crazy that Kyson said he lied about having. He didn't say that he didn't have it just now, only that he had to get it.

Maybe Kyson heard him wrong?

"Mommy!" Kylan whined from his highchair. Olivia and Sammy on either side of him in their highchairs. "I want my mac n' cheese!"

I laughed at him as I walked over with his plate. "Here you go."

I went back for Olivia's and Sammy's. Once they all had their food, I pour juice for them before sitting down at the table with Oakley.

"Have you seen your birth father recently?" I asked him, sipping my wine.

Oakley shook his head. "I don't think I want to have anything to do with him anymore. I tried."

"Are you sure?" I tried to reason with him because sometimes it's hard to find birth parents, and in my case, I haven't found any. "I tried looking for our birth mother, but I couldn't find her, her name was the only one on my birth certificate."

"I had both and I feel like I was able to find the sucky parent." Oakley chuckled humorlessly. "Maybe we should just enjoy the fact that we found each other and forget about our birth parents."

No.

I shook my head. "I can't do that, I need closure."

"They probably don't want to have anything to do with us anyway, that's why they gave us away." His tone was slightly harsh.

I shrugged. "I don't care."

Oakley rolled his eyes at me, annoyed. "Okay."

"What's your problem?" I grilled, he was making me upset.

"Nothing." Oakley muttered, his blue eyes looked away.

"Well, what was your point in finding me?" I demanded. "You're the reason I want to find her, it gave me hope because you found me."

Oakley sighed. "You may not like what you find."

"I'd like to see for myself, thank you." I concluded.