Ashes (Chris Evans)

Chapter 28

"Phee, you're shaking. What's going on?" Chris asked, keeping my body close to his.

"Our dad didn't die. He kicked Scarlett out when she was 18. He was an addict. Guess, it runs in the family." I mumbled the last sentence and took a deep breath.

Flashback:

"This conversation is over Scarlett!" Our father shouted. "You can't stop me! I'm moving to LA and I'm going to be an actress!" She yelled back. "I don't give a damn about what you want. You're staying here and that's final!" "I'm 18, dad! You can't stop me!" Scarlett yelled back from across the dinner table.

"If you leave this house, you're not welcome back." He said slowly. Scarlett glanced at me and gave me a sympathetic look. "Then I guess I'm not welcome here." She stood up from the dinner table and stormed upstairs. "Phoenix. Eat." He pointed at the food in front of me, but I wasn't hungry anymore. I pushed the plate away from me and sat back in my seat. "Are you just going to make her leave?" I asked softly. "This is her choice, Phoenix. No daughter of mine will be in that god forsaken entertainment industry. It's not what your mother would have wanted."

We sat in silence for what felt like days. In reality it was only about an hour until Scarlett came down the stairs with 2 large suitcases and a duffle bag. She walked right out of the front door to load bags in her car. Our father ignored her. I got up and started running towards the door, "Phoenix don't you dare leave this house." I stopped abruptly and stood in the doorway. "Scarlett..." Tears began streaming down my face as I watched my older sister. "Please don't leave me..." She came back over to me and pulled me into a tight hug. "I promise, I'll be back for you." She placed her hand on my cheek and gave me a reassuring smile. "Don't go." I held onto her tightly. "I have too, Phee. I can't stay here anymore." She held my face in her hands, wiping the tears that fell from my eyes. "I promise you, when I make it out there...I'll come back for you. I love you."

She pressed a kiss to my head and pulled away, walking to her car slowly. "NO!" I yelled as she got in the car. "I love you, Phee." The door shut and she quickly pulled away. "Phoenix! Inside. Now!"

-

2 years of pure torture living with him. He blamed me for Scarlett leaving. He blamed me for everything. I was the reason our mom died. I was the reason he couldn't afford his drug addiction. I was the reason he was unhappy. It was worse when he was blacked out. He wasn't always violent, only when he had too much to drink or snort.

Luckily it wasn't most nights, just a select few. I had started to think Scarlett forgot about me. That she really wasn't going to come back for me. What if she never made it big? What if I wasn't worth it to come back for?

That's when I started writing music. It was a way to escape my shitty life and the one thing I was actually good at in school.

I was writing in my journal when I heard him scream followed by a glass shattering.

"GET OUT!!"

ran down the stairs and there she was. Scarlett. "I'm here for Phoenix. Not you." Our father scoffed and looked at me, standing on the stairs. "You're not taking her." "You either sign over your guardian rights to Phoenix willingly, or I'll take you to court. We both know you can't afford it with your drinking and drug problem." Scarlett wasn't backing down. "Scar...?" "Phee, go pack your things. You're coming to live with me in LA." My heart thumped in my chest as I awaited our fathers next outburst.

"Like hell she is?!" He yelled, glaring at my older sister. "You have 5 seconds to get the hell out of this house or I'll call the damn cops." "Go ahead. I'm not leaving. Not without Phoenix." He didn't reply. Of course he wasn't going to call the cops. He was drunk at 10am in the morning and I guarantee they would find traces of various drugs from the night before. They were glaring at one another. "Phoenix. Go get your things. I brought you another suitcase."