Door Fifteen

Chapter 16

The wait seemed endless, but he was finally done. He wrapped my feet in bandages and gave a small nod to himself. He pressed his lips in a line before swiftly putting me back in his arms. I didn’t know where we were going, but I really didn’t care at the moment.  

It was kind of distracting, being in someone’s arms. If they were thinking of training me, it would be a while before I could. That was entirely my fault. I don’t regret it though; I was finally learning more about Phoenix.

One advantage I had over everyone was that I had taken Karate classes in my early teens. I quit once I became a blackbelt, but I do remember some of the moves. Maybe that would help in training; at least I hope.

“There’s a place I always go to when I want to be alone, so I thought we could talk there. You should feel special; I’ve never taken anyone up there. Other than my mum, that is. Mind reading isn’t all that.” He mumbled the last part.

I wasn’t feeling that special. I felt kind of bad, and not just because of my foot.

“Do you have a nice bone in your body?” I didn’t intend for him to hear it, but he did.

He didn’t say anything back. He just frowned and kept walking on like I said nothing. My head flopped when he walked up three sets of stairs. Now I was a little curious to see where we were going. He pushed open a door and I squeezed my eyes shut from the light. I blinked a few times and looked at where we were.

I knew we were on a roof, probably the top floor. The sky that I was still getting used to made the garden in front of me look amazingly beautiful. It was gorgeous. When I was younger, I always wanted a date in a garden, but this was even better.

“Wow, this is amazing!” I gushed without thinking.

“Most guys would lose man points for this, but I don’t care. When I come up here, it helps me think. Anywhere else doesn’t work as well as here.”

I admired him for that; for having the guts to tell me that. I just nodded in thought. I could see how it would be a peaceful place. I wish I had somewhere back at home like this when I was there.

“All right buddy, enough stalling. Pick somewhere to sit.” Maybe I was being a little pushy, but I really didn’t care.

He locked his jaw and sighed. He took us over to the edge and placed me on the short brick wall. I froze up and looked down. It would be a long drop if I fell.

“What if I fall?”

He laughed quietly. “I’ll catch you.”

“But what if you don’t?”

“Just trust me.”

Silence engulfed us. I wasn’t going to be pushier and make him start talking. It was already implied that he had to. What was he thinking? What ran through his mind twenty-four seven? Did he want to get to know me more like I did with him?

We were now sitting right beside each other, our arms almost touching. The wind was making it a little chilly, but nothing I couldn’t deal with.

“When I was born, my parents wanted a boy. They needed an heir for the throne. I didn’t realize it when I was younger, but the older I got the more I solved the mystery. They had never really wanted a kid; they just needed me to do the job.” He said and shrugged.

He clenched his fist. “They have never really loved me because of that. I’ve never felt good enough. They made me feel like I could never live up to them. When I was just five, they started to teach me the ways of a prince. It was never my goal to become a proper prince, so I didn’t listen.”