“How long has it been giving you that message?” I asked, knowing Mom called to check on Phoenix daily. She needed the reassurance her baby was still alive. My poor momma.
“I called her three times before calling you. I was trying to catch her before she was in class.”
I held back a laugh. Phoenix had no early morning classes. The girl couldn’t get up before mid-morning at the earliest. “I’ll tell her. See you Friday,” I told Bliss before ending the call. I quickly found my sister’s name and hit call. Waited . . . and sure enough, the not a working number message played in my ear. Frowning, I looked at my phone and tried to think of every possible scenario. My parents paid her phone bill. She was a college student. They covered those things while we went to college. When I had decided to take a “break” from college, they’d agreed and would have kept paying my bills if I hadn’t asked for them to be handed over.
Knowing there had to be a reasonable explanation, I started to call my mother and stopped. Just in case there was something going on that would upset her, I decided calling Dad was a better idea. Mom was tough, but when it came to her baby girl, she got very worked up. It wasn’t that she loved Phoenix more, it was that she feared for Phoenix more. My sister was crazy as hell. With a mean streak a mile wide.
“Morning, beautiful,” my dad’s voice said over the line after the first ring.
“Good morning, Daddy,” I replied.
“I rarely ever get calls from you. Is it just my lucky day?” he was teasing. I visited my parents regularly. I also texted both of them. I did call my mom more though. The older I got, the worse that got. Needing to talk to her about things.
“I was wondering if you had heard from Phoenix?” I asked, getting to the point before my imagination got the best of me.
“Yes, I spoke with her yesterday. Why? Did she call you?”
Yesterday? That’s weird. “So yesterday her phone number was working?”
He paused. “It was . . . but as of today, it won’t be.” He knew about this, which meant she was okay.
“I tried calling her.” I stopped and waited for him to explain.
There was a heavy sigh then he cleared his throat. “Phoenix has decided she’s in love with a guy she met on her recent trip to London. She’s not taking her exams and finishing up this semester of college even though the tests are this week. Tossing it away because she doesn’t want to leave him. It’s her choice, but after speaking with your mother, we decided that if she can so easily toss away the money we have spent this semester on her college education with no regard to her future, it’s time we take a more firm hand. She wants to be grown and make her own decisions then she can. Starting with paying her own bills.”
Oh.
Shit.
I sat there with the phone in my hand unable to find words. Phoenix was in London with some man and our parents had cut her off financially. I was torn between being furious with her stupidity and panicking over her safety. She couldn’t survive out there. My little sister made the worst choices on a good day. Sure, not too long ago I’d been wild. Made some bad decisions. Was a little rebellious but it was a phase. I did “take a break” from college and not return but otherwise, I was doing good now. I’d never have run off to freaking London no matter how bad I got.
“How’s Mom?” I asked finally.
“Worried but like me, she knows we can’t keep funding Phoenix’s bad decisions. She has to grow up. Or at least step up and learn how to handle life on her own.”
They were right, but she wasn’t ready. The idea of getting on a plane and going to find her and slap sense into her was tempting. But so was finding her and holding her tight so she couldn’t do anything stupid that could hurt her.
“You haven’t told Nate,” I said, already knowing the answer since it was Bliss who called me about the number.
“No. I was putting it off. He’s finished the renovations on the house and they’re enjoying things being done there. No need to put a damper on things for him.”
Nate would freak the hell out when he heard this. Damper was a very tame way to describe his reaction. Dad knew that too.
“Bliss called Phoenix this morning. She’s who called me to ask about the not a working number message.”
Another sigh. “She’s supposed to call with her new London number by noon. I’ll make sure you get it then I’ll call and deal with your brother.”