I'd be lying if I say that I don't lose track of time in that moment. It's hard to keep track of time when you've been reunited with your amazing family after years apart. Nothing felt more pleasing and calming than being reunited with my family again. It was like a weight had been destroyed on my shoulders, and I could breathe again. 

My family, who had been missing me for all these three years, had finally become a part of my life again. They were hugging me and hugging me, and I never wanted to let go ever. I just want to stay there forever and hug them until I die. 

Eventually we did, and we all were in tears, smiling. "Nicole, how did you find us?" my dad asks, as he wipes his face. His frosty blue eyes, identical to Elena's are a blotchy red color. I've never seen this on my dad, because he never cries. He's always tried to be strong for us. 

"I-I looked Elena up on Whitepages, and I got her number. I called her, and everything went from there," I say, whilst tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. My dad flashes me a warm smile, and chuckles. The hearty, infectious laugh that Elena got resonates throughout the room, which makes my heart feel fluttery and warm. Hearing his laugh after so many years is like silk on my ears. 

"You're a very interesting girl, Nicole. But all I can say is, I'm glad to have you back. We all missed you," he says, and I feel Dom's strong hand patting me on the back. 

"I missed you guys as well. For all those three years. All I thought about was fighting through everything and being back in your arms again," I say, and I feel Dom's gentle finger trace my forearm.

"Nicole, what's this?" he asks, and his fingers gently wrap around my upper arm. My head sharply turns, and my eyes travel down to where he's grasping my arm. Right above his fingers, the purplish-blue blotches of a bruise are fairly noticeable. It's like someone decided to take a makeup palette and experiment with their shades on my skin. 

"Nicole. This is a bruise. How did you get bruised?" he asks, while his hand goes digging around inside of Elena's purse next to his body. My mind scrambles like eggs in a pan trying to think of a logical answer so I can avoid telling Dom what really happened. 

"Oh. Um, I was playing softball and my friend hit me on the arm with the bat," I swiftly lie, while Elena shoots me the stank eye. Elena knows I'm lying, but she knows not to tell Dom just yet because he'll probably lose it when he finds out what Colin did to me. 

Dom looks at me with suspicion threading his eyes. Considering I'm probably the worst liar in the world, I can see why he's suspicious. His other hand is pinching a wet wipe, while eyeing the bruise. "I don't believe you," he says, and while Elena clamps down my other arm to keep me in place. My teeth nip my lip in order to brace for Dom's reaction. 

Another gasp escapes Dom's lips when he sees the bruises staining my arms. "Nicole, unless your friend has really bad aim or was trying to murder you, this is not caused by a softball bat. Now why don't you tell me what's really going on?" my dad asks. 

When my dad asks that, it's like a rope holding me together is severed. His words are sharp enough for that rope to be cut and for my composure to go crumbling like a sand castle at the beach. At that moment, my knees give out under me, and I collapse onto the floor in tears and pain. 

Before I can hit the floor, Elena's arms catch me, and I feel her gently sit on the couch behind us. I bury my face in Elena's chest, and I let all my anger and fear flow out of me in tears. The wheels of my dad's wheelchair squeak over to where Elena is hugging me. Dom's feet clatter over to where I'm sobbing.

His hand gently strokes my back, while I'm breaking down. "Shh. Phoenix. It's okay. Tell me, what exactly happened?" my dad asks. Elena brings my head out of her chest, and her thumbs sweep the tears off of my face. I can tell she's trying so hard not to cry again, but so far, she's barely succeeding. 

"I already know one part. What about the others?" Elena asks. My brother and dad look so concerned, and it's going to absolutely kill me inside to lie any more. I'm tired of living a lie. I lived one for so long when I was in that hellhole. It's time to finally admit the truth. 

"H-he abused me and he t-took a-advantage of m-me," I weep. My dad looks confused, while Dominic understands every word that I mean. His eye starts to twitch out of rage. In an instant, he stands up quickly, with rage fueling his blood. I can feel his anger smoking from a few feet away, and the flame very close to the end of the fuse. 

"THAT LITTLE PIECE OF DONKEY CRAP! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON HIM, I'M GOING TO RIP HIM UP INTO PIECES!" Dom bellows. The tone of his voice and the volume causes me to cower in fear. Elena's arms loosely wrap around me, and my dad looks annoyed. Dom's sudden volume of his voice is what makes me want to bury myself deep down into the couch. 

"Dominic! Calm yourself down! You're scaring Nicole!" he snaps. When Dominic's eyes soak in the fear splattered on my face, he starts to relax a little bit. He can tell that he's scared me, like I was a 5 year old hanging onto his jeans because my mom was yelling so much. 

"I'm sorry, mi amor. I didn't mean to scare you. I just got so angry at the fact that hijo de puta laid his hands on you like that," Dominic calmly apologizes. He always says phrases in Spanish, utilizing our heritage due to our mom being Latina. My dad frowns at Dom. 

"Okay, I may not understand Spanish more than I'd like, but I know what that means, Dom," my dad exclaims. He crosses his arms in annoyance, while Elena snickers a little bit at my dad being annoyed with Dom. 

Dom shoots a guilty look at my dad. "Sorry," he says, and we continue our discussion. Elena looks back at us, like she's ignoring the fact that my dad and brother just had an argument about language like this was 10 years ago. 

"Nicole, I want you to live with us. Dom has an extra room in his house that he never uses. Just to store some old things," she says, and Dom nods. 

"It's true. Lara and I sleep in the same bed, so we have the one room free. I actually made it into a guest bedroom, leaning more towards the intent that if we found you again, then it'd be a place for you to stay. It just needs a little bit of cleaning, but you can stay," he offers. 

Then, the realization hits me. I don't have a job. I need to start working in order to make money so that I don't drain Dom and Elena's bank accounts. "Dom, I don't have a job! How am I supposed to help you pay the bills?" I squeal. 

Dom puts his hands on my shoulders. His brown eyes have calmed since the explosion, signaling that he knows how to control me and calm me to the right amount. 

"Relax, Nicole. There are plenty of jobs open in the office. We both know that you're really good at finance. Heck, you took the class in high school and the teacher nominated you for an award because you were so good. You even took college classes at the community college and you even considered double majoring with finance. I'm sure they'd be happy to give you an interview, and then you could get a job there," he says. 

My eyes light up at the thought. "Are you serious?" I ask. This could be amazing news for me. I've wanted to start working for a while, but of course, Colin never let me. Dom getting me the job could be amazing for me. 

Dom nods. "I'm dead serious. I'll ask them tomorrow, and then we can see what they offer," he says. I leap up from the couch and fling my arms around Dom. He doesn't budge, probably because it's like a feather against a brick wall. 

"I love you, Dom! Thank you!" I squeal. Dom chuckles a little bit. "Anything for my baby sister," he assures, and I let go of him so that he can breathe a little bit. Again, it's like me hugging a metal pole, but I don't want to suffocate my brother right now. 

"Say, Dad, what's the time?" I ask, and my dad flicks his wrist to show the time.

"Almost 7:30. We haven't eaten yet. You didn't cook, Dom?" he asks. 

Dom shakes his head. "I was cleaning the house and responding to an important email. Sorry, Dad," he says. 

"Want to order some pizza and call it a night?" I ask. I don't remember the last time I had pizza, and I want it so bad now. The thought of the gooey cheese, the succulent sauce, and the perfectly crispy crust is so appealing to me. 

 Elena nods, with a dreamy smile, like we both are thinking the same thing. "Sounds great," Elena says, and she snatches her phone. I flop on the couch, and I pick up the TV remote. 

"Jalapenos or olives?" Elena asks.

 "Olives," we all say in unison, in a sort of tired voice, as Elena places our order. 

"Gosh, I was just asking. Don't need to sound like you ran a marathon without water," she says, while she punches in the necessary requirements to fulfill the order. Eventually, she finishes the order, and she collapses into a nearby chair. 

"Nicole, do you want to sleep in my room tonight? I can take the couch," Elena offers. 

My head lifts itself slightly. "Elena, it's okay. I can take the couch. You don't have to do that," I say. 

Elena scoffs. "You realize you don't have a choice, do you?" she asks, as she takes the hair tie on her wrist and ties her hair back. 

I sigh and shrug. "I really don't, do I?" I ask. I pull my knees up to my chest, as I melt into the couch a little bit more. 

She smirks and nods. We both chuckle, and Elena kicks back to relax. "Say, Nicole, I have some ideas. Do you want to see Nina tomorrow, and do you want to dye your hair back to its original color?" Elena asks.

My head shoots up from its position on the couch. "Do you think we could do that?" I ask. Elena nods. I want to go back to my innocent Rapunzel look. I miss that look. My blonde hair suits me much better. 

"I know you loved your blonde hair, and Nina is visiting for a week. She's been asking if we found you yet," she asks. I lay back and let the good memories of our friendship fill my brain. The times in which we'd share ice cream, have fun in our houses, and just giggle about random inside jokes just makes me smile and even tear up a little bit. 

"We were supposed to go to USC together. I was supposed to be in the financial field, while she was doing marketing. Is she still doing that?" I ask. 

Elena nods. "She's pursuing her master's degree in psychology. I'll call her up tomorrow and say you've come back," Elena says, while a loud dinging fills the air. Elena's hand plunges into her pocket as she tries to find her wallet, while her other hand flings onto the doorknob. 

When her hand pulls out her wallet, the other swiftly turns the doorknob and pulls the door open. "Pizza for Elena Wilson?" the guy says, as Elena puts money in his hand. 

"Have a great evening!" Elena cheers, and she walks back in the living room with her hand grasping the pizza box. The smell of dough and marinara fills my nostrils, causing my mouth to water. I haven't had pizza in the longest time. The only times I could have it was when Colin was feeling "generous" enough to give me it. 

Usually, it came at the cost of his wrath, but not today. He doesn't own me anymore. Elena puts two slices on a plate, and she hands the plate to me. "Eat up. We both know you're starving," she says, and she doesn't even have to tell me twice. I take the hot slice and I shove it in my mouth. 

The warm sauce coats my tongue, and the gooey cheese stretches around my mouth. Dom, Elena, and my dad all look at me like I've just lost my mind. "I've never seen you eat pizza like that, Phoenix. Are you really just that hungry?" Elena says, as she gently nibbles on the dough. 

"Not only that, I haven't had pizza in so long. It tastes so amazing," I say, with sauce smeared around my mouth. 

Dom raises an eyebrow at me. "Did you just cook everything at home?" he asks. 

I shrug. "That, and my husband made me eat overly healthy so I wouldn't be 'fat' in his eyes. If I did get pizza, then it would come at a cost. I'd suffer his wrath," I say, as I continue to nibble on an olive. 

Elena's face drops like a kid dropping a coin into the wishing well. "Gosh, I'm so sorry, Phoenix. Tell you what. You and I, after we get your hair done, we'll go out for lunch, and you'll eat anything that you want. I also want to talk to you a little bit more," Elena says, as her tongue catches a string of cheese daintily floating from the slice. 

"You're the best, Elena. Thank you," I say, as my teeth make contact with the thin crunch of the crust. 

Elena flashes me a smile. "I'm going to try to squeeze in 3 years of lost time as much as I can. Because I really want to meet the new, gorgeous phoenix that you've blossomed into," Elena says, as my ground heart starts to slowly sweep up into a thin shell again. 

However, deep down I know that there is something else in store for me. And my gut tells me it's anything but good.  

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Yay for happy chapters! Now tell me, aren't we all glad that Nicole got to spend some time with family today, huh? Let me know in the comments. 

Hey everyone! I have news! I published the teaser to my new teen fic spin off, The Badass Diaries. I do hope you check it out, because it's going to be one hundred times more sarcastic than Phoenix. Trust me, it's going to be awesome. 

That's pretty much it. Hope you all liked this chapter!

Please vote/comment/share/follow/message if you like my work! See you all next Saturday with a new chapter of Phoenix! Have a great week!

Love you guys, 

Shree