Phoenix Rising

Chapter 3

It took us about fifteen minutes to gather all our clothing along with any other items and then we were waiting outside, saying our goodbye’s to Pyre’s parents.

“Remember, you only have five days to get back here.” Ivan reminded us. A small smile on his face as a way to tell us not to worry too much.

“Don’t let anything happen to my baby!” Reina exclaimed but was talking more about the car then she was about Pyre.

Turning to look at me, Ivan slightly chuckled at his wife’s remark and said, “Please, make sure nothing happens to Pyre. Have a great trip and don’t drive in the dark unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

“I got it, Dad.” Pyre hugged her parents one last time before running to the other side of the car, “Let’s get this show on the road! Love you, Mom and Dad.”

“Bye. See you guys in a week.” I hugged them before I got in the car.

From this point on, I knew we’d be in the car for quite some time. That was the only down side of this trip. Seeing my cousins for the first time in four years in why I agreed to go with Pyre.

“What’s going on in that little head of yours?” Pyre kept her eyes on the road as she asked me, breaking me out of my thoughts yet again, “I don’t think I’ve seen you be this silent in the car before. At least, not in the year I’ve known you.”

“I have family in New Orleans.” That’s all it took for her to look over to me, her expression full of shock and concern. Neither her or her parents knew about my family. I never had the guts to tell them about everything, “You never knew about them because I couldn’t bring myself to talk about them… I don’t know for sure if they are even in New Orleans, considering it’s been about four years since I last saw them.”

“Family? Like brothers and sisters?” Pyre moved her eyes back on the road, “That’d be awesome!”

“More like cousins, but yeah.” I chuckled at her excitement. Telling about them, I knew I couldn’t mention anything about what they were. Hell, even what I was, “I do view them as my brothers and sisters, I’m an only child. Let me say, they’re a lot older then us too.”

“Seriously? How come you never talked about them or any other family?” She asked the one question I’ve been waiting to answer.

“You never asked but it’s also a tough subject.” When I said this, I could see Pyre’s expression drop and her realizing what I meant.

The sadness on her face became clearer, even though she was looking at the road, “You’ve lost people… Oh, my God. I am so sorry for brining this up. I wasn’t even thinking of that possibility.”

“It’s okay. I’ve needed to talk to someone about them for a long time, I’m glad you asked what was going through my mind.” I shook my head while looking at her for a second then looking out the window, “Plus, it’s better you know about my cousins before we get to New Orleans. But, do you think we could possibly visit a few more places after?”

“Where?” Pyre asked, more curious as to where else we could go. Another idea popped into her head, “I know my dad said we only have five days but if I called them and told them about your family being here, they’d let us stay longer for you to visit everyone.”

A smile slowly grew on my face. After all these years and the possibility of me seeing everyone again became real, “ShalderTown is one of the places. I have some really close friends who I consider family there. Maybe even Mystic Falls.”

“I’m going to call my parents the second we get to New Orleans and tell them about this.” Pyre insisted, “They’d want you to visit your family. Especially after how my parents found you a year ago, your family is probably worried sick. I’m going to make sure we have enough time to visit your family.”

“We’re only doing this if it’s okay with your parents.” I repeated, not wanting Pyre to get in trouble, “And, we’re using their car.”

“But, we’re the ones paying for gas. I doubt they’ll care.” She pressured again. It was like she could tell how much I wanted to visit my cousins, “Just agree already. I’m not stupid, it’s obvious how much you miss them. You look like you’re going to cry just talking about them!”

Shaking my head, I replied, “I really don’t want to risk getting you in trouble.”

“I’m not going to keep repeating myself. We’re staying longer! That’s final.” Pyre said with excitement in her voice again.

Once I finally agreed with her, the next couple of hours of the trip were quiet. By four hours into the car ride, we were blaring out music by George Strait, Johnny Cash, Jason Aldean, and even Lee Brice. Of course, we were listening to a lot of other country singers. Old country, new country, pop, every type there were. It may not have been ‘country’ to some people, but it’s all the same.

“That’s a memory I don’t mess with. The girl I was the best with!” I screamed the lyrics to Lee Brice’s song A Memory I Don’t Mess With.

“The one I was obsessed with! Girl, you just don’t get it!” Pyre sang along but turned the music down to say something else, “You got to admit it. Lee Brice is the best and will always be the best country singer!”

“Not even close.” I protested. As much music as I’ve listened to, I don’t think I could say who was the best, “If I had to choose it’d be everyone. George Strait is definitely the closest to being the best, and Jason Aldean.”

“We were literally just screaming the lyrics to Lee Brice’s song!” Pyre looked at me, pretending to be hurt by what I said, “And you had the audacity to say that!”

“Out of the last 12 hours we’ve spent listening to damn near every artist and you say, Lee Brice!” I exclaimed, playfully rolling my eyes, “Are you crazy?! I’ve got to say either George Strait or Jason Aldean were the best, even Johnny Cash. Not no Lee Brice. Shut your mouth!”

“Freedom of speech, don’t have to!” Pyre smirked at me, knowing damn well that was my line.

“Hey! That’s mine, come up with your own line!” I glared at her while trying not to laugh.

“I sound better saying it.” She continued to joke but looked up to see a sign reading ‘Welcome to New Orleans’, “How the hell are we already here?! I thought it was a 32-hour drive?”

“No idea. You were going above the speed limit throughout the entire drive, I’m surprised we didn’t get pulled over.” I shrugged as I looked at her.

Her eyes went white, “I was not! Wait, was I really? Oh, God. Do not tell my parents. If they ever found out, they’d never let me take the car again.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not a snitch. Now, let’s see…” I replied, now looking outside around the town. New Orleans. Now, we just had to find the Mikaelson Estate, or whatever they call it, “What I remember, is my cousins live in a mansion, even though back in the day it used to be a plantation. The Mikaelson Mansion is what I call it. I think it’s this way. Let’s just hope my cousins are actually there.”

“They’ll be there. And if they aren’t right this second, we could always come back later.” Pyre tried her best to reassure me this was a good idea. She didn’t know the full story of me ‘dying’ and then coming back to life. Right now, I didn’t even know if they’d believe it was me, “Are you excited to see them?”

“I’m more nervous than excited, to be honest.” I said.

“Well, it’s been quite a while. You have every right to be nervous… What way do we go now?” Pyre questioned as we turned another corner.

“That’s it!” I spotted the mansion down the road from where we were, “The Mikaelson Mansion!”

“Holy s**t. It’s huge!” Pyre exclaimed in shock, “Your cousins live there?!”

“It’s their property. Whether or not they still live here is the real question.” I answered. Before we actually parked, I asked Pyre to park further away from the mansion. That way if they were home, they wouldn’t see me right away.

Getting out of the car, Pyre asked, “Do we just go over there and knock?”

“I think so.” I answered.

With each step I took, I could feel my heart pound. I was terrified they wouldn’t believe it was me, they’d try to kill me the second they see me.

By the time we reached the mansion, I could hear people talking inside. Then, I remembered Pyre was human. It probably wasn’t the best idea to bring her here this close tonight, especially with all the supernatural roaming the streets.

“Who the hell are you?” A familiar voice said in anger behind us. I didn’t want to turn around at first. I couldn’t pinpoint who it was by the voice right away until he asked another question, “And what do you think you're doing bringing a random stranger to this estate?!”

“Amara?” I could hear the terror in Pyre’s voice.

Hearing her say my name, I realized whoever was behind us would’ve been able to hear her too.

“I am not going to ask again.” The man said, more anger and curiosity in his voice. I could hear footsteps getting closer to us. Or, was that my heart beating? I couldn’t tell at this point, “This is private property.”