Page 90 of Victorious: Part I

My face flushes with embarrassment. “I didn’t use your real name, just your username. And your profile is private anyway.”

“That’s not the point, Clover!” Phoenix’s voice is tense. “This isn’t a vacation. This isn’t just some fun road trip for your social media. There are people back home who might die because of the Cartel, and you’re treating this like it’s a goddamn game.”

The words sting more than they should. “I’m not treating anything like a game,” I shoot back, keeping my voice low. “This is my job. And just because I’m trying to do it well doesn’t mean I don’t understand what’s at stake.”

“Then fucking act like it!”

“I’m not just a task for you to take care of, Phoenix.” The words come out sharper than I intended. “I understandexactlywhat we’re running from and why. But that doesn’t mean I have to spend every second of this trip in fucking misery.”

He stares at me for a long moment, then looks away, his breathing harsher now. “I don’teverwant you to be miserable, Clover. I don’t.” He turns back to face me, his eyes sincere now. “But ifthatis the alternative to you being dead, I’ll take it. Any day of the week. Miserable, I can fix. I can’t fix dead.”

My eyes begin to water as I stare back at him.Dammit!I hate that he makes me so fucking furious at him one second, then weak at the knees the next.

“I should have thought about it before tagging you. It was just a force of habit. I’ll take it down.”

Phoenix sighs, running a hand through his hair. “No, leave the post up. It’s a good one. Just untag me.And be more careful, okay? There’s a lot riding on us staying under the radar.”

Suddenly, multiple servers are beside us, piling on the food, breaking the tension. Phoenix and I both widen our eyes, staring at the massive amount of food covering every inch of our table. Almost in unison, we both break into a fit of laughter as Carol is the last to bring over the curly fries, placing them in front of Phoenix. “I sure do hope y’all enjoy. And just holler if ya need anythin’ else, all right?”

Phoenix lets out what can only be described as a ‘we have bitten off more than we can chew’ type of sigh. “We will, for sure. And thank you, Carol. We appreciate you.”

She winks at him, then takes off as Phoenix and I glance at each other, say nothing, and then begin to dig in.

We eat in silence for a few minutes, both cooling off from our minor argument moments beforehand. The tension begins to grow between us again the longer the silence continues.

So, I decide to end it.

“The thing is,” I say finally, setting down my burger. “I feel guilty enough as it is. For leaving. For being excited about this job while everyone back home is in danger.” I swallow hard. “If I have to think about that every second, I’ll go crazy. So yeah, I’m trying to focus on the work. On making these stupid videos. It’s the only way I can cope right now.”

Phoenix’s expression softens. “I get it. I do.” He takes a sip of his milkshake. “And for what it’s worth, your videos aren’t stupid. You’re actually really fucking talented. You have an eye for this shit.”

The corners of my mouth lift. “High praise from such a connoisseur of social media marketing.”

He snorts out a laugh, almost losing some of the milkshake that was in his mouth, but he manages to swallow it. “Smartass. Eat your food. As it is, we’ll be here until 2059 trying to finish it all.”

I giggle, and we continue to eat as much as we can while I also film various things in between. By the time we finish what we can, the tension has fully dissipated. There’s something different between us now—a new understanding, maybe. We both know we’re walking a fine line between doing my job and honoring the weight of what we’ve left behind.

We grab a heap of containers from Carol because this food is too good not to take with us, and then we head off on the next part of the trip for the day.

Back in the truck, I check the map again. “Next stop is Calico Ghost Town. It’s about an hour from here.”

Phoenix nods, putting the truck in gear. “Ghost town, huh? Soundscheerful.”

“It’s an old mining town that was abandoned when the silver ran out. Now it’s this preserved historical site.” I scroll through some photos on my phone. “It’s got this really cool, eerie vibe. Perfect for some moody content.”

“You really have this whole trip planned out, don’t you?”

I shrug. “It’s my job to know the best spots. Plus, I may have been researching weird roadside attractions since I was like twelve.”

He glances over at me. “Twelve, huh? What got you into all this?”

The question seems casual, but I sense he’s genuinely curious. “My mom, actually,” I say, surprised by how easy it is to talk about this with him. “Before she died, she used to take us on these random day trips to the strangest places. There was this museum of medical oddities she took us to when I was five that Maverick still hasn’t forgiven her for.”

Phoenix laughs. “Sounds like quite a woman.”

“She was.” I feel the familiar ache whenever I think about my mother. “After she died, I guess I started collecting weird places as a way to feel close to her. Like maybe someday I’d find a place she’d been.”

Phoenix is quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry about your mom. I know life changed a lot after she died.”

---