THE URBAN PHOENIX: Arthur Salvatore's rise from the ashes.

CHAPTER 3

ARTHUR PUSHED THE hood of his jacket to cover his head as he beat furiously against the rain. He was pedaling furiously, wanting to deliver his last package and then call it a night.

He jumped off the bike before it stopped and hurried up the stairs of the house he was to deliver to. He rang the bell urgently. No answer. He pressed it again, longer this time. Still no answer. He grumbled and looked up at the sky, the clouds were gathering even more. It was going to be a thunderstorm and he did not want to be here when it came.

He was just about to pound on the door when it opened.

"Didn't you see the bell over there that you were about to put your filthy hands on my door?" The slob of a man said.

Arthur snapped his hand to his side, plastered a smile to his face, and said, "I came to deliver your meal, sir." He pushed the box forward.

The man collected it and said, "My wallet is inside the house somewhere. I will be right back." He slammed the door in Arthur's face.

Arthur shifted his weight from foot to foot as he waited impatiently for the man to find his wallet. After what seemed like forever, the man opened the door. His mouth was oily. He was still smacking his lips as he said, "I had to eat the food first, chap. To see if it was worth paying for."

So you had me wait outside while you ate to your satisfaction I side?? Arthur almost yelled out. But he swallowed his thoughts and inside smiled, "And was it worth paying for?"

"Barely," The man snarled and tossed some dollar bills at Arthur before slamming the door shut again.

Arthur groped for the floating dollar bills and ended up catching only one. The other landed on the floor and soaked in dirty water.

"Damned rain," Arthur cursed as he bent to pick them up and wipe them on his trousers.

He got back on his bike and started racing back. First to the pizza house that he worked for, and then to his one-room apartment. If the weather had been better, he might have stopped by his loving girlfriend's much better apartment.

Speaking of the weather, it was getting worse. A heavy wind came in from the left and knocked Arthur from his bike. He tumbled and rolled. He packed himself up and instead of getting back on the bike, he decided to push it alongside him.

"Oi, kid," Arthur heard a voice call out to him. "Do you want to kill yourself in this rain?"

He turned to see the door of an apartment open and an elderly woman was standing at the door.

"Come in and wait for the rain to stop before going," she invited.

Arthur considered it and then nodded. He pushed into the house. It was warm and cozy.

"Thank you, ma'am," He said, conscious of his wet and dirty body. "Sorry for dripping water all over your floor."

"Oh, nonsense," She waved it off, handing him a thick blanket. "Use this to dry your hair and face."

Arthur collected it gratefully and wiped his face.

"You remind me of my son," the woman said.

"I am sorry for your loss," Arthur said, not knowing what else to say.

She laughed, "Oh, my goodness. He is not dead. He is in the army."

Arthur flushed with embarrassment, "Oh, I'm sorry." He was still embarrassed even though the woman didn't see it as anything. Luckily, his phone chimed and he took it out of his pocket, surprised to see that it was still working.

He tilted it to look at the screen in the dim light. "Shit, It's broken even more." But it was still working.

He saw the notification that it was a message from his girlfriend. She was worried about him and promised him a hot cup of chocolate if he made it to her house that evening.

"With the smile on your face, I take it the message was from your girlfriend," the woman said from the sitting room. She was bent over, knitting.

"Uh…"

"My son used to have that smile whenever his fiance texted him and I know all boys your age are the same."

"Yes, ma'am," Arthur agreed sheepishly. "But now, I have to go."

The woman nodded understandably. He took his bike from where he had propped it against the wall and pushed it out.

The rain had subsided a little but it was still windy. He fought against the wind and rode non-stop till he got to his girlfriend's apartment.

He knocked and the door immediately opened. And the love of his life stood with her arms open.

"Arthur!" She squealed.

"No no, I'm wet and dirty. Don't…" Arthur tried to stop her from hugging him, to no avail because he was enveloped in her arms.

"Come in," she led him in. "As promised, I have a hot cup of chocolate, waiting for you. But first, wash off. I have a change of clothing in my dresser."

"Female clothes?" Arthur chuckled as he pulled his shirt over his head and made his way to the bathroom.

"Don't be silly!" His girlfriend retorted.

After a warm bath and a hot cup of chocolate, Arthur was relaxed. Sophia lay beside him on the bed, her soft breathing was stable as she slept. But Arthur could not sleep a wink.

He stared at the dark ceiling with one hand propped behind his head and thought about his life.

It had been two weeks since his last visit to the family mansion, and true to his word, his GP at school was inching ahead. He was on a 4.57 now.

Yes, he was from a rich and powerful family.

Yes, his grandmother, who controlled the wealth of the family liked him but his father was the heir of the wealth.

He was the shit of the family. The lowest being.

But if there was one bright side, it was that he had a girlfriend and she loved him with her heart.

He snuggled closer to her and drifted off to sleep.

He woke up hours later, not knowing how tired he was until he had a good night's sleep. When he woke, the sun was coming in from the window, he checked the bedside clock. It was 9 a.m.

"Holy shit!" He yelled as he leaped from the bed.

"I put your clothes to dry," He heard Sophia call from the sitting room.

He hurried to the laundry room – Yeah, her apartment had a laundry room – and felt the clothes. They were still damp, but wearable. He snatched them and put them on. He took a spare brush and brushed his teeth before hurrying out, still struggling with his trousers.

"Breakfast?" Sophia asked.

"I am late," Arthur said, but he accepted the piece of scrambled eggs that Sophia placed in his mouth.

"For work or for your test?"

"What?"

"You have a major test today at school, remember?" Sophia reminded him.

"Oh shit!" Arthur muttered. He had completely forgotten.

"Now, I know how much your Grade points matter to you, so I called your work place. The both of them. And said you were sick," Sophia said.

"And they believed you?"

Sophia giggled, "I made it sound like I was your mother. Yes. They believed me. Now, you have enough time to skim through a textbook for your test."

Arthur gave her a kiss and hurried out the door. He climbed his bike but as he was about to pedal, his phone chimed. Another notification.

"What the hell?" He grumbled as he reached for his pocket to retrieve the phone. He curved his hand over the top of the screen to shield it from the sun so he see better. He opened the message. Read it in less than 2 seconds and felt his blood run cold. He did not know the ID of the sender, but it was a certain message for him. It read;

"Your grandmother is dead. Come back home."