"Hi, Daddy!"
John smiled. "How are my little girls?"
Raven smiled back. "How was New York?"
"Too damn busy." He laughed. "But I brought something back for each of you."
Our 40 year old father reached into his duffel bag he always used for business trips and produced two small gift bags.
He handed the black bag to Raven and turned to me, handing me a red bag.
"How clever. Black for Raven and red for Phoenix." I stated and Dad laughed.
My twin sister and I tore into the bags. Each one contained a black box.
We opened them to find gold lockets with John and Lily's pictures inside.
"We'll be with ya even when we're away from home." Dad explained.
Raven and I jumped up off of the leather sofa to hug him and thank him for the beautiful gifts.
"There's something else in the bags. Take a look." He encouraged.
We looked into our bags and found a slip of paper in each on.
"Plane tickets?" Raven asked.
Dad nodded. "I want to take you on my next trip. I'm going to Sydney."
"Australia?!" I shrieked and he nodded.
"Oh my god!" Raven screamed.
We turned to each other, our identical blue eyes meeting. "We're going to Australia!"
"We leave Saturday." Dad told us. "You should probably get packed."
Raven and I flew up to our bedrooms, leaving the doors open so we could shout back and forth to each other.
I pulled my two biggest rolling suitcases out of the closet and laid them out on the bed.
I folded countless pairs of jeans, skirts, and shorts into one and zipped it shut. The next one I filled with shirts,dresses, and shoes.
Then I pulled a slightly smaller bag out and filled it with electronics, make up, hair stuff, underwear, bikinis, and tampons.
And that was it. I had managed to finish packing in thirty minutes. I decided to go check Raven's progress.
She was sitting on the floor next to her empty suitcase. "Phoenix, I'm dying."
I packed for her while she laid on her bed and played flappy bird.
When she (I) was finished packing, we took our bags downstairs.
After checking my phone I realized it was Friday. We were leaving the next day.
I decided my flight outfit would be yoga pants and a tank top and I would change into a floral print skirt, black bustier, and wedges before landing. Raven just wanted to wear jeans and an All Time Low tshirt she had cut into a crop top.
"Hey, I'm going to watch Supernatural and get some sleep before tomorrow. Wanna sleep in my room?' I asked.
She retrieved her favorite down pillow and came into my room. I turned on the first episode of the show and we laid down on my queen size bed.
We were both asleep before the episode was over.
At the ungodly hour of 4 am, our father came in to wake us up. "Rise and shine, little birds. Our flight leaves at 8. Make sure you're ready."
Raven and I groaned befre rolling out of bed and going to get ready.
My sister showered while I went downstairs to get breakfast.
It was obvious my mother hadn't had time to go shopping before her nursing shift the night before because the food supply was oddly picked over.
I found the freshest apple I could and took a bite. It was a bit soft, but edible.
Raven walked in a minute later, her hair dripping down her back, and poured a large glass of water.
"Another fasting day?" I asked.
She grinned. "Always."
"This apple is the first thing I've eaten in three days." I said.
She smiled. "Way to go, you."
I tossed the rest of my apple and went to shower while Raven got dressed.
When I was clean I wrapped a towel around my body and padded into my bedroom.
Raven was sitting on the bed in her skinny jeans and custom band shirt, her cherry red hair straightened to perfection. She looked as punk as ever.
She offered to straighten my long, so brown it's almost black hair. When she was done, I put on my own clothes.
Daddy walked in while Raven and I were sitting on my bed talking about cute Australian boys. He was wearing a nice suit and the bags that always hung below his eyes were far less noticable. He looked like a real businessman. "Ready to go?"
We nodded and followed him outside to the waiting taxi.
The airport was crowded and the security check was long and tedious but we finally made it onto our plane.
Daddy went to sleep while Raven and I sat up talking about cute Australian boys again.
Just before landing, I went into the plane's bathroom to change.
The flight didn't seem nearly as long as expected and I was giddy as we walked through the terminal and claimed our luggage.
Dad got one of the taxis lined up out front and they drove us to a really nice hotel in Sydney.
Raven and I unpacked a few things before slipping bikinis on under our clothes and heading to the beach that was less than a mile from the hotel.
There was no one there other than a group of four boys a few hundred yards away.
Raven and I shed our clothes to reveal our cutest bikinis. Raven's was seafoam green, mine was bright pink.
She sat down to tan and I decided to go for a swim.
After swimming along the shore for nearly an hour, I got out of the water.
The four boys we'd seen were sitting there talking to Raven.
A very cute blond guy was sitting on my was room for me to sit down but I was uncomfortable sitting so close to a boy whose name I didn't know.
"You can sit down. I don't bite." He said, looking up at me as I stood awkwardly.
I hesitated for a second before sitting next to him.
"I'm Luke, by the way." He said.
I smiled politely. "Phoenix."
He smiled back.
I reached for some sunscreen so my already tanned skin wouldn't burn.
"Want me to get your back?" Luke teased.
I grinned. "Would you?"
He blushed but nodded.
I handed him the tube and he massaged the cool lotion onto my back. I accidentally groaned when he rubbed it into my always tense shoulders.
My face turned red as the group fell silent. Raven broke the silence with a loud laugh.
A few minutes later a boy with black and blond hair asked how long we were going to be in the area.
"A week." Raven answered.
"That's it?" He asked.
She smiled. "Yes, Michael, that's it."
Then she turned to me. "Phoenix, this is Calum" -she pointed to a tan boy with a cute smile and dark hair- "this is Ashton" -she pointed out a boy with brownish blond hair and a gorgeous smile- "and I figure you know who Michael is. And you've obviously met Luke."
I waved to Calum, Ashton, and Michael. "Hi, guys."
They all smiled back.
Calum and Ashton continued talking to each other as Raven and Michael jumped into a heated debate over what All Tim Low song was the best.
"Is that a tattoo?" Luke asked, looking at the back of my neck.
I nodded. "I got the Batman symbol because Batman is my favorite thing on the planet other than pizza."
He laughed. "Batman and pizza are great. Do you have any other tattoos?"
I flipped him off and he frowned before noticing the words "fuck off" inked onto the side of my midle finger.
I decided now was not the time to show him the tattoo curling around the underside of my breast.
My phone rang once and I found it lying underneath my pile of clothes.
It was a text message from Daddy.
"Raven, we gotta go." I said.
"Why?" She whined.
"Dad said we need to get back to the hotel."
She groaned before gathering up our stuff.
We slid on slouchy tank tops and flip flops before getting up to leave.
"Let us walk you." Luke said, jumping up.
My sister and I shared a quick look before nodding.
Calum and Ashton decided to head home so they waved before walking off to their cars.
A moment later my foot sank into an oddly soft bit of sand and Luke grabbed my hips to stop me from falling over.
"Thanks." I smiled.
"No problem." He said. "There are a few patches around here where you'll sink in. Look right up there."
I looked up the beach where he was pointing to a dark spot of sand.
"Look out for that. Sometimes, when the tide comes in, it washes out spots of sand like that. The sand builds back up but it stays soft and jellyfish tend to get caught around there and you don't want to step on them. Have you ever been stung?"
I shook my head. "No. But Raven got stung when we were about five. She started screaming because it hurt so bad."
"Hurts like crazy. Keep an eye out for them." He advised.
We were just outside the hotel now.
Luke turned to me and I noticed his eyes were a gorgeous shade of blue. "Can I text you?"
I smiled and nodded.
He handed me his phone and I put my number in before handing it back.
"I'll see you soon?" He asked.
"If you're lucky." I grinned.