I gently chew my bottom lip, and she adds, “I’m staying an extra week, I-I need some more time, but when I get back, I expect to hear that you allowed him in, even just a little bit.”
I squeeze my eyes tight, hating that she’s decided to stay longer but also proud of her, and I tell her so, “I’m proud of you, Lake. You’re the strongest person I know, and I am so glad I get to call you my friend.”
She sniffles, and I wipe away the stray tears falling down my cheeks when I hear a knock on the door, and I sigh, “Right on cue…”
“Is that Venom?” Lake confirms, and I hum and reply, “Yep, like clockwork every single night, even if I’m not in.”
“I would say I’m sorry, Ray, but I’m not. You are in love with him, and as much as you don’t believe it, he’s in love with you too. He just didn’t want to see it,” she states firmly yet again, but I shake my head.
She’s delusional, as much as I love her, she is.
There’s another knock, and I twitch my nose.
Maybe it’s my ‘uncle’ again. I haven’t heard from him or anyone from Dad's side of the family, for that matter, in a little while, so they’re due to pop up.
“I’ll let you go and I’ll see you in a week, Raya,” Lake says, “Please try and stay out of trouble, no hunting. Love you.”
Lake hangs up before I can say anything in return, and I shake my head as I whisper, “Love you too, friend,” before putting my phone on my nightstand next to the picture of Venom, then standing, removing my robe.
I grab Venom's plain black shirt and put it on, then make my way out of my room and down the little hallway and into the living area. I veer off a little to the left and take a deep breath before looking through the peephole.
Venom, in his usual attire of t-shirt, jeans, biker boots, and cut, is on the opposite side, his head down as he palms the door frame.
“I know you’re in, kitten, your tiny ass car is out front,” he says without looking up, and I swallow hard as I quietly move back from the peephole, then slowly take a seat on the carpeted floor, leaning my back against the wood of the door.
I hear him sigh before there’s a soft thud on the other side of my door, and I know he’s sitting as well.
“I don’t like not seeing you, Raya. I feel like I’m missing a limb,” he starts, and I gently lean my head back.
“Mama won’t leave,” he veers off, “Doesn’t matter how much the club has threatened her, she won’t leave and is adamant you’ve got a thing going on with Hayden Gillies.”
I pull a face in disgust, bile rising at the thought of that jackass touching me, and I gag, “Eww, that’s just gross, he’s more her type.”
Venom chuckles, clearly hearing me, making me wince, and he agrees, “He is more her type…” he sighs, “Fuck, it’s good to hear your voice, even if it’s just a little bit, and I know Ivy misses it as well.”
My heart flutters as my stomach tightens, Lake’s words coming back to me a little about his feelings while I ignore the last bit about Ivy.
She calls every day, leaving a message about Hudson, but I haven’t yet answered.
She allowed me to be blindsided when I always had her back. Space is just what we both need right now, whatIneed right now, especially when I know she doesn’t agree with my revenge.
Venom groans when I don’t say anything and admits, “She got in my head, kitten. She told me she found you with Hayden, and I let it fester. She accused you of trying to sell Ivy just like she did, and fuck, I’m not proud of it, but years of growing up in the club, I let my insecurities get the better of me despite knowing Mama was talking out of her ass to try and get a reaction out of me, and I fucked Angel.”
I flinch, hating his words as more tears fall, and I hate it, but I understand, which makes me pathetic.
“I’m so sorry for all the hurt and pain I’ve caused you, Raya. I had no proof of you using my sister, yet I treated you like shit. I couldn’t understand how a woman who came from money, a shit load of it, could make friends with a club brat, and I was a dick,” he mutters, and I turn my head a little.
Every night I’ve been here, this is what he’s like, remorseful, regretful, but maybe he’s too late to feel like this, to open his eyes and see the error of his ways.
I need to focus on work, school, and my revenge, not a guy who treated me like shit growing up, all because I befriended his little sister and couldn’t look him in the eye because I fell for him.
“Kitten,” he rasps after a few minutes of silence, “I know I don’t deserve to know, but I, fuck, growing up, you were joined at my sisters hip, always by her side and I know right now things are hard for you both. I know I’m at the root of that but I just… Three months you disappeared after your father died. Everyone said you were on a trip, but you didn’t keep in contact with her, and I was wondering why?”
I chew my bottom lip. I have a choice here, I can keep my mouth shut and act like I’m not here like I have been. My resolve strong even when he brought up me kneeing him between his legs after he got me kicked out of my apartment when he knocked out my old landlord, Dean, after I accepted a date for the first time in years of him asking. Or I can tell him the truth and open up like Lake wanted me to.
The memory of hurting him hits me, making me smile.
I scowl as Venom storms into my friend's accountant's office, where I was hiding from him, and without looking my way, he snaps at his friend, “Seriously, Fury?”
