Page 77 of Making Choices

I pat the pillow and smooth down the bedspread. “I’m assumin’ that’s Sander gettin’ the fuck outta Dodge?”

“Yep.” She wraps her arms around her waist and swings from side to side. “Now I can finally breathe.”

“What’s the deal with you two?”

“Same old, same old.”

“Real helpful, Nads.” With a heavy sigh, I scrub my hand over my face and prepare for another argument. As soon as our eyes meet, Cherub’s best friend sucks her bottom lip into her mouth and hugs herself tighter. In spite of her reaction, I still lay out the cold harsh truth she needs to hear from me. “No one has time for another round of will they or won’t they. You made your choice four and a half years ago… it’s your fault you never found the ovaries to explain that to Sander.”

“I haven’t… I’m not…”

“I don’t care.” With an impatient flick of my hand, I cut off her mumbled excuse. It doesn’t matter what Nadia says, the pain she’s rained down on Sander in the decade they’ve loved each other is inexcusable—and that’s only the shit he knows about. “My only worry right now is keeping Venom’s absence from upsettin’ Cherub… you said you had a time limit and a couple of strings attached to your silence.” Stepping closer to her, I crowd Nadia’s space, then use a firm touch to pinch her chin between my fingers and angle her face upward to mine. “This is me tellin’ you that your compliance is neither needed nor wanted. Either get on board or stay the fuck away… the choice is yours.”

All colour drains from Nadia’s face before she scowls at me. “Screw you, Slash. Anna will want me with her.”

“Will she?” I ask coldly. “Personally, I think you’d be the last person she’d want to see if she knew the full truth about you and Sander.”

“You’re just like Venom,” the short blonde retorts. Her green eyes flash with anger. “Always first in line to fix things… always first in line to use it against us afterwards.”

The grin that lifts my lips is filled with malice as I tell her, “That’s the way the cookie crumbles, Nads. There’s a fine line between ally and enemy, and mine is drawn at unnecessarily adding to Cherub’s pain when there’s another option. So, like I said, either get on board or stay the fuck away.”

Nadia slaps the back of her hand against my chest. “I’m on board… reluctantly and under protest. I just hope you know what you’re doing because this could easily blow up in your face.”

As I watch Nadia stalk her way out of the guest room, I can’t help but worry that she may be right. Keeping secrets from Cherub is always fraught with risk. The danger is usually made a little easier since I have Venom to make the final call when I start to waver with indecision.

This time the choice is on me, and me only.

He might’ve left willingly.

But I’m the one who told him to stay away.

20

LILY

Slash’s mum is doing her best to disguise her reaction to my obvious pain as she forces me to lean on her. Together with Charlie, the two women have showered me. Dried me. Braided my hair. Fed me pain relief, clucked their tongues over my injuries, and fussed every time I’ve pulled a face when the cramps have become too much to ignore. Despite the two women delicately treading the line between caring and pitying, I’m quickly reaching the point where I want to be left alone to lick my wounds in peace.

“Here.” Crystal hands me a pair of panties with a sanitary pad attached and Charlie helps me pull them up my legs. “We’re almost done.”

“Wear this,” my stepmum tells me as she passes an oversized T-shirt. I slip it over my head and my eyes water as the spicy cardamom cologne that clings to the material invades my senses. With efficient movements, my stepmother uses her thumbs to wipe the tears from my cheeks. “I know how much comfort you find in familiar smells, so I grabbed it from his room.”

“Thank you.”

Charlie fusses with the hem of the T-shirt, pulling it as low as it will go down my thighs. “Not sure how thankful you’ll be when you see the mess he’s left behind. Everything’s broken—smashed up, stomped, and crushed by the looks of it.”

As the memory of the day I ran from the compound with the sounds of Zeke destroying our things echoing in my ears ripples through my head, I’m slow to understand the full implication of her statement. When it hits, it’s akin to a body blow.

Left behind.

Charlie is speaking as if Zeke is permanently gone, not out searching for Toker like I’ve been told.

“Now.” Crystal moves to pat my cheek then falters. From the glimpse I caught in Slash’s bathroom mirror, I know that my bruises are pronounced, so I ignore her hesitation and offer her a tight quirk of my lips when she settles for squeezing my upper arm. “My boy’s gonna carry you downstairs, and Doc is gonna look you over. Once we have his diagnosis, we’ll know how to handle things.”

“I don’t need Doc. Bebe’s already checked me out. It’s mainly superficial. Rest is her recommendation.”

Slash’s mother narrows her eyes at me. “Bebe?”

“Yeah,” I reply slowly as I try to work out how to explain Dr. Du Bois’ presence last night. “Fret’s doctor… she’s, um, someone—”

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