Page 38 of The Bitterness of Venom

Groaning, I throw my head into the pillow. I don’t want others to see her smile, that should be for me and me alone. No one should get to see her in that rare, beautiful element.

I’m just counting down the hours until I can get back to her.

TWENTY-SEVEN

A month comesand goes in this cat-and-mouse game. He won’t lose the fiancée and I refuse to allow him to touch me since the night in the forest. Good news, it’s Thanksgiving break, which means the campus will begin to thin out and become abandoned. Since I don’t have a family, I will enjoy the peaceful quiet and extra shifts at work. And hopefully get back on Clint’s good side. I would rather seduce people than beat them up.

I lay my bag in my room, hopping onto my bed and sighing. I think I need twelve hours ofsleep to be a functional adult these days. I'm not sure if it's because of the lack of sleep lately or I'm just getting older but I'm constantly tired. Probably my life choices, honestly. I never really had a choice at a different life, though. I'm old enough to not hold grudges anymore and blame my dead parents, but let's be honest, I wouldn't be in this position if they made smarter life choices. I would have never met Clint if it wasn't for them. Owe him a debt. All the fucked-up shit I've had to do since they passed. Sure, when I was a child, he wouldn't actually let anyone touch me, but he definitely used me to lure them.

Shaking my head, I redirect my thoughts down a less gloomy path. Like how my savings are building back up. How I have a real friend now. And let's not forget all my new fucked-up kinks I can add to my list.

Joy.

My door opens, no knocks, and I know exactly who it is because the hair on the back of my neck rises. So, no nap. Cool. Not that my thoughts would have let me anyway.

"Freckles, why are your bags not packed for Thanksgiving break?" He hops on my bed like we're best friends again.

I narrow my eyes. "Why don't you go ask your fiancée?"

He sighs. "Are we on this again?"

"I don’t ever remember getting off it. You may be hot but you're not hot enough for me to be a side piece."

"Fuck, Freckles. She's not my fiancée or even my girlfriend. I just don’t correct her because I don't fucking care."

My heartbeat slows and my anger rises. He lied this whole time because, why? To make me jealous. Fucking sadist.

He tilts his head, watching me in that way that puts me on edge. All dark but with hints of lust and fascination bordered on obsession. "Now, back to what I was saying, why are your bags not packed for break?"

"Where would I go? I have zero family." I roll my eyes. He knows this.

"With me."

I choke on air. Literally. "Hell no."

He smiles. "I wasn't asking. Plus, we'll be back a few days early because I have a game."

"No."

He sighs like I'm a child being stubborn. "Again, I'm not fucking asking."

"Again,I'm not going with you."

He grins. All heartbreaking and beautiful. "We'll see."

I should have known.History has a point of repeating itself, and Desmond and his kidnapping ways are painfully predictable. So when I wake up feeling groggy in a moving car, it shouldn't have shocked me. Not really.

It's dark, streetlamps and the moon the only source of light as we speed down a highway. I roll my head to the side, looking at Desmond’s stupidly perfect profile. "Hey, baby. Want some water?" He smiles.

I narrow my eyes and take the outstretched water from him because I can barely swallow. Once I take a greedy sip, I place it in the cupholder. "Did you drug me?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I slipped a Xanax in your food at dinner. It's not that serious."

It must have been a big one because I once went on a little Xanax binger and never felt this bad unless I snorted too many. I look away from him, focusing on the road. "Where are we going?" I ask.

"To my parents’."

The knowledge of knowing I'm going back to my hometown, where it all started, should scare me. But I'm blissfully numb with the drug still in my system. So, instead of freakingthe fuck out, I just continue to stare out the window until we pull up to a hotel.

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