Page 183 of A Love Like Venom

It’s nice spending time with Rosa but it’s also bittersweet. After being with her and having open conversations it reminds me this is how my mother should have been. She should have loved me from the second that I was born. Nurtured me and taught me the ways of the world. She shouldn’t have turned my sister against me. And she shouldn’t have hated me for simply breathing. Growing up with her was like experiencing the harshest coldest winters.

But Rosa is the warmth on a radiant sunny day. She’s accepting and kind. Filled with love that’s fierce and strong. You can talk to her with no judgment yet she will give you her honest opinion. She wants what is best for you. Help steer you in the right direction.

She’s everything a mother should be.

Even though she does not have any kids of her own in a way she does with the people here.

She treats all of us like we are her own.

And I am so glad that Reed had someone in his life who shared the same morals as his mother and the qualities she had.

If only one of us could have the mother figure in their lives I’m happy that it was him.

They both are so very special. Sadly one was taken from him too soon.

I know that no one can replace his mother. How could they possibly do such a thing? Eleanor was Eleanor. A beautiful strong woman in her very own special way that loved her boy with something fierce. No one can replace her. But having Rosa in his life who clearly loves and cares for him as deeply is a rather close second to the one who meant everything.

Tonight she made her famous chili. Thanks to my activities with Reed I was unable to help her. Thankfully she didn’t mind but she teased me about it with a twinkle in her eye.

Truthfully I think she is just happy to see him with a genuine smile on his face. His laughter is real not fake. The mask he wore before is long gone. And that’s what she wanted for him all along.

“This is really good,” I praise her. Her smile beams from across the table. I add, “Honestly, I have never eaten this good.”

“She does make the best food. Always has,” Sticks compliments before giving her a peck on the lips.

Sticks intimidated me at first. For an older man he has eyes of steel and a stature that is threatening. Once I’ve got to sit down and talk to him amongst Rosa and Reed I realized he’s really just a big softy. He’s just a little rougher around the edges.

“Thank you,” she says to the both of us. “If you don’t mind me asking when was the last time you had a home cooked meal?”

I squirm in my seat as all eyes fall on me. My hands grow fidgety. My heart picks up its beat.

Then a warm reassuring hand lays on my thigh and squeezes it.

All my nerves fall away.

Taking a breath I finally answer. “I was probably too young to remember. I’m sure she must’ve fed me when I was a baby. If that even counts.”

“Then how did you eat?” Dex asks the question that is on everyone’s mind.

“If it could be eaten straight out of the box or bag. And microwaveable food.”

He curses underneath his breath.

Pax then asks, “So what did they eat? Your mother and sister, did they do the same?”

“Uh, no. She cooked for herself, Caitlin and whatever boyfriend she had at the time. There was just never enough food for me.”

If this would have been the first time Reed was hearing of this he would have gone ballistic. But I swore to myself to tell him everything like he did with me when we wished upon the stars.

And I’ve done that.

Over the course of me being here he knows everything about my tragic childhood. Even my mother’s boyfriends before Chris Blackwell who had been touchy with me.

To say that he didn’t take it well would have been putting it lightly. He wanted the names of all those men to murder. And his hate for Caitlin grew as well as it did with my mother.

“That’s fucking awful. I’m sorry,” Pax says. The others echo his sentiment.

I shake my head. “No need to be sorry. There are others who have had it worse than me. And I at least had someone to help me through it.” I look over at Reed and give him a lingering kiss on the cheek.

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