Page 12 of Venom
From her agreeing to marry a man who wants me dead to save her nasty, lying Mama to nearly losing both her son and her love after a crazy clubwhore tried to shoot her. Psycho ended up pushing her out of the way, getting shot instead, and having memory loss after months in a coma.
She’s been through a lot, and now, finally, after so long, she’s getting her happily ever after married to the love of her life, bringing their miracle baby up together like it always should have been.
“You’re good with him,” she mentions, and I grin as I look back at Hudson, who's now trying to grab my daughter chain, his eyes fixated on it.
After nearly six months in neonatal care, the little babe has blossomed since coming home, and I try to spend as much time with him as possible, even though I really shouldn’t be touching him, not with my tainted hands.
Three days ago, I killed a Hyena in the alley where I was nearly killed, stabbing him in the neck.
Blood enters my vision, but I blink it away.
Slowly over the years, I’ve been killing them one by one, only for Hayden Gillies to add more men to his little gang, but as of three days ago, instead of having eight, the only number he can get his little gang up to, there’s only seven, and even if it kills me, that number will go down to zero.
“He makes it easy,” I admit, trying to ignore my thoughts before I blow a raspberry on Hudson’s little hand, then bounce him a little, making him giggle, taking his attention off my chain, which I never take off.
Well, once it was taken off, but as soon as I woke up, Mama gave it back to me.
I technically shouldn’t be alive, not after my ordeal. Several broken ribs, a punctured lung, severe head injury, a black eye, broken nose, broken arm, several internal tears on my vaginal walls from when he tore my virginity from me, a fractured kneecap, and then there’s my back…
I swallow hard and smile at Hudson, the ragged, raised scar never too far from my mind, a scar no one has seen, not even Mama.
Over forty stitches were needed to put the skin back together after the guy had torn it with a knife, forever a memory of what happened to me.
I changed that day. I became harder, while my crush, my love for Venom, began to diminish.
I didn’t feel worthy of him at first after seeing him again for the first time in months, since my ‘appendix’ surgery, the lie Ivy told everyone, and then he began putting me down. He kept accusing me of using Ivy to make my daddy mad to my face, declaring that Ivy and I won’t be friends much longer, that I’ll be alone.
He’s managed to make me hate him more and more each day, which is sad, really, considering I wanted forever with that man, but I’m now preaching it was a teenage crush, nothing more, even if I have to lie to myself.
Hudson babbles again, and I chuckle as I lift him into my arms and hold him close.
“How’s work going?” Ivy asks as she takes a seat next to me, and I shrug a little and admit, “Fine, though getting called out during a lesson was not so fine.”
I smile a little, the look on my professor's face when I told him it was my fire beeper for a job after he demanded it when it went off in class while I was busy packing my stuff up.
“Did you get in trouble?” Ivy giggles, and I shake my head and deny, “Nah, not after I explained why I had it and that I needed to go.”
I blow a raspberry at Hudson, making him squeal again, before I ask, “Have you heard from Lake lately?”
Ivy sighs, and I look at her as she shakes her head and admits, “No, and Randy’s also concerned. She’s been really down since finding out Viper was a brother, lost a lot of weight, and is barely in contact with us.”
I twitch my nose and reply, “I don’t think it’s the fact he’s a brother that’s the problem, I mean, I know the brothers were,” I side eye Huddy then spell, “j-a-c-k-a-s-s-e-s,” making Ivy snort, “But she knew the brothers have a weird phobia about women wanting their patches. I think her problem was his reaction and instant blaming and accusing her of being with him to get his cut all because she was friends with us. I mean they were together for a while so he knew her heart, knew she loved him…”
Ivy nods and agrees, “I think you’re right,” then huffs, “we need to bang their heads together.”
I chuckle. Lake has grown up with a label she didn’t deserve – patch chaser and whore – all because of who birthed her despite her dad being the one to raise her and every brother has stood clear of her even though they didn’t even know what she looked like because Randy kept her away from the club and homeschooled her but someone how, while on shift as an EMT, she bumped into Viper who didn’t have his cut on.
For months they were dating and she admitted she spoke about us to him but never mentioned names. So when she accidentally bumped into him not long ago in the local café while dancing with Huddy, it was a shock to both of them and now, each time they see each other they fling insults, not as bad as me and Venom, I mean, I kneed him between his legs a few weeks ago when he mentioned my daddy yet again. Still, their insults are mean-spirited and long-lasting.
“They’ll come back together again,” I call it instantly because those two belong together, and their reason for breaking up was just stupid, and Ivy nods in agreement.
“So how is school going then?” Ivy asks, and I grin at Hudson as I reply, “Okay, not failing just yet, so that is a bonus.”
“And Gregory?” she asks, and I look her way to see her brow raised, and I roll my eyes.
“Still isn’t aware of what school I’m attending and won’t until graduation, I want to surprise him to show him how grateful I am for taking on an angry teen,” I murmur and I look at Ivy and admit, “I see him as my dad, he’ll never replace Daddy but in my heart of hearts he’s my dad.”
Ivy grins widely with pride, making me chuckle, and I look back at Hudson, who's trying to grab my chain again.
