Page 31 of Venom
“Raya knows you slept with Angel,” Ivy says in a rush, not giving me time to even say ‘Hey, sis’ after answering her call. Everything goes cold deep inside me as I slowly stand from my seat near the bar, Blade and Psycho looking at me with a frown.
Fuck, this can’t be happening.
“You said,” I begin to accuse, but she cuts me off and admits, “I didn’t tell her, Cale, I swear. One minute we were all messaging, threatening to kidnap her if she didn’t answer our texts, and the next she messaged me separately and mentioned you slept with Angel, who is pregnant, and she knows I knew and didn’t tell her.”
More tears slide down Raya’s cheeks, tears I want to kiss away as I come out of the memory.
I rushed to Raya’s apartment to try and explain, to fuck, I don’t know, to beg her not to lose trust in my sister, but instead of letting me in, she called the cops.
Who knew this would be the straw to break the camel’s back for their friendship after so many years.
I sigh as I eye the door before looking back at Raya. Viper hasn’t left Lake’s side since they arrived at the hospital, and right now, the doctor is hoping he’ll convince her to take the three-week program at a therapy facility just outside of Santa Monica, one she refused when offered.
Lake claimed she didn’t mean to cut that deep, that she slipped and doesn’t need to go into therapy, that it won’t happen again and will just take a few weeks off work. The problem is though, it wasn’t just one wrist she slit too deep it was both and to make things worse, she’s fucking pregnant with Viper’s child but never told him, instead she has contacted adoption agencies far away from the club.
She doesn’t want her child to be brought up near the club after the shit that got said about her, all because of Cherri.
Viper has a lot of hard work to convince her she can be a mama, that they can be together, that everything said between them was just words. They can come back from it while me, I need to ensure Raya doesn’t fall apart out of guilt, even if she won’t look at me.
The guilt fucking radiates off her.
Lake had been distant for a few months, and the women allowed her, believing that was what she needed. Raya had been even more distant in her own world since I fucked her, then Angel, after her birthday, which no one knew about but my sister.
Ivy said I was the last resort to get her to celebrate it, something she apparently hasn’t done since she was fifteen and Ivy snuck out to celebrate with her and then Raya disappeared for three months for reasons my sister refuses to say. Now said sister is heartbroken because her best friend has distanced herself while also still being there for Huddy.
Psycho’s been taking him to the park, where she’ll meet him for an hour or so every couple of days, and much to my sister's chagrin, he’s staying neutral out of punishment for not telling him about Mama being back in town.
The door to the waiting room opens, I look away from Raya to see a disheveled Viper still in his suit, his eyes glossy as he looks around the room.
We lock eyes, and he swallows hard as I tilt my head with a question, and he gives me a slight nod in confirmation, and I sigh with relief.
She’s going.
He looks around the room again before locking on Raya, who hasn’t noticed he’s here, and he tilts his head with sorrow.
I’ve kept him up to date on the shit that has been going on and how distant Raya’s become, even though I’ve tried to get her to talk to me.
“Raya,” he calls, gaining everyone’s attention, including the women who try to get off their men, wanting to know about their friend. Blade, Psycho, and Fury keep hold of them as Raya looks towards Viper.
Her pretty, icy blue eyes widen as she realizes Viper is the one who called her, and she quickly stands and asks, “Is she going?”
The women who began to complain all zip it as Viper nods and admits, “She is as long as I visit every week.”
Raya’s tears fall, and she nods and whispers, “Can I see her?”
I stand, already knowing the answer as Viper confirms, “She doesn’t want to see anyone right now, she’s ashamed because everyone knows her secret, knows that she put the baby at risk.”
“But it isn’t something to be ashamed about, depression consumes you and swallows you whole,” Raya chokes as she presses her hands to her stomach like she’s about to be sick, like she knows something we don’t and I quickly rush over to her as Psycho holds my sister tighter when she tries to get out of his hold to get to her friend.
I lock eyes with my sister and nod, so she knows I’ve got her, and she instantly relaxes as I gently wrap my arm around Raya from behind, trying to give her the comfort she needs and she allows me, which settles everything deep inside of me.
“I know, sweetheart,” Viper rasps, “With how she’s feeling right now, it’s consuming her. I’ll get her to call you as soon as she’s ready, I promise.”
Raya sniffles but nods as she leans against me, giving me some of her weight, making my whole body light up with fireworks, and a realization hits me, something I’ve tried to deny.
Fuck me, she’s not just the woman I’m in love with, she’s the fucking one.
Shit, fuck, fuck.
