Page 77 of Ivy's Venom

"I know."

"How do you know?" He asks, his chin moving against the crown of my head.

"Because I looked the same way when I was grieving your sister."

He tenses for a second and then I feel him nod, "only you didn't have someone to order you pizza and check up on you."

"No." I agree.

I didn't, I was stuck in a boarding school, being ridiculed everyday, and enduring abuse a few times a week. I certainly didn't get pizza.

He presses his lips to my forehead and any lingering doubts about my anxiety disappear when I feel my chest warming up to him. His touch doesn't freak me out and his scent makes me feel safe and protected.

"I brought a list of movies, I assume you have Netflix?"

Once again his head tips back, his laugh loud in the empty house, and he leads me into his family room. "Yeah, we have Netflix."

We've watched Mean Girls, Hocus Pocus, and Dirty Dancing. We're both nearly half asleep from a pizza coma when the front door opens.

"Neil?" Amelia's voice calls out.

"In here." He replies.

Amelia pops her head in and sees me nestled into Neil's side, his arm around my shoulders.

"Hey." She looks at me, "I didn't know you would be coming by."

"Why would you?" I raise a brow, "I came to see your brother."

I hate being rude with her but honestly I'm not fucking sure what she's trying to prove. She's becoming annoying and I can honestly say it's because of the shit she's running Charlotte's name through. Also the fact that she seems to think I need to tell her when I'm visiting her brother.

"Right." She nods. "Well, you two have fun." Then she disappears back around the corner.

"I think those long claws you have can be retracted now." He snorts.

"Sorry," I smile at him.

"Let's go to my room, Shay should be home soon, too." He starts to stand and then freezes, "unless you want to stay here, it's up to you."

"It's fine." I wave him ahead of me.

He leads me up the stairs and past what I remember to be Charlotte's bedroom, my chest growing tight. I miss her so much. I continue following Neil to his bedroom and as soon as I step inside, I inhale his scent. It's soothing and all male.

"Your room is clean." I look around.

"Yeah, yours isn't." He snorts.

"You were in there one time." I roll my eyes.

"And it was a fucking sty."

I laugh and he joins in, sitting on the chair by the bed. I take a seat on the bed and feel the air in the room change, we need to fucking talk.

"About that phone call last night." I begin.

"Yeah, I'm sorry..."

"Why?" I cut him off, "why all the questions?"

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