Page 99 of Ivy's Venom

“Ivy do not leave here without sorting this out now. You don’t need to go home and curl up to wallow alone, let me help you.”

His words are like an attack, filled with condescension and guile. He’s trying to force me to do as he wants, disregarding my feelings.

“Don’t.” He points into my face, “I see you retreating into yourself again. Why do you do that?”

“I need to go.” I stand and reach for his door.

He slaps my hand away from the knob and I stare at him with shock.

“Not until we figure this out.”

“Don’t touch me,” I grit through my teeth, my emotions changing in rapid succession, anger, sadness, guilt, back to anger.

“Ivy.” He rears back from the look on my face. “Let me lov…”

“Don’t!” I cut him off and wrench open his room door.

“Ivy!” He yells, but I’m already partly down the stairs.

“Ivy?” I hear Shay but I’m out of the house and down the driveway.

I just need space to figure out what I’m doing, can’t anyone let me have it? Why does everything need to be sorted right now? There’s so much he still doesn’t know and he thinks he can just forgive it all?

He wants to get my hopes up and then smash me down when he realizes he really can’t forgive any of it. I can’t take any more disappointment and I shouldn’t have to. I want him to make a decision after he knows everything, is that wrong?

I turn onto the street, making my way back to the intersection, and to the stop sign I saw a few hours ago that gave me pause, making me remember a bit of my childhood. The innocence I had back then was so viciously ripped away and now I have to find a way to explain that to Neil.

My phone rings in my pocket and I stop at the corner of the street, pulling it out.

It’s my dad calling and I can imagine he’s fucking pissed. I look up and down the street, swiping open the phone to answer his call.

“Dad, don’t freak,” I placate him as I begin to cross the road, “I went to Neil’s…”

Have you ever heard the sound rubber makes when it fights for traction on asphalt? How about when it’s paired with the roar of an engine as a car is pushed to its limit? Both of those noises are like a symphony for disaster and they are the very last things I hear before I’m struck.

My body is slammed into the road and I’m catapulted into darkness.

How the fuck did that get so out of hand? I was professing my fucking love for the girl and it somehow got fucked up. Where did I go wrong?

I storm out of my room and stomp all the way to the basement, we have a small workout area, and I need to fucking punch into the bag. I need my body to hurt and for my sleep to be deep and dreamless. I grab up my gloves and get to work, pumping my fists against the unforgiving bag, and feeling the sweat coat my skin.

I don’t know how long I’m pummeling the bag for when Shay screams down the stairs.

“Neil!”

I rush to the stairs and look up at her, the panic evident in her features.

“It’s Ivy.” Her chest is heaving like she ran a marathon.

“What happened?” I ask as my feet work to get me up the stairs. I can feel myself slipping into fear for what I’m about to hear.

“Vin just called here and said Ivy was struck down up the street.” She’s grabbing her jacket. “They have her on the way to the hospital.”

I’m locked into place and the only thing I hear is the pounding of my heart in my ears. The room begins to spin and I try to absorb what’s real and what’s not.

“Where is Amelia?”

“Neil,” Shay grabs my face, “Amelia is with Cam, it’s Ivy who’s in trouble, do you hear me?”

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