Page 235
Chapter 235 of "Tempting Venom" opens revealing: Thatās what Iāve been doing this morning with Violet and Dior as I pretend my... Keep going!
Thatās what Iāve been doing this morning with Violet and Dior as I pretend my problems donāt exist.
Problems? What are those? Never heard of them.
Anyway, Violet, being an excellent host, prepared sandwiches and the cutest cut-fruit plates that Iāve been devouring like a gluttonous motherfucker. All the while talking shit to Danilla.
Listen, Iām still the pettiest petty to every petty on this earth, and Iāll never be okay with the fact that she dated Marcus before me.
The thought of Marcus starts a fire in my chest and a sort of riot in my brain.
You know, Iāve always thought his intensity was uncomfortable, but thatās only because of something simple. My head comes alive around him in ways Iāve never experienced before.
Pre-Marcus, I often felt like I was lost within those stars in my childhood bedroom. Like my soul was still floating there, and my body was just a shell in the real world.
Mostly, I believed I didnāt exist.
Thatās why I love pain. It means Iām here.
But Marcusās touch changed that. It hurt even without impact play, because he touched me deeply, all the way to my soul. He touched me so intimately, it shattered the illusion and crushed my bones.
He touched me so thoroughly, I could feel myself exist in the real world, not just drifting in the unknown.
And those times were the most Iāve ever been myself.
Now, Iām scared Iāll never have that again.
I need to stop thinking about him, because fuck, my chestand eyes burn, and Iām totally not going to cry like a little bitch.
Thatād be so embarrassing, and Disney over here will mock me for a lifetime.
I focus on smiling and having fun with the girls. If someone sees me joking around and trying to patch Viās relationship with Jude, theyāll never guess Iām running on my last breath.
The one percent battery.
Lack of sleep, emotional drainage from writing the letter, and morbid desperation about losing Dr. Duret, Marcus, and Dad at the same time are messing with my goddamn head.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Scratch.
The sound is loud, but not more deafening than the demons living rent-free in my head.
You know no one loves you, right? Even your mom, who loved you the most, killed herself to escape you.
Lilith was right. Once Miley grows up, sheāll hate you. What type of role model can you be for her? Donāt you think itās better you fuck out of her life now?
How long can Jude and Kane put up with your shit before theyāve had enough?
Itāll make everyoneās lives easier if youāre just gone, Preston.
I swallow past the onslaught of voices, my throat flooding with nausea.
Fuck.
Iām about to consider leaving, just so I can bang my fucking head against a wall, but then I see the bracelet on Violetās wrist. Something clicks in my head, and I donāt know whether I want to be wrong or right.
Is that what I think it is?