Chapter 42 – VENOM
Chapter
Forty-Two
VENOM
Ienter the greenhouse, looking for Ivy, already knowing I’ll find her there. When I do, I pause and continue quietly, watching her while trying not to draw her attention.
“Come on, it’s alright. We’re friends now, right?” she sweetly says into an area of orchids, holding out her hand. Mya slithers up into her palm and then around her wrist. Ivy giggles at the sensation. “Now listen, don’t go biting me or I’m gonna be pissed and never talk to you again. Okay?”
“Well, I’ve bitten you and I remember you asking for more, darlin’.”
She jumps, clutching her chest with her snake-free hand.
“Jesus, Venom. Can’t you ever enter a room like a normal person?”
“What’s a normal person to do? Stomp around and shout every time they enter?”
“I think you like sneaking up and scaring me.”
I lift a brow. “I thought you’d never been frightened of me.”
She rolls her pretty eyes and walks over to me. “What’s up?”
“I just came to tell you they’re almost here.”
“I think it’s really sweet of you for doing this,” she says, placing a hand to my chest.
“I told you, the boy reminded me of myself, and if I can do anything to bring him a little joy, then I’ll happily do that.” She kisses my cheek. “At least something good came from that night. I can’t wait to meet him.”
I glance to my blue beauty, Mya, wrapped around my beguiling beast. “She looks good on you.” I smirk, meet Ivy’s eyes, then wink at her, causing her to blush.
Ivy’s cell phone dings and she takes it out, smiling at the screen.
“Who has you smiling like that? That’s only my job.”
“Oh, it’s just Charlotte.” She shrugs and types something back to her.
“Just Charlotte? I’m not sure if I should be concerned or intrigued to see what the two of you could get up to,” I say as I twirl a strand of her hair around my finger.
“We’ve just been talking girl stuff.”
“Mmm.”
She puts her phone back into her pocket and looks up at me. “Are you jealous?” she asks with a playful grin.
“If I have to keep seeing someone else make you smile like that, then yes. Unbearably jealous, darlin’. I’ll have to have a talk with her.”
“Oh stop. Maybe you and Reaper can get more friendly too and we can go on a double date!”
“From what I heard, their last double date ended with a murder.”
She beams. “Sounds like your kind of event!”
“This is true.”
She laughs, giving me a light push. “Go. I’ll meet you out there. Let me just put Mya back.”
Pulling her closer by her hair wrapped around my finger, I kiss her deeply, then leave.
The sound of the car coming down my driveway has me quickly stepping outside to wait for our guests. I never thought I’d agree to something like this, but here we are.
Before the car even comes to a complete stop, the back door flies open.
“Damon! I told you; you need to wait until the car completely stops!” Alice shouts as she exits the vehicle.
The young boy bolts up the stairs and launches at me, attaching himself to me like a feral monkey.
I give him a couple of pats on the head and he finally lets go to look up at me with admiration.
“I kept telling them I wanted to see you again. Every day. Even more than once a day!”
“Persistence can get you far in life. So will a charming smile. Now, let’s have a look at yours.”
He tries mimicking my perfected smirk and I have to hold back a chuckle. “Well, we’ll certainly have to work on that.”
He looks so much better than he did that night I found him. I can now see both his eyes clearly—no more bruises and not so thin.
“I knew you lived in a castle!”
“It only looks like a castle on the outside. Unfortunately, inside is rather boringly modern.”
“Do you have an underground cave or something?”
“I have something much better. Tell me, Damon, do you like flowers?”
He grimaces. “Flowers? Isn’t that for girls?”
“Not my kind of flowers. Come, let me show you my lair and my pets.” I open my front door and motion for him to walk in.
“Thanks for doing this. I know it’s a bit unorthodox,” Alice says as she approaches. “He was driving everyone nuts.”
“It’s no problem, Alice. You coming in too?”
“Ah, I think I should probably just wait out here and not cross any more lines. I have some calls to make anyway.”
“I think we’re well past lines, but alright then.”
As Damon and I walk past the kitchen, Ivy pops out to greet us in a pretty floral mini dress and her typical bare feet.
“This is Ivy.”
“Hi, Damon. It’s so nice to meet you.”
“Are you his girlfriend?”
Ivy laughs, her cheeks turning a light pink. “I am.”
“You’re a bit more than that,” I say to her with a smirk before looking back at the boy.
“She’s pretty. Prettier than Alice.”
“She sure is. You’re a smart kid. But watch out for this one. She’s a pretty thing but as beastly as they come.”
Damon scrunches his little brows together and Ivy swats my arm.
“Don’t listen to him, Damon. He’s gotten hit on his head a bit too much.”
“From being a superhero?”
“Um, yeeeah, we can say that.”
“One day I’m gonna be like Venom and save people too!”
Ivy smiles at the boy. “You know what, I think you’ll be even better than him.”
“Yeah? You really think so?”
“I know so.”
Damon smiles so big at Ivy it melts something inside me. This boy, who has already been through so much at a young age, still has his smile. It’s not lost. And I have this sudden urge to make sure he never loses it.
“Damon, do you like snakes?”
“Snakes are so cool!”
“Would you like to meet some of mine?”
“Yeah!”
I walk us to the end of the hall and open the greenhouse door, letting him enter first.
He takes a few steps in and then stops, taking in the surroundings.
“Wow!”
“Follow me and don’t touch anything on the left tables.” Damon eagerly follows me to the back of the greenhouse, with Ivy right behind him.
I take time introducing him to all the ladies and even find Mya for him to hold for a bit as well as Rose, my desert rosy boa.
The kid shows no fear and again, it triggers my memories of me as a boy—unafraid of all the creatures I found in the yard, but the one fear I did have was from a mother who never loved me.
Although Damon did experience a true mother’s love, it was not nearly long enough, and I just hope he finds people who will truly love him and protect him.
“Hey, Damon, I heard you like red velvet cupcakes,” Ivy says with a playful grin.
“They’re my favorite!”
“Well, red velvet cupcakes just so happen to be one of my specialties. Cream cheese frosting and all. Wanna help me make some?”
“Really? Okay, yeah!”
This kid’s face lights up in the best way. Pure, unfiltered joy and excitement make his smile widen and his big blue eyes sparkle. It’s beautifully contagious.
I quickly send a text to Alice, letting her know we’re going to be a bit longer. She assures me she has plenty of work to keep her occupied while she waits.
As Ivy and Damon get to work on making the cupcakes, I sit at the kitchen table and watch them in wonder and maybe with just a bit of jealousy because Damon seems to be awfully good at making Ivy laugh.
I used to sit here watching Ivy and Evelyn and now—my thoughts are disrupted when Ivy swipes some of the cupcake batter on Damon’s nose and his contagious giggle echoes through the room.
I smile and let out a small chuckle as I watch them, but then my thoughts pull me in a different direction.
If I hadn’t taken care of dear Debbie when I did, I might not have found him in time. He could have been sold off to the next person and be lost for longer or perhaps even forever. He might not have gotten to be this version of himself right now, happy.
Damon helps Ivy clean up while the cupcakes bake, like a true little gentleman, and once they’re done, we all eat one together and then Ivy packs some up for him.
“Alright, I think it’s time we get you back to Alice.”
He frowns, dropping his head and turns to leave with his fresh cupcakes in hand.
Opening the front door, I let Damon and Ivy walk out first. Alice quickly ends the call she’s on and takes a few steps up the stairs. “Ready, Damon?”
“No,” he simply says.
“Now that was the deal, kid. A quick visit and then you’ll go stay with the Jamesons. They’re really looking forward to meeting you.”
“But I don’t want to go. Can’t I stay a little longer?”
“Damon, we have to stick to our deal, okay?” Alice says.
He looks down at his sneakers and toes a small pebble.
“But… I like it here. Why can’t you and Ivy just be my new daddy and mommy?”
I swallow the lump in my throat and look over to Ivy for help, but all I see are tears threatening to spill from her eyes as she stares at the sad boy.
I look back at Damon and he looks up, finally meeting my eyes, and I lose all train of logical thought.
All I know, since the moment I saw this boy, is how much I want to protect him. I still see the innocence in him that I lost long ago as a child. I want to make sure he never loses that or his smile and forever feels loved and wanted. I want to give him what I never had.
I look back at Ivy and smile, thinking about how I know she would make a fierce and incredible mama. Protective and nurturing. But we can’t rush something like this.
“Hey, Damon. Look at me.” His stormy blue eyes meet mine as I kneel down to his level.
“I heard the Jamesons are really nice people and they’re gonna be real good to you.
How about we set up another visit sometime?
You can come hang out with Mya and Rose.
Ivy can make more cupcakes. How’s that sound? ”
“I can see you and Ivy again?” he asks excitedly.
“Just say the word and Alice here will set it up.”
“You promise?”
I smile. “You have my word.”
He wraps his arms around my neck and I return the hug while looking over to Ivy, seeing her covering her mouth to hold back the emotions she’s feeling.
I stand and face Alice.
“Alice, whatever the boy needs…”
She nods, not needing to finish my sentence to know my request. “Of course.”