Tryst Six Venom by Penelope Douglas

“I didn’t let you win,” she tells me. “I simply removed myself from an
environment that I hated. That didn’t deserve me. That offered me nothing.”
Tears well in my eyes, and I see her chin tremble.
“I got my credits,” she continues, holding back tears. “I got into
Dartmouth, and I didn’t need any of that shit anymore. You weren’t worth the
fight.” She grabs my collar. “You were worth nothing!”
I shove at her, but she keeps hold and so do I. “None of us are, right?
Jaeger for herself, right? Go, then. Get the fuck out of here! Go!”
“I will!” she cries. “I’m leaving, Clay. And I’m not coming back!”
I gasp, nearly choking on my breath as my knees give out and I slide
down the wall.
She follows. “I’m leaving.”
No. A sob lodges in my throat.
“I’m going,” she says.
I shake my head. No…
“And I’m never coming back!” Her shout rings in my ears, and in a
moment, she’s going to rise, walk out the door, and she’ll never come back,
because Liv doesn’t lie. She’s stubborn and strong and a survivor, and she
never lies.
Knots twist so hard, they snap in my gut, vomit rises up my throat, and I
squeeze my eyes shut, tears spilling down. I push her away and rush into the
bathroom, dropping to my knees and heaving over the toilet. I cough, sputter,
and choke, feeling it coming up, but the only thing that does is a cry too
agonizing to hear.
Oh, God.
She can’t go. She can’t. I can’t…
Resting my elbows on the seat, I hold my head in my hands as lumps of
something fill my throat and my stomach quivers.
And then… I feel something warm cover my back, arms wrap around my
body, and hands tip my chin back and wipe the hair away from my face.
I tense, instinct telling me to push her, but all I want is her. She holds me
to her, and I fall back, collapsing in her arms, crying. “You weren’t supposed
to leave,” I murmur. “You weren’t supposed to give up on me.”
“Shhhh…” She smooths my hair back.
I keep my eyes closed, the tension easing from my face, my head
swimming as the warmth and gentleness of her touch lulls me.
“You were the one who wasn’t supposed to leave.”