Tryst Six Venom by Penelope Douglas

My dad died long before Clay and I knew each other, but Henry was only
a few years ago.
She still doesn’t look at me, just nods, and I watch the ball in her throat
move up and down.
She picks off a piece of pepperoni. What’s going on in her head?
“Do you like it?” I ask her.
She pops her eyes up, still bloodshot from the crying. “Yeah, why?”
“You usually like all the fixings.” Olives, peppers, onions, sausage… She
likes her pizza loaded. After years of playing lacrosse together, I know her
pizza order by now.
She lifts the slice to her mouth. “It’s good.”
I smile to myself. I appreciate the sacrifice. Old world pep is my thing.
“Why do you hate me?” I ask after a moment. I don’t know why I want to
know. Maybe I’m taking advantage of the opportunity to finally talk to her.
“Why do you act like you hate me, I mean?”
She looks at me, holding my eyes, but when her mouth opens, nothing
comes out. Her lids fall, her gaze drops, and I can see the tears pool again.
But she blinks them away, clearing her throat. “You don’t have to come
back to school.”
She changes the subject, and I let her. “I know.”
“But I’ll miss you,” she adds, and her voice is as small as a needle, and
seeps right into my skin just as easily.
I’m dying for air. She’s fixated on me, right? Because she has nothing
else? That’s all this is, right? She couldn’t control me anymore, because I’d
started to react. She’s starved for attention, and if that means going to bed
with me, she’ll do it. That’s what she’s doing, right?
You weren’t supposed to leave.
“No one has left you, Clay,” I tell her. “Your brother was taken. He didn’t
make a choice.”
She’s not alone.
“And your parents…” I go on. “They may be going through stuff, but
they’re there. They love you.”
Demand their attention like you do mine. Why not?
“Did you feel like your mom loved you?” she asks. “Do you remember
her?”
I stuff a bite of pizza into my mouth, hating how she’s so savvy at
deflecting. “I remember her. And no, I don’t think she loved her kids.”