Tryst Six Venom by Penelope Douglas

to escort me tonight, because that’s her place. That he means nothing more
than a waste of my time.
All of this is a waste of time. I hate my hair. I don’t even have to look to
feel every strand pulled off my neck and away from my face, pinned into a
tidy, boring little bun at the back of my head. The matte lipstick allows me to
feel every dry patch on my lips, and I almost tell Amy to give me the damn
drink in order to dull the pain of that dress on the hanger behind me.
“Is everything okay?” Jenny, the stylist, asks.
I squeeze my phone in my lap, not in the mood to lie so I keep my mouth
shut. I drop my eyes, staring at my screen and checking the volume again and
my texts.
I don’t care about my hair. I’ve called, texted… She doesn’t answer. I go
straight to voicemail every time, which means her phone is either off or I’m
blocked.
I haven’t had the courage to check social media yet. I want to throw up,
because I know she’s cut us off from each other there, too.
Not knowing is better right now.
My chest shakes, and I let out a quiet sob.
“Ladies.” Jenny pats my shoulders. “Let’s go get them some
refreshments.”
The stylists leave, and I scroll through TikTok, seeing a video on Ruby’s
account of the play last night. Liv stands center stage, Mercutio’s famous
monologue hitting my heart like a brick. God, she can make you forget
you’re watching a play. I hope she didn’t see me last night. My heart was in
my throat the entire time.
Amy peers over my shoulder. “A few people are dragging her for her
performance last night.”
“Bullshit.” Krisjen finishes her cocktail and checks herself in the mirror.
“Word is, she nailed it. Lizbeth got snippy on Snapchat, some loaded
comment about ‘someone’ stealing the show, but everyone knows who she’s
talking about.”
I want to ask Krisjen if she’s seen her or talked to her. She’s at their
house a lot lately.
“And of course, everyone sticks up for the underdog,” Amy adds, “doing
that ‘hey, here’s me and my token lesbian friend to show I’m woke and have
the higher moral ground with my self-important opinions about world
issues.’”