Page 241 of Craving Venom

She leans back on her palms and shrugs. “Because you’re not. And because we both know your vagina’s never had good taste in men. At least this one didn’t fake his death.”

“That’s… fair. So, you’re not judging me?”

“No,” she says softly. “I’m worried about you. But not because you got dicked down by a guy with a record. I’m worried because you’re scared and you won’t talk to anyone about it. You think you have to deal with this shit alone.”

I stare down at the floor. “I thought I’d be embarrassed.”

“You should be.”

My head snaps up.

She grins. “Not abouthim. About lying to me.”

My guilty expression does all the talking.

Tria sees it immediately. Her smirk drops, replaced by a look that borders on dread.

“You’re hiding more,” she says, and it’s not a question. It’s a statement.

“I knew Zane before the prison visit.”

“What?”

“That whole field trip bullshit? I pushed for it. Suggested it. Hyped it up like I wanted to get extra credit when really… I just wanted to see him. I found him on this site. Criminal Archives. You know that database where you can message convicts? It started as research. He had a weird psychological profile. So I messaged him.”

Tria’s blinking like I just said I’ve been pen-pals with Ted Bundy.

“It was harmless at first,” I say quickly. “Just… messages. He answered as though he was bored, maybe curious. I thought it was just some locked-up guy flexing for attention.”

She doesn’t interrupt. Which is worse.

“Then Halloween happened,” I whisper. “He came to see me.”

Tria’s face goes slack.

“Don’t tell me—” she starts, already paling. “Don’t fucking tell me the lucky girl in the shadow room was you.”

I look away.

She doesn’t need the confirmation.

“Jesus Christ, Faith.”

“I didn’t want it,” I blurt. “Not at first. I was scared.”

“But then you did want it.”

I nod slowly.

“And he kept coming back,” I add. “Bolder every time. He told Harrington he was my boyfriend, then laid out a display of my exes’ eyes just because I wouldn’t give him the time of day.”

I don’t tell her about the snakes.

How he filled my room with them just to teach me a lesson about loyalty. About who I belong to. And in his own fucked-up logic, he thought that was romantic.

Tria’s hands are balled into fists on her lap. “Faith, that’s not just bold. That’s fucking terrifying.”

“I know.”

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