Page 128 of Hexed
He wraps his arm around me, resting his head on my shoulder. “You’ve never been a burden to me.”
Pressure clogs my throat and builds behind my eyes, and I will something to come out. But like always, nothing does.
“Look out for things here while I’m gone, yeah? You’ll take care of my babies?”
He makes a face. “You know I will.”
Fisher stands and I follow suit, wrapping my arms around him and sinking into his hold. I close my eyes, cherishing themoment and committing it to memory, because who knows when I’ll get the chance again?
“Love you, Short Stack. Don’t be a stranger.” Fisher’s voice cracks.
“Yeah,” I murmur. “Love you too, Gup.”
I walk him to the door and close it behind him, resting my back against it and squeezing my eyes shut.
Come on, cry, Venesa.
Nothing. Just an ever-growing ache in the center of my chest.
Sighing, I head to my vanity and open the drawers, making sure I didn’t forget anything important. I suck in a breath, my heart skipping when I see something in the bottom one.
A small black box with silver wrapping paper and a purple bow.
Slowly, I reach down and pick up Enzo’s present, my hand shaking and my chest feeling like it might burst open. I slide my nail beneath the taped paper and unwrap the gift, and when I open the box, there’s a necklace there.
A coral seashell on a black rope.
The one I wouldn’t let him buy me.
The throbbing in my chest expands until it squeezes my lungs and steals my breath.
A folded note falls out when I move the necklace, and I set the black box down, picking up the paper with my free hand.
It shakes as I hold it open.
To making memories… Happy birthday.—Enzo
Pressure builds behind my eyes and scorches up my throat, and it feels like I’m about to crack in two.
Glancing down at the note again, I run my thumb over the writing and then walk to my bed and slip it inside my duffel bag.
I place the seashell around my neck. It’s cold against my skin, and heavy, and every time I take a step, I feel it pressing on my chest, reminding me that at least once, there was someone who made me feel loved out loud.
And I’ll accept nothing less again.
Suddenly, the answer to Fisher’s question becomes so clear. Iamcoming back. And I’m going to take everything from my uncle the same way he’s taken everything from me.
But first, I’m going to tell Enzo the truth about everything.
THIRTY-FIVE
ENZO
There’sa crick in my neck from sleeping on the worst bed known to man, but I’m ignoring it. Actually, I’m using the pain to ground me because my mind has been a whirlwind since the engagement party last night, and today, I’m not sure what the fuck I’m going to do.
I didn’t go find Aria like Trent asked me to because I couldn’t in good conscience go to her when Venesa’s cum was still coating my hand and her moans were reverberating in my memory.
I’m a dick, and I’ve done some fucked-up things in my life, but that’s a little too much even for me. So, instead, I stayed at the bed-and-breakfast with Scotty, and I slept on an old, creaky pullout couch. “Slept” being a generous term. Betty refused to let me rent a room, the old hag.
