Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“I would offer to draw on you, but that doesn’t seem right.”
“How about you buy me a dessert?” he asked. “We head into town, and you can show off your non-ink and buy my dessert.”
“I actually have a couple of cakes at home that do need eating.”
“Your parents’ home?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“I don’t think your parents would like me coming to their place.”
“You’re my friend, and besides, it is the least I can do. They will appreciate you doing this for me and not encouraging me to get a whole bunch of tattoos.”
He really wanted dessert.
“Sure, so long as you don’t mind stepping between your father and me, and his shogun.”
“My dad is not that bad.” She wrinkled her nose. “Scrap that, he might actually be that bad.”
He snorted. That was an understatement.
They got to their feet and walked in the direction of her father’s home. “Have you always lived in Dwellers Point?” she asked.
“No, I found the club on the road, earned my patch, and stayed with them.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that. I thought you were a local.”
He laughed. “Nah, I earned my patch the hard way and finally settled here.”
“Do you have a house?” she asked.
“Nope. I live in the clubhouse. Never needed a house. Never wanted one.” Home was not something he thought of fondly. “I grew up being moved from foster home to foster home. I had an addict mother, a gang member dad. That is about all I can remember before I was taken from them. I know he used to beat the shit out of my mom.”
“Wow,” she said. “And then you went into foster care?”
“Yeah, after my mother was given an overdose.”
“Given one?” she asked.
“Yeah, by my dad,” he said.
She opened and closed her mouth.
He burst out laughing. “Some might say my childhood is the cause of me being somewhat violent right now.”
“And what would your assessment be?”
“The world is full of nasty assholes that need to be hurt,” he said with a shrug. “I don’t take any of their bullshit. That’s just the way it is.”
“Yeah, the world is full of a lot of nasty. I, uh, I grew up with my parents.”
“You don’t have to be worried or scared. I know everyone has a different upbringing, and I’m not going to start getting jealous or wanting your life, Morwenna.”
They arrived at her home, and she turned to look at him with a smile. “You’re ... different.”
He didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. They stepped into her family’s home, and the first thing he smelled was the fresh scent of lemon. Not the fruit, but it made him think of something clean.
Her parents had a nice house, he always thought that.
“Honey, is that you?” Willow said. “Oh, hello.”
“Hello, Mrs. Graves,” he said.
“Sweetheart, what have you done?” Willow asked, smiling at him and looking toward her arm.
“I’ve done nothing. Don’t freak out or panic. I got Venom to draw on me, because I am undecided if I want a tattoo. Don’t you think it looks kind of awesome?”
“What’s going on?” Gus Graves came from behind him, and Venom figured he wasn’t carrying a gun without a good reason.
Morwenna retold them the ink story, and Venom wasn’t afraid of Gus. He and Gus had a couple of run-ins with each other. So long as they didn’t upset one another, they were more than fine.
“Haven’t seen you for a long time,” Gus said.
“Gus!” This came from Willow.
“It’s hard to see someone when you don’t visit them in prison,” Venom said.
“Dad, stop.”
“You have no remorse?” Gus asked.
“They hurt dogs. I don’t feel remorse for what I know they did. Trust me, they got off lightly.” He was not embarrassed by his past. He was not going to pretend otherwise. Life dealt him a shit hand, and he made the most of it.
“Will you stop? I’m offering him cake seeing as he might stop me from making one of the biggest mistakes of my life,” Morwenna said. “And he is a guest. Since when did we start badgering guests?”
“Since the last mistake broke your heart, and he’s wearing the exact same patch as him,” Gus said.
“Might be the same patch, doesn’t mean we’re the same person.”
“Can we stop, and Dad, it wasn’t a mistake,” Morwenna said, and she grabbed Venom’s arm and pulled him into the kitchen.
“You don’t regret marrying Bolt?” Venom asked.
She let him go, and he was shocked to see that Willow and Gus hadn’t followed them.
“I’m not about to admit that to my dad. He was the one who told me I was acting irrationally when I was sixteen. He told me Bolt would break my heart and I would regret everything.” She shrugged. “He already knows he’s right, and he doesn’t need to hear it as well. Besides, I have already told him.”