Venom

25

Dr. Pennfield had dragged me out of the hospital, by my ear.

I tried to explain that she was my grandmother, but he wouldn't listen. As he walked me to the parking lot he informed me that my internship was terminated and he would speak to Dr. Wiltshire about it.

I'd driven home, disappointed that I'd been caught. But I decided that I'd manage to sneak in somehow and see my grandmother again. This wasn't the end. It couldn't be.

The word 'venom' echoed in my mind over and over as I sat in the Evergrove library.

Reading week was over and midterms had started. But, I couldn't bring myself to focus. I'd walked past Tyler a couple of times, but he'd avoided me like the plague. I supposed Dallas had freaked him out. No complaints.

Looking around to make sure no one was peeking over my shoulder, I typed venom into my browser. Hitting search, I waited for the lousy internet to load the page.

All that showed up were reviews on the movie Venom and some songs with the same title.

I didn't know what I was expecting.

If it was some undercover mafia, I doubted they would make it searchable by someone like me.

On my way home, I stopped by Ellie's place. She looked a lot less pale than when she'd been at my place. Her surgery was scheduled to occur soon, a good thing. I couldn't wait to see her healthy and back to her usual self. She spent most of her day sleeping in and watching movies.Veronica assured me that she was going to be just fine.

* * *

Sat in my room, working on a lab report, I heard yelling from outside my apartment. It stopped, and I heard the door unlocking.

I got up to find Dallas pacing around in the living room, his jaw was clenched, as were his fists.

"Are you mad at me?" I questioned, leaning against the doorframe of my room, knowing he probably wasn't but wanting to deescalate the situation.

He looked over at me, shaking his head. "God, no."

"Then what's the matter?" I walked closer to him.

"Nothing." He sighed, taking a seat on the couch. "I...I just need to get some fresh air."

And with that, he stood up abruptly, grabbed his keys, and walked out of the apartment.

Strange.

I'd never seen him as pissed as he looked in those few moments. Perhaps he'd lost a job, or failed an important midterm.

Either way, since we were on better terms, I thought I would make him something to eat. Not to mention, I was craving some baked goods as the stress of my midterms came weighing down.

As I'd noted over the weeks we'd lived together, Dallas loved cookie dough, whether it was in ice cream or out of a jar. So, I decided to bake some chocolate chip cookies.

Before getting started, however, I took off the necklace that I always wore. I placed it on the coffee table in the living room to examine it.

My mother had given it to me when I was eight. I remember my sister, Hayley, getting jealous and my father taking her out to buy a necklace of her choice.

It was a real sapphire stone that had been carved into the shape of a heart. I thin silver chain ran through a small hole in the stone, allowing me to wear it. I turned it over, looked for an opening, but found nothing out of the ordinary.