The Viper's Venom

Warning

~Alton's pov~

"Guys, lemon or orange soda ?" I asked, holding up two cans of soda for my friends to choose from.

"Lemon," Marcus said quickly, reaching out to grab the can from my hand. "Definitely Lemon,"

"Who the hell drinks lemon? Orange soda is clearly the superior choice," Carmi declared as she rolled her eyes at Marcus.

"Well, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that one," I replied with a laugh as I handed Carmi the orange soda.

"It's all good, as long as we have something to drink while we play video games," Marcus added with a grin.

 As we settled in for our gaming session, the friendly debate over soda preferences faded into the background, replaced by the sounds of our controllers clicking and the cheers and groans of victory and defeat. 

Suddenly, a shrill chime pierced through the air, shattering the intense concentration of our game. 

We all looked at each other, wondering who could be at the door right now. 

I paused the game and got up to go answer it, hoping it wasn't someone trying to sell us something. 

As I peeped into the eye hole of the door, I saw Verena standing on the other side. Chills ran down my spine.

Fuck, what's she doing here in London? Fuck, fuck, fuck!!

"Alton? Who is it?" Carmi called from the living room, her curiosity evident in her voice.

I turned to face them both as I mouthed, " My sister-in-law."

They both exchanged horrified looks before Carmi gestured for me to open the door.

I shook my head silently as I mouthed, "I don't want to."

They both gestured for me to open the door , but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

 Verena was the last person I wanted to see, especially here in London, where I thought I could escape her presence. My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to figure out what to do next.

I took a deep breath and slowly opened the door , knowing that there was no way to avoid the inevitable confrontation. 

As the door swung open, Verena's startled face met mine, and I could see the same mixture of surprise and discomfort reflected in her eyes. 

Despite my initial reluctance, I knew that I couldn't ignore her presence any longer. It was time to face whatever awkward conversation or confrontation awaited us.

"Alton." She said, her voice tight with tension as she narrowed her eyes at me. I squared my shoulders and met her gaze, ready to finally address the elephant in the room.

"Um Hi? Do I know you?" I asked , keeping up my act of not remembering her.

"I'm Verena Kaiser; nice to meet you ." Her voice was cool and controlled, but I could detect the underlying tension in her words.

"Hi, um Verena Nice to meet you too, but may I ask how you know my name before I officially introduce myself to you?" I inquired, trying to keep the conversation light despite the obvious tension between us.

Verena's eyes narrowed even further as she responded, " I'm...well...Valeria's older sister . I've heard a lot about you from her."

"Oh! That's nice; well, I didn't know that Valeria had a sister-"

She suddenly cut me off.

"Sisters. She has 4."

"That's interesting," I replied with a forced smile. "Well, it's nice to meet you, all of Valeria's sisters, even though they're not here. I hope she's spoken positively about me," I added, trying to diffuse the awkwardness.