THE INEVITABLE │ t.h

SEVEN

"You're sure you'll be okay?" he questions as they stop at the door of her apartment.

"Y-yeah," she stutters, knowing it to be a lie. "Th-thank you s-so much, Tom. I r-really appreciate i-it."

"That creep was lucky I was more concerned with your well-being," he chuckles lightly, but Venus could see it was true by the dark glint in his eyes, "otherwise he would've had it coming at all angles." Venus laughs softly, brushing her hair out of her face with her fingers. "If you need anything, call me, okay?"

"I don't have your number," she retorts gently, looking up at him. He bites his lip and pulls out his phone. He presses a couple things on his screen, Venus's phone instantly ringing from her clutch.

"Now you do," Tom grins, ending the call. "I don't live far from here actually, so it wouldn't be a bother to make a quick visit."

"Thank you for the offer," Venus smiles, it fading as she spoke her next several words, "but I won't be bothering you if I do need something. You have a daughter to look after."

"Venus-"

"I also have Jocelyn, who lives two floors up from me," she interjects, giving a soft grin. "I'm forever grateful for your generosity though."

"Okay, but if you two need help-"

"We will call you," she finishes, smiling wider. "We can handle almost everything that gets thrown at us, but if we need someone to come knock out another creep for us, you're the first person I'd call." Tom grins, nodding.

"Have a good rest of your night, Venus," he softly speaks. "And stay safe!"

"Of course," she returns. "You too!"

"Always am," he responds. "Sleep well."

"You too," Venus chuckles, realizing Tom was having a tough time leaving her alone after the previous events. Now she began to feel weary of the sudden loneliness.

"Okay," Tom huffs, walking backward toward the elevator, "goodnight."

"Goodnight," Venus smiles, watching him call the elevator up with a single click.

"Go inside," he laughs. "I want to make sure you make it in okay." Venus laughs too, shaking her head. She turns her eyes to the lock, slipping out her key and unlocking the door. Before she slides inside, she waves to Tom, who waves back as he enters the elevator.

➴⋆➶

Venus worked the whole day today, instantly regretting going out last night, for many reasons honestly, but mostly because of the drinks she downed.

As the day was quite slow at the café, she thought back to the nightmare she had last night. It left her in a permanent uncomfortable state all morning, paranoia spreading like a virus as she believed it would come true.

The bell above the door rang, Venus turned to the shelves behind the cash register as she reorganized the display. A throat was cleared, causing her to whip around. Her body was filled with fear at this point, her hands shaking as she expected to see the man from last night.

But she smiled wide at the familiar person, holding a hand over her heart, approaching the counter.

"One hot chocolate?" she questions, no idea where her happy and teasing mood had suddenly sprang from.

"Uh, no, actually," Tom responds, his voice hoarse and deep. "A coffee, please."

"What kind of roast?" Venus asked, now inspecting the darker circles under his eyes.

"Dark," he responded.

"Cream or sugar?" The whites of his eyes were bloodshot.

"Both."

Venus rings him up, setting his credit card back in his palm. "I'll bring it to you soon." Tom gave a weak smile, heading over to the booth he usually sat in with his daughter. She assumed since it was still early in the day Evelyn was attending school.

After she made Tom's order, she headed his way. She set the mug down, heard his thank you, and couldn't hold back her interrogation any longer.

"Are you alright?" she questioned. She held the back of her hand to his forehead after he remained silent. He chuckles half-heartedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he responds. Venus sighs, exasperated, placing her hands on her hips.

"Tell me the truth, Tom," she remarks. He glances up at her, then quickly returns his stare to the mug in front of him.

"Just- didn't get a good night's sleep," he mumbles. "I had to take a break from work."

"Was something wrong?" Venus asks gently, moving closer to the table so she could hear him better.

"Ah, ya know," Tom grumbles, picking at his fingers, "nightmares." Venus's eyes widened.

"N-nightmares?" she questions. "W-what about?" Tom stayed quiet, Venus sighing. "Sorry, I don't mean to invade your privacy-"

"That man," Tom interrupted. "H-he kept reappearing in my head every time I tried to sleep. The last time I attempted to rest my eyes, he... hurt you." Venus's heart pumped faster. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be telling you this-"

"I had a nightmare too," Venus responds, sitting across from him in the booth. "The same thing as you." Tom looks up at her, sorrow and empathy engulfing his features.

"I'm so sorry," he whispers.

"You don't need to be, Tom."

"No, I need to be," he remarks. "I-I saw you leave. I w-was going to follow you out and o-offer you a ride before you could even step out of the door." Venus bit her lip. "But I-I didn't want to make you nervous or scare you or anything. So I stayed back." Tom kept his eyes on his coffee. "When I finally grew some balls, it was already t-too late."

"Tom-"

"I watched him grab your dress... and then I saw red... and then I saw him laying on the ground, not moving." He takes a deep breath. "You were trembling. Your dress... was ruined." His eyes flickered up to hers. "All I could think of in that moment was to get you home as quick as I could — get you away from that damn bar."

Venus offers a warm, thankful grin after he finishes, her palm placing itself on top of one of his clenched fists, her fingers wrapping around his balled up hand. "I owe you my life," she chuckles, quick to wipe the tear that fell from her right eye. "I can't thank you enough for all that you did for me yesterday." Tom's eyebrows furrow as he tries to think of what else he did for her. "The very generous tip you gave us," she reminds him. His mouth opens in an 'O' shape, his head nodding slightly.

"You don't owe me anything," Tom finally retorts, his fists unclenching as her warm touch lingered.