THE INEVITABLE │ t.h

NINETEEN

"Tom!" someone exclaims, running up to him. Venus smiles as the older man embraces Tom in a bro hug, causing his hand to fall from hers. "Who's this?" he questions kindly as he looks over at Venus.

"I'm Venus," she smiles, shaking his hand.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you!" Finally. That word made Venus's stomach flip and Tom's face tingle.

"Shut up, Jake," Tom grumbles.

"Oh, sorry, dude," Jake chuckles. "Still haven't asked her out yet?" Venus laughs at Tom as he smacks a hand over his face. Jake grins at Venus, leaning closer to the two. "You might wanna tell everyone else she's your girlfriend — some of the guys here are desperate to get laid and will stop at nothing." Tom rolls his eyes, flicking them over the crowd of coworkers. He didn't know many of them, noting the ones who seemed to have came alone. "You can sit by my fiancée and I."

Tom intertwines his hand with Venus's again, her heart fluttering. His touch sent her interior into a frenzy, and she felt she'd never get over it. They follow Jake over to his chair, two empty seats placed beside it. Of course Tom sat by Jake, leaving Venus to sit not only by Tom but also by a man who was already downing his second beer.

Tom kept his hand in hers the whole night, giving it a light squeeze anytime she wasn't talking but he was. He really didn't want her to feel alone, but she didn't know anybody there besides him so it was inevitable. She found herself listening to the voices around them as well as the ones that belonged to the people surrounding their table, smiling at them to give them the illusion that she was genuinely invested in what they had to say.

"Do you know if a Venus Maddox is here?" a low voice questioned. Venus froze, recognizing the voice instantly. She squeezed her eyes shut, applying the same pressure to Tom's hand, her smile long gone.

"Venus?" he whispers in her ear. "Are you okay?"

"Oh never mind, I see her. Thank you."

"Tom," she mutters, "it's happening." Tom furrows his eyebrows, only more confused when she removes her hand from his. She stands, moving away from the table. He spun in his seat, watching her, noticing her push a man toward the exit. He excused himself before following her in a heavy speed-walk.

"You can't just fucking show up like that!" he heard Venus shout. "Do you know how insane that is?"

"I just missed you," a man slurred. He was definitely intoxicated. Tom could only listen at this point, knowing Venus could handle herself, and his appearance would only worsen the man's mood.

"Leave," Venus firmly demands. "Right now. Or I'll fucking call the police."

"Babe, why you gotta be so hostile?"

"You've tried to kill me so many goddamn times, Randal. Don't act so fucking innocent." Tom's heart fell, his jaw clenching.

"You fucking deserved it," the man calmly retorts. "You needed to be put back in your place."

"Fuck you," Venus spits. "Get the fuck away from here — away from me."

"Where's the man whore?" Tom froze, biting down on his tongue as he tried to remain calm and stay put. "Fucker humped and dumped, huh?"

"Shut the fuck up," Venus hisses. "You don't know him, and you never will."

"Whatever, sweetheart," Randal chuckles. "He'll leave you eventually." Venus shakes her head, glaring daggers at the drunken man. "And then you'll come crawling back to me and offer me a blowjob just so I can support you-"

"Leave!" Venus shouted louder this time. "I'm not messing around. I'm fucking sick of you and how you treat me."

"What are you doing here anyways?" Randal questions, ignoring her blatant pleas. "Didn't you claim fancy restaurants gave you panic attacks or whatever the shit it was you obviously made up?" Guilt filled Tom's lungs, his hands shaking softly. He knew he fucked up asking her to come.

"I'm here with someone who makes me think anxiety isn't real," Venus remarks. "Unlike you — you're the reason I have that bullshit."

"I've tried to brush off your bitchiness, but I'm not letting you continue to walk all over me." Tom could tell Randal was getting closer, given away by the tone, the tension, the feeling in his gut, and a soft whimper escaping Venus.

"That's enough," Tom sternly speaks, pushing himself out into the open. Randal snickers, dropping his hand from Venus's wrist. She held her wrist with a gentle touch, hissing as she felt the sting linger. She ran up to Tom as soon as she saw him undo his tie.

"Don't you fucking dare," she mumbles. "He isn't worth it."

"I wanna beat his fucking face in," Tom hisses through gritted teeth. "He deserves more pain than what I'm about to put him through."

Venus pressed both of her hands into Tom's chest and tried to gain his focus. "Tom, please. Think about Evelyn-"

"Don't play that card," he retorts, glancing down at her. "Don't you dare."

"Tom, please," Venus repeats. "Let's just leave, okay? He can't follow us — he couldn't even maintain eye contact with me." Tom swallows, shaking his head, turning his eyes back to Randal, who was waiting for Venus to move so he could attack. Venus glanced back, noticing this. She presses her back to Tom, stretching out her arms, glaring Randal's way. "Leave, now."

"Nah, let me at 'im," Tom growls in a low, deep tone. Venus glances back at him, denying his request. "Venus, move."

"No!" she squeals, turning back to face him. "I'm not letting you do this." Tom met her eyes for a moment, which was a moment too long. Randal had got tired of waiting — he'd never been a patient guy — and ran toward them, gripping the back of Venus's head and whipping her to the ground. Tom was fully fueled now, blocking Randal's punch and throwing his own, connecting his fist with Randal's jaw.

Venus held the back of her head, her ears ringing awfully loud. She coughed a few times as she sat up, shaking her head to try and rid the pain and sound. She felt like she was going deaf.

Her eyes landed on the two men, her body instantly lifting and jumping onto the top man. "Tom, enough!" she yells, wrapping her arms around his upper body and ceasing his punches. He huffed, and she could've swore she heard a whimper escape his lips. "Tom," she whispers. They stand, Tom fixing his jacket. Venus stared at the unconscious man on the cement, breathing heavily.

Without warning, Tom crashes into her side and embraced her tightly. Venus smiled, hugging him back. When they pulled away, she thumped the side of his head.

"Never again," she scolds.

"Let's go home," Tom huffs. They failed to notice the gathered crowd who fell into silence automatically as they ran to his car. Tom sped off, hurrying home, while Venus called Rita to tell her to keep Evelyn in her playroom and distract her as best as she could.