THE INEVITABLE │ t.h

TWENTY FIVE

Venus huffed as she leaned over the counter, her eyes shut but her body still alert. One of her hands still wrapped itself around a warm mug that held coffee and creamer. Tom smiles softly as he caught this heartwarming sight.

"Good morning," Tom speaks softly, walking over to peck Venus's cheek. She hums, keeping her eyes shut. Tom lets out a quiet chuckle, gathering a cup of coffee for himself. "You sleep okay?" Venus lets out a whimper. "What was so bad?"

"Nightmares," she murmurs. "Had them every time I dozed off." Tom frowns, walking back around the counter. He sets his mug down, wrapping his arms tightly around Venus's upper body. She grins sleepily, leaning into his cheek as his head settles on her shoulder.

"You can always come to me if you have a nightmare, Vee," he whispers, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek yet again.

"I wouldn't want Evelyn to find us," she whispers back. Tom sighs, falling silent as he soaks in her warmth and her scent. Though he was standing inside the place he currently was residing in, this is what made him feel at home. Not excluding Evelyn though — Venus just tied everything together, especially the loose ends Tom often pondered over.

"I have a game today!" Evelyn shouted as she ran through the house, leaving Tom to break away from Venus with reluctance, finding his original spot across from her. "What are you two doing? Get dressed!" the little girl exclaimed as she entered the kitchen with thundering steps.

"Evie, we have a couple hours before your game," Tom sighs, thinking it to be much earlier in the day.

"No we don't! My game is at 10, it's 9:30!" Evelyn cries out. Tom and Venus share a fearful look, then stand quickly and run off to get ready.

Tom came out clad in jeans and a grey hoodie, throwing his jean jacket over his shoulders before tying up his black high-top converse and then Evelyn's sneakers. Before moving further into their rushed normal routine, he slicks back his hair with the oils from his hands, tugging his sweatshirt's hood over his head to hide his messy brown locks.

Venus came stumbling down not a second later, black leggings clung to her lower half and a baggy navy blue jumper hanging from her upper half. She pulled on her white low-top converse, did up the laces, tugged on her coat, then followed the two out the door. On the way to the school gym, Venus tucked her hair up into a messy bun, allowing herself a couple slow breaths. Never had she felt so overwhelmed so early in the day in her life.

"Shit," Tom murmurs, "Evie, did you grab your water bottle?" He smiles as she holds it up for him toward the rear view mirror, which he was already staring into. "Perfect."

"You cursed," Evelyn pointed out, though she didn't seem too hurt by the harsh word that fell from her father's lips.

"I did," Tom sighs, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Evelyn responds, glancing out of her window.

As Venus finally sits back in her seat with ease, her phone vibrates, signaling a phone call. She groans, pulling it out. Her heart leaps into her throat at the name.

"Hello?" she answers, giving a worried glance Tom's direction. He now held the same look of concern as he waited for more information. "Joss, you scared me," Venus chuckles, relieving Tom immediately. "Yes, I thought something bad happened! Goddamnit."

"Uh, right now?" she glances over at Tom, biting her lip as her eyes fall back on the dashboard, Tom's eyebrows knitting together. "Joss, I'm a bit busy-... No, that's not what I'm trying to say!... What am I doing? Uh..." Venus's free hand clenched, her fingernails digging into the flesh of her palms. "Remember that girl I babysat?" Tom felt his eyes widen. "No, shut up, no teasing!" His palms began to sweat. "She has a basketball game, and she really wants me to go." Venus rolls her eyes, groaning loudly. "Joss, I will only come to kick your ass."

"Tell lover boy I said hi then, loser," Jocelyn chuckles. "Come visit us soon!"

"I will, Joss," Venus promised. "Talk to you later." And with that, the call ended. Silence pursued.

"So... Jocelyn called you?" Tom awkwardly questioned. He had a feeling his name was brought up on the other end, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed he couldn't hear if it was true.

"She wants me to visit them soon," Venus grins, trying to push away the taunting comments Jocelyn had made. Her cheeks began to grow red as she believed Tom heard them, explaining this newly sprung awkward tension.

"That's great!" Tom responds with genuine content. "We can drop you off, if you'd like?"

"No, I wouldn't want to miss Evelyn's game," Venus responds, turning around in her seat to give Evelyn a devious grin, pinching her knee. Evelyn laughed.

"You're damn right you don't!" Evelyn exclaims. Venus's eyes widen, as do Tom's, as Venus glances his way. She would've began laughing if she didn't know that would be the total opposite of what Tom needed.

"Evie, please," Tom pleas with pink cheeks, "we've spoken about swear words."

"But you do it all the time!" Evelyn pouts. "You said you'd stop if I stopped."

"And you did an amazing job at holding your end of the deal — I apologize for not doing so — but we can't have you saying those words at all, okay?" Evelyn sighs, nodding.

"You're the adult," she moans. "I know, I know."

"Thank you, princess," Tom responds, flashing her a warm smile. Evelyn can't help but return it.

Venus grins at Tom, sitting appropriately in her seat. "You never yell at her, do you?" Venus asks softly as Evelyn starts humming to the song that's playing on the radio.

Tom sighs, looking defeated. "Not only do I hate doing it, but every time I do, she says she'd rather be with her mother than with me." Venus frowns, glancing back at the girl who had no desire in their conversation. "Then that makes me angrier, and I can't afford to lose my temper, you know?"

Venus nods, returning her stare to Tom. His eyes stick to the road, but she can tell he's hurting just at the thought of a disagreement with Evelyn. Venus smiles softly, resting her hand on his cheek, rubbing the skin gently.

"You're an amazing father, Tom," Venus speaks quietly. "I'm proud of you."

Tom grins, giving her a quick glance before keeping his eyes on the black tar. "Thank you, Vee. That means a lot."

Little did the two adults know, the little girl had ceased her humming and vague dance moves to watch the interaction between Venus and Tom with a warm heart. A wide smile plastered across her face, and she almost felt like crying happy tears.

Seeing her dad so happy made her unbelievably happy as well. And although she was a ways under the age of ten, she could see the adoration in Venus's and Tom's eyes as they spoke to one another.