=Venom=

Venom 1

  Eddie walks into the convenience store.
  “What’s on the menu tonight?” Asks Venom.
  “I don’t know I was kind of thinking those ham and cheese hot pockets.”
  “Yummmm.” Hissed Venom.
He walks over to the refrigerator section and grabs a box of hot pockets and a coke. He turns around just as woman makes her way around the corner of the aisle and bumps into him.
  “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize how fast I turned that corner.” She giggled embarrassed by the collision and brushes a strand of hair away from her glasses behind her ear.
  “Yea, you were going a good bit over the speed limit.” Jokes Eddie.
  “I hope I didn’t hurt you too bad.”
  “Nah, no blood and no broken bones.”
  “We are attracted to this one.” Says Venom. Eddie blushes slightly and looks down at his feet.
  “Again, I’m sorry.” Says the woman, as she makes her way down a different aisle, careful to move slower this time.
  “Ask her for her number.” Orders Venom.
  “No, I’m not gonna just ask her for her number, I don’t even know who she is.”
  “Her name then?”
  “No.” Argues Eddie, trying not to make a scene as he talks to himself. He makes his way up to the register and pays for his items.
  “Oh, no. Someone dropped their wallet.” The woman with the glasses picks it up.
  “That looks like Eddie’s. He just left.” Says Ms. C, the owner.
  The woman quickly stepped outside to see if she could catch him. She briefly looked around but he was gone.
  “He doesn’t stay to far from here.” Informed Ms. C.
  The woman opens the wallet and checked the address on his ID. It’s the same apartment building as hers, three blocks down.
  “Knock knock.” Says Venom.
  “Who’s there?” Says Eddie thinking it was a joke, just before a knock is made at his door. “You know for someone with such impeccable hearing you sure have a hard time hearing the alarm in the morning.”
  “You need your beauty sleep.” Informs Venom.
   Eddie opens the door slightly to find the woman from the store standing in the hallway.
  “Hi. Sorry to bother you…”
  “You follow me home?” Asks Eddie.
  “No…I…You dropped this, at the store. I live on the 4th floor and figured I would just drop it back off.”
  “Invite her in.” Encourages Venom.
  “No.” Says Eddie, out loud.
  “Sorry?”
  “I mean, no, you don’t say. The fourth floor, huh? How is it up there? On the fourth floor?” Stumbles Eddie.
  “You sound like you’re having a stroke.” Acknowledges Venom. “Why can’t you talk right?”
  “It’s…fine…I guess.”
  Eddie rubs his head wishing Venom would just shut up and the microwave dings. “I…I gotta go.”
  “Yea, sure.” She says, walking away.
  “Thanks again.” He says, holding up his wallet and starts to close the door. He decides on a whim to step out into the hall. “Hey, um…I didn’t get your name?”
  “It’s Brie.” She says.
  “Brie…” He murmurs. “I…I’m Eddie.” He waves before heading back inside.
  The next day Eddie went to check his mailbox. He could hear Venom’s laugh echoing in his head. “What?” He asked before opening the door to the mailroom and seeing Brie.
  “I could smell her.”
  “That’s just creepy.” Mumbled Eddie under his breath.
  “Says the guy standing in the doorway talking to himself.”
  Brie glances over at Eddie and quickly looks away when he notices.
  “Morning.” He says.
  “Good morning.” She smiles.
  “Ummm…you…you got something…right here on your face.” Eddie points to his cheek.
  Brie holds up her hand to wipe it away and Eddie laughs. “You actually just made it worse.”
  Brie looks at her hands and laughs at the ink on her fingers. “It’s ink.”
  “Ink?” Asks Eddie opening his mailbox.
  “I’m an artist. I’m sketching the illustrations for a comic book.”
  “Really? Comic books? You into that kind of thing?”
  “Yea. I am. But I do artwork for all kind of things, comics, children’s books, I’ve even done some animation as well.”
  “That’s cool.” He admits.
  “Take care.” She says grabbing her mail and leaving the mailroom.
  “Strike two Eddie.” Says Venom. “Another opportunity missed to get ‘the digits’.”
  “The digits? What is this the 90s?”
  “Do you not like this one?”
  “I don’t know. She’s pretty.”
  “And has a great body…” Adds Venom. “Tasty.”
  “Alright, alright.” Says Eddie waving his hands as if to get Venom out of his head.
  “Your thoughts…not mine…”
  “Her having a great body may have been mine but the tasty bit was all you my friend.” Eddie grabs his mail and heads out for his doctor’s appointment.