Page 156 of Darling Venom
Start the surgery, three crying terrors enter this world, Sienna Omri names one after Kel. Which reminds me, I stood him up without a word.
But fuck, I’m excited to tell him he has a legacy.
A human named after him.
He’d think it’s cool, yeah?
10:45 p.m.
Check my texts to see one from Kel.
It reads: I ordered you a chicken parm. It’s in the fridge, Dr. Miracle. Don’t say I never did anything for you.
Unsure about the tone of said text—is he pissed or genuine?
Nevertheless, I’m excited to tell him the news.
And that he needs to get his shit together before the baby grows up and realizes he was named after the lamest person ever.
11:05 p.m.
Arrive home. There are cops. Two of them. From the looks of it, it’s not pretty.
My first thought is Kel got busted for drugs, and I’ll have to spend my night bailing his ass out.
I’m wrong.
And a bastard for even thinking it.
They tell me my little brother no longer exists on this Earth. They tell me he’s in a better place. If (and only if) he’s really dead, I believe them, seeing as anything is better than this hellscape.
11:16 p.m.
End up at St. Paul. No memory of how I got here, but I’m in my Lexus. I stop the car just before the bend.
Kellan’s not dead.
I don’t believe it.
And if I don’t let myself see another cop, the crime-scene tape, the aftermath, he is alive.
I leave.
I tell myself that when I return home, Kel will be there, his heart still beating and a half-assed excuse for being out past curfew.
11:32 p.m.
Kel isn’t home.
11:49 p.m.
Try to eat the chicken parm in the fridge because it’s the last gift Kel gave me. I get as far as swallowing before I throw it up.
It’s no longer my favorite food.
Haven’t stepped foot in Pauli’s Kitchen since.
11:50 p.m.
