Page 260 of Darling Venom
Maybe I wanted to offer him my permission to die.
My head throbbed. I contemplated retreating to my room before he could worsen it, but I decided his sobriety merited my attention. Hippocratic Oath and all.
At the very least, I wanted an answer.
Naturally, he didn’t give me one.
His knuckles rapped the laminate countertop, then found purchase on the peeling edge. He picked at the coating.
I didn’t stop him.
This place needed a gut job, anyway.
“I saw Darling Venom before.” His fingers pinched the laminate, husking it off the substrate. “Got tempted.”
“When?”
“Must’ve been six years ago.” He paused. “I was drunk.”
“’Course you were.”
“Yeah. Of course, I was.” He shook his head, laughing. “Dad of the year, right?”
If this is good parenting, I don’t want to see bad parenting.
I bit my tongue, remembering Charlie’s words.
Healing without rage, she’d said.
Not sure if I was capable. But if I couldn’t give her the other thing she wanted, I could at least try to give her this.
“Have you read Darling Venom?” Terry tore a chunk of laminate clean off the counter.
I wanted to be that scrap. Free of all the ugly dead weight. He flicked it to the hardwood. It sailed away from us, zigzagging to the mahogany planks like a floating feather.
I ripped my eyes away from it. “No, and I have no plans to.”
“It’s a damn good book.”
I set my glass down and watched the ice cubes rattle against the walls. “So is The Imperfections, I hear. Be sure to congratulate the real author on my behalf.”
I considered rubbing my deadbeat father’s long list of failures in his face a favorite hobby. But this time, a bitter taste spread across my tongue.
Copper, actually.
&
nbsp; I’d bitten it.
Fuck.
The least I can do is be alive for him to hate.
Terry’s words haunted me. A poltergeist I couldn’t exorcise. I sealed my lips together, wary that nonsense would spill out if I gave my mouth free rein.
He scratched his temple, releasing a bitter laugh.
“Guess I deserved that.” He swung in his stool to face me. “You should read Darling Venom. Might do you some good. At the very least, I think Kel wanted you to.”
