Sweetest Venom (Virtue #2)(29)

In the end, my instincts won. I walked in the direction of the yelling. It was coming from behind the door of the exit staircase. As I held the doorknob, I could hear the man shouting, his words carrying so much hate and anger. I really should have walked back to the apartment and gotten Pierre, but all I could think of was that someone needed help. I grabbed the pepper spray I always carried with me from my bag and opened the door. My gaze immediately zoomed in on Elly being slammed against the wall by her boyfriend before focusing on her face, blood oozing from a cut on her lip.

They both turned to look at me at the same time. I don’t think I will ever forget the sheer terror I saw in her eyes as our gazes met. And the hate I saw in his. He looked gone, lost in anger—soulless.

“Leave us, you f*cking bitch. Don’t you see that we’re busy?”

Right away I realized that the pepper spray wouldn’t be as effective from my position. I thought about approaching them but I dismissed that notion as quickly as it came. I didn’t want to put Elly in more danger by making him angrier. I needed him to get closer to me.

Think, Blaire, think.

Oh God.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“No. Let her go.”

He smiled, chilling me to the bone as he gripped her shoulders harder and made Elly whimper in pain. “And what if I don’t? What are you going to do, huh? I can probably break your pretty little neck in two with one hand.”

Appear at ease. Don’t let him see how scared you are, Blaire. “I’m not scared of you. Pierre’s apartment is just past this door. I could go get him, giving him and the boys the excuse they’ve been waiting for to kick the shit out of you.” And I did think about calling for help, but I was terrified that he would push Elly down the stairs in an attempt to escape and get rid of her.

I saw him loosening his hold on Elly, my words sinking in. “Fuck off. I’m not f*cking scared of a bunch of pussies.”

I leaned my shoulder on the wall and crossed my arms over my chest, making sure I kept the little bottle hidden as I flipped its safety cap open. “That might be so, but it would be you against at least ten guys. And ten guys who happen to be really good friends with Elly. Ten guys who will be extremely pissed off when they see what you’ve done to her.” I wasn’t even sure that they were friends with Elly, but he didn’t need to know that. “If you let Elly go now, I won’t go get them. I’ll let you leave before they hurt you.” Smiling at him, taunting him with my words, I got ready to spray. “I’ll take pity on you.”

And that did it. He shoved Elly to the side and started to stalk toward me. But Elly surprised us both when she kneed him in the groin, making him fall to the ground as he cried out in pain. She grabbed the pepper spray from my hand and walked over to him. With tears running down her face, she said, “We’re over, you *. That’s the last time you put a hand on me.” And then she proceeded to use my pepper spray on him. We left him howling in pain as we walked back to Pierre’s apartment.

Pierre called the cops as soon as we explained what had happened. Holding a bag of frozen peas on her eyebrow, Elly turned to look at me and nudged me on the shoulder. “Thank you. I—”

“You don’t have to explain yourself. And don’t even think about it.”

She was quiet for a moment, staring at the floor, when she broke the silence. “That was really dumb, you know?” she said warmly.

My eyes zoomed in on her split lip before meeting her gaze. “I know, but it’s the least I could do.”

“I don’t want to sound ungrateful because I’m so lucky that you were there …” She closed her eyes momentarily and sighed. “I-I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t, but why didn’t you just go get Pierre? I didn’t take you for the kind of person to—”

“To go out of my way to help others?”

Blushing shamefully, I saw color return to her pale face, accentuating the red of her lips. “Yeah …”

“I’m not,” I said, shrugging carelessly, uncomfortable by the heart to heart that I felt coming.

She stared at me for a moment too long, almost as if she were seeing me for the first time. I fidgeted under her penetrating gaze because maybe she was seeing through me after all. “Actually, I was wrong. You are the kind of person to go out of your way to help others, you just like to pretend you’re a—”

“Cold-hearted, self-serving bitch?”

“I wasn’t going to put it so bluntly, but yeah … that.”

“I am all those things, Elly, and much more. Don’t be fooled by what I did. Anyone would’ve done it.”

She shook her head as her smile widened. “Keep telling yourself that, but you won’t make me change my mind. You’re a good person, Blaire, even if it pains you to admit it.”

“Listen, what happened doesn’t make us friends.”

“Yes, it does.”

“No, it doesn’t. I like to be alone. I don’t do girlfriends and shit like that.”

“Thank you, Blaire.”

“Don’t think about it. I did what anyone in my position would have.”

“That’s a lie and you know it.”

And thus, our friendship was born.



I find Elly and her date admiring a very famous painting of a landscape hung above the fireplace in the formal living room. I’m not surprised because I did the same thing when I first saw it and immediately recognized the artist’s timeless work.