Hexed (Never After #6)

34. Venesa

THIRTY-FOUR

VENESA

“So, you’re skipping town?” Fisher asks, leaning against the corner of my vanity and flicking a Zippo lighter open and closed.

“On orders of the king,” I joke, although the sentiment falls flat.

I move the two candles off my altar, the rope between them singed and burned from where I just finished a cord-cutting ceremony for my relationship with my uncle.

I’m tired, it’s late, and I’m really not in the mood for company. But I called Fisher over because I’m leaving tonight. I don’t know where I’m going, and I don’t have very much money, but I know I need to get out of here until I figure out my next steps.

My duffel bag is half-packed with my favorite pieces of clothing, my makeup, and a few odds and ends I can’t leave behind. Mainly, my crystals and a few basic herbs.

I don’t let myself think about my babies in the basement because, as much as I wish I could bring them with me, it’s not realistic. They need their environment to thrive, and it’s not like I can take a saltwater aquarium wherever I’m going.

I move to my rack of clothes and grab a lace shirt, then toss it harder than necessary; it hits the edge of my bag and drops to the floor.

Fisher leans down to pick it up, folds it, and places it gingerly in the bag, then sits on the corner of my bed, his leg bouncing rhythmically.

“What’s up with you?” I ask. “You’re fidgety.”

“So?”

I lift a brow. “You’re never fidgety.”

He shrugs and doesn’t meet my eye. “Sorry, my best friend is leaving. Am I supposed to be calm?”

Guilt sits heavy in my middle because I haven’t exactly told Fisher the whole story. I want to, but…there’s just something whispering in my head, telling me to keep Enzo close to my chest for now.

And I’ve never been one to ignore my intuition.

Plus, once I put the full truth out into the world, then it doesn’t really feel like mine anymore, and tonight is something I want to keep forever.

“Daddy T didn’t tell you why?” he asks.

I chew on my bottom lip and debate how much to say. “All I know is he went from being everything I depended on to the person I think I hate most in the world.”

“Well, this is fucked, Short Stack.”

“I don’t know, Fisher, it’s just…it is what it is.” I blow out a breath and sit next to him, giving up on packing for the moment.

He gives me a look. “I’m just having a hard time wrapping my head around it. Your uncle needs you, more than anyone else. You’re his right hand.”

“Don’t let Bas hear you say that.” Another pang to the chest. Was Bas ever really on my side?

“I don’t give a fuck about Bas.” He huffs. “So what’s gonna happen with the Lair? You’re coming back, right?”

Melancholy filters through every part of me, because I don’t know what’s going to happen with the Lair. His guess is as good as mine. It’s never been in my name. I’ve been a glorified manager this entire time, deluding myself into believing something different.

The more my eyes are opened to reality, the more rage builds inside me, because why should my uncle get to have everything? He may be the King of the Sea, but a king is nothing without his loyal subjects.

And he just threw me away like trash.

He doesn’t deserve it.

Fisher sighs, his leg still bouncing. “Where will you go?”

My stomach churns with anxiety. “I have no clue.”

He glances at me and then looks back down at his lap, taking that Zippo and flicking it open and closed again. “You can just stay with me, you know.”

“No. I need to get away entirely. At least for now. It’s just…Uncle T has used me for a long time, Gup. And he owns this state. I’m not safe as long as I’m here.”

He nods, sadness covering his features. “You could always forgive him. Apologize or…I don’t know, something.”

“I’m tired of being someone’s burden and not someone’s choice.”

He wraps his arm around me, resting his head on my shoulder. “You’ve never been a burden to me.”

Pressure clogs my throat and builds behind my eyes, and I will something to come out. But like always, nothing does.

“Look out for things here while I’m gone, yeah? You’ll take care of my babies?”

He makes a face. “You know I will.”

Fisher stands and I follow suit, wrapping my arms around him and sinking into his hold. I close my eyes, cherishing the moment and committing it to memory, because who knows when I’ll get the chance again?

“Love you, Short Stack. Don’t be a stranger.” Fisher’s voice cracks.

“Yeah,” I murmur. “Love you too, Gup.”

I walk him to the door and close it behind him, resting my back against it and squeezing my eyes shut.

Come on, cry, Venesa.

Nothing. Just an ever-growing ache in the center of my chest.

Sighing, I head to my vanity and open the drawers, making sure I didn’t forget anything important. I suck in a breath, my heart skipping when I see something in the bottom one.

A small black box with silver wrapping paper and a purple bow.

Slowly, I reach down and pick up Enzo’s present, my hand shaking and my chest feeling like it might burst open. I slide my nail beneath the taped paper and unwrap the gift, and when I open the box, there’s a necklace there.

A coral seashell on a black rope.

The one I wouldn’t let him buy me.

The throbbing in my chest expands until it squeezes my lungs and steals my breath.

A folded note falls out when I move the necklace, and I set the black box down, picking up the paper with my free hand.

It shakes as I hold it open.

To making memories… Happy birthday.—Enzo

Pressure builds behind my eyes and scorches up my throat, and it feels like I’m about to crack in two.

Glancing down at the note again, I run my thumb over the writing and then walk to my bed and slip it inside my duffel bag.

I place the seashell around my neck. It’s cold against my skin, and heavy, and every time I take a step, I feel it pressing on my chest, reminding me that at least once, there was someone who made me feel loved out loud.

And I’ll accept nothing less again.

Suddenly, the answer to Fisher’s question becomes so clear. I am coming back. And I’m going to take everything from my uncle the same way he’s taken everything from me.

But first, I’m going to tell Enzo the truth about everything.