Venom

"Hi, Elijah. Sawyer, is that you?" Bethany reached out her hand towards Sawyer, showing off her recent manicure.

"Bethany, hi, it's wonderful to see you," he gently grabbed her hand and smiled. I looked back and forth between Elijah and Sawyer, both were tense and never quite gave Bethany the eye contact she wanted.

Bethany let go of Sawyer's hand and turned towards me. Her eyes studied me. Then, she smirked. As if she came up with a mischievous plan...

"You must be...Kyla, right?"

I nodded. "And Bethany, I presume?"

Bethany smiled. "Yes, I've heard quite a lot about you, haven't I, Elijah?"

Elijah coughed, his way of acknowledging her question.

Bethany smirked, "Have you heard anything of me, my dear?"

"Uh, no. Was I supposed to?"

She smiled, showing off her white teeth. "Was I supposed to? Oh sweetie, let's take a walk."

Before either I or Elijah could object, Bethany firmly grasped my shoulder, spun me around and led me through the crowd.

"I'm taking you to the V.I.P lounge, sweetheart."

"V-V.I.P?" I stuttered as we made our way through the crowd. Club music was now playing loudly throughout the venue, I knew this was going to be a rather interesting night.

Bethany looked back at me and smirked. She could easily tell this wasn't an everyday thing for me. It certainly was for her though. Bethany seemed at home in this situation, she knew how to cruise at a fast pace through the crowd without bumping into someone.

Just to the left of the bar, there were red curtains with a tall, cold looking man standing in front of them.

He glanced at Bethany then at me. He shrugged, stepped aside and held the curtains open for us. Inside were both open and private booths with another small bar. Red curtains hung around each booths, incase privacy was needed.

We sat down, across from one another, in a booth near the corner of the room. The club music was muffled but it was vibrating the walls. I took this chance to look around and see who else was lucky enough to be in the V.I.P lounge.

Women and men, both looking of high class, giggled and chit chatted with each other. They were adorned with what I could imagine the fanciest and most expensive dress wear. The women's jewelry still shined in the dim light. Without Eleanor's graceful talent, I would be sticking out like a sore thumb.

"So," I said twiddling my thumbs, trying to avoid eye contact with Bethany, "What's up?"

"Look at me." She said sternly. I couldn't help but listen. Bethany had this natural power to her and I didn't want to find out what would happen if I didn't listen.

"What is your relationship with Elijah and Sawyer?"

"Professional."

Bethany smiled. "Oh, darling, we both know that is a lie. Speak truthfully or there will be consequences."

"Sawyer has been a little flirty with me ever since I met him." I quickly answered, scared at the threat of what could happen if I continued to lie.

"Do you enjoy it?"

I was baffled out how direct she was being and I was having a mental argument in my head about how honest I should be. "Yes. Yes, I do enjoy it. Sawyer is handsome."

"Sure is," she smirked playfully but her eyes were cold. She certainly had a plan. "And Elijah? How has your relationship been with him?"

"Unprofessional to say the least."

"Unprofessional, huh? How so my dear?" Her sweet words made me feel this was a safe place. That she was someone I could trust. Oh, how I was heavily mistaken.

"We've made out once but have kissed a couple different times. He switches between being ridiculously flirty with me and being completely, utterly professional."

Bethany sat up straighter, she was obviously tense at my response. "Interesting. Well I guess it's time I share my experience with Elijah."

I swallowed. I was not looking forward to hearing this information, but I doubt I could stop her from sharing.

"Elijah and I were in a long term relationship." Were.

"You were there when I had accused him of cheating, at that point we had been long over for several months, I just have trouble moving on especially when I do not know the full truth."

"Oh," I muttered, not knowing quite what to say. But I sure as hell did not want to extend sympathy.

"Ever since then Elijah and I have not spoken and any relationship, both platonic and romantic, has been tense. I am trying to rebuild our relationship. And you-" she leaned over the table, a scowl on her face and her eyes staring cold and hard "-better back the fuck off."

With that, she abruptly got up and walked out through the curtains, presumably heading to Elijah.

"Wow," I said quietly to myself. My eyes were wide and I kept replaying the whole conversation.

What the absolute hell have I gotten myself into.

My thoughts had been caught short, thankfully, when the music had stopped and a couple taps were heard through the speakers on a microphone.

"Hello, everyone. Welcome to Fredericks Dawn's annual charity dinner. I would love for all of you to please find a seat. Our charity segment will be starting in five minutes."

I stood up from the booth, straightened out my dress and went to go find Elijah and Sawyer.

My stomach rumbled as I passed by the buffet, hoping dinner would be soon after. Unsurprisingly, I saw Bethany sitting in between Sawyer and Elijah, with her chair slightly more closer to Elijah.

I sat and said hi both to Elijah and Sawyer, doing my best to ignore Bethany's cold stare.

"You two ladies have a good chat?" Sawyer asked, knowing Elijah wanted to know as well.

"Oh, absolutely," Bethany exclaimed with a cheery smile. "I learned all I needed." She smirked as she looked over at me.

Elijah stared confused at the two of us. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh nothing darling," she raised her hand gracefully and caressed Elijah's cheek. "Nothing at all."