Demons [Eddie Brock] Venom

19. Opportunity

Eddie knew what he did was wrong, he knew he was an idiot for doing it. An even bigger idiot for leaving all that evidence on his counter while Rory had a key and he'd given her the okay to come by anytime. He cursed himself for being so stupid but realized he had simply repeated the mistakes of his past. When he was given the chance -or rather the curse- the interview Carlton Drake after his spaceship crash-landed outside Malaysia and every single astronaut on board was killed, he thought he was doing something good by calling him out with the information he found on Anne's laptop.

It did nothing, however, because the interview wasn't published, no one saw it, no one knew the people who died in the tests, and those were the only was that made it to the court. No one found out how sleezy Drake was, how he had so much power and he held it over everyone's heads and they cowered in fear. Eddie lost his job, lost his home, lost his fiancé, he lost everything.

Now, because of repeated mistakes and somehow Drake still had a part in it, he lost Rory.

After knocking on her door for a few minutes, with no answer, he phoned her, but to no one's surprise, she didn't answer. He took off, deciding to let things cool down, let Rory process and hopefully she would give him the chance to apologize.

Rory shut off her phone when Eddie called her, she didn't want to talk to him. She had a glass of wine to help calm her down, but it tasted sour. With thoughts of Carlton on her mind, festering inside her head, she knew being alone was not the best option, but Eddie had done the one thing she didn't want him to. She told him who she was hiding from in the hopes he would just stop, but she didn't think he would. There was too good of a chance that this snippit of information was enough to make him want to take down Drake even more.

She didn't want to see him hurt, even now that she was mad at him.

When she woke in the morning, she turned her phone back on and had a voicemail. With a disgruntled sigh, she opened it while she started making breakfast. Normally she would eat breakfast with Eddie, but she threw two pieces of bread in the toaster, knowing that it was going to be a pathetic breakfast. Her eyes were sleepy still, she could feel the puffy black circles under her eyes from a fitful sleep; another nightmare.

Another memory.

The voicemail spoke to her through the speakers.

"Good evening, Rory Kane. This is Alice Jenkins calling from the San Francisco Art Gallery. We saw your portfolio and resume, and we were impressed. We would love to have an interview with you, either through Skype or in person -if in person, please bring one or two pieces of your art with you. Please give us a call back at a time of your convenience, and we apologize for phoning so late."

They left a callback number and extension to reach Alice, and Rory stared at her phone in complete shock. This was it, the chance she wanted to reach out and take, the leap she was so scared to take. Now, though, it was tarnished with the memories and fear of Carlton finding her. Even though she long ago accepted he probably gave up, stopped caring, moved on, putting herself out there was still a terrifying notion.

Rory took the leap and called back.

By the end of the day, she put in her two weeks notice and had a secured job at the art gallery. While she didn't believe in the saying that when one door closes, another must open, she felt as though she lost and gained that day. Lost a friend, someone she wanted so badly to trust, but she gained something that would benefit her life for many years to come. Alice had been completed understanding that she had other obligations, that she couldn't simply up and leave her work, and it showed dedication and loyalty.

Alana was pleased, although there was a clear sadness there. "I'll miss you, kid."

Rory smiled, seated in the café with Alana. "Well if I don't sell anything, I promise I'll come crawling back."

"Oh, don't you dare come back here," Alana said while shaking her head vigourously. "Promise me this job won't be a rebound, that you'll continue in the arts forever, okay?"

"Alright, alright," Rory said in defeat, raising her hands. She sighed but was still smiling lightly. "You know, I've been so scared to put myself out there, but I think I'm overreacting, you know?"

She realized her words resonated with something other than fear of Drake, but rather, her anger at Eddie. Perhaps he didn't deserve what she threw at him, so much anger and rage because he wanted to know who he should be prepared to protect her from. The problem was, no one could protect her from Drake. No one.

As she returned home that night after work, Rory glanced at Eddie's door and decided it was best to make amends. She had few people in her life to say would look out for her, and Eddie was one of them. Slowly she raised her hand and knocked on the door twice, then it was opened and the smell of something delicious swarmed her.

"Hey, you're here earlier than I expected," Eddie said as he rushed back to the stove to stir something, to turn down an element, to check in the oven.

"What on earth are you doing?" Rory asked, shocked. She never saw Eddie cook anything.

"Make-up dinner," he said.

"Don't normal couples have make-up sex?" she inquired.

He glanced over his shoulder. "Is that what we are?"

She shrugged. "Is that what you want us to be?"

"Does that mean make-up dinner is going to waste?"

"Why don't we make it make-up dinner, with the possibility of make-up sex?"

He flashed a grin, knowing things were okay with them, for now. 

-----

Alright, sorry a bit of a later post today! My boyfriend left for Vegas this morning, which obviously meant I had to clean the entire house so that I can have a clean house for FIVE WHOLE DAYS because boyfriends are messy AF. 

I ran out of time to dedicate yesterday, so I added that in this morning.

We're definitely going to hit 20K today! I can't thank you guys enough! <3