No One Can Know || Victor Zsasz

forty five

The door to Owen's & Co. swung open and then slammed sharp. The soft ring the bell gave out and the loud sigh that followed signaled the arrival of Potter Roum.

Novella looked up from her bookkeeping as soon as she was made aware of the entrance of her best friend. She'd been in desperate need of some girl time with her apartment having been taken over by Wendell and Victor.

"What's up Potty Pants?" Novella wasn't given a response, just a long sigh. "Come on tell Mama Novie what's wrong."

Novella patted the counter in front of her resulting in Potter hopping on top of it with another sigh.

"I dunno what's wrong Noves," Potter said and put a hand in the middle of her chest, "it just don't feel right in here."

Novella wrapped her friend in a hug and pulled a muffin from under the counter.

"Here, these always make Vic feel better when he's pissed. It should work for what's going on with you."

Potter took the chocolate chip muffin from her and took a bite from it. The relaxed expression that immediately graced her face was enough to let Novella know that the food had helped - but not nearly as much as they would've both liked. Still, it was better than no improvement at all.

"Damn woman," Potter said but her voice wasn't nearly as jovial and carefree as usual, "you sure know how to cook. Whoever Vic is he is one lucky man."

Novella let out a light laugh, that somewhat helped Potter's down mood, and shoved another muffin towards the girl.

"Don't stop eating until you're happy again, alright? I need my bouncy baby back." The wink that Novella sent Potter mixed with her blush so that the heavy feeling in Potter's chest lightened ever so slightly.

"I thought eating my feelings was a bad coping mechanism?" Potter's question earned a shrug of Novella's shoulders and another of her musical laughs. That sound somehow pulled a not so forced laugh from Potter.

"If it is then I have horrible coping mechanisms . . . and so does Vic." Novella thought back to her first visit with Jerome and how Victor had shown up with a milkshake right after. "I mean he gives me chocolate whenever I'm stressed and I give him muffins when he feeling . . . aggressive."

Novella wasn't sure if aggressive was the right word, but it was the closest thing she had to describe how Victor got when he hadn't had a job in a while.

"Aggressive doesn't mean he hurts you right?" Potter's brows scrunched up in concern and Novella couldn't help the disbelieving look that came over her face.

"Oh my gosh no! He wouldn't hurt me even if he had to. Can't say the same about that one time I was kidnapped though . . . I almost died and I'm pretty sure Vic or Dad killed whoever it was that got me." Novella had just started being able to talk about the events from all that time ago, and she still didn't know the whole story.

"Weren't you kidnapped around the time Jerome came back to life?" Potter made a weird zombie-like motion towards the end of her sentence.

"I believe so. Actually, I think I was watching the news about him when my ex decided to go psycho." Novella didn't know how she was talking about it all, but for some reason, Potter was just easy to talk to about anything.

"Well, I promise to not go too psychotic on you," Potter smiled her frighteningly beautiful smile at Novella, "but only if you promise not to leave me when I really start losing my marbles."

"Ah, you can't get rid of me that easily Potter-Tot. If I can stick with sociopaths then I can stick with Potter-o-paths." She lightly bumped into Potter's arm and grinned at the dark-haired girl.