Naomi stood in the bedroom, trying to get Marcus to look at her. She was naked, waiting, practically begging with her body. Marcus barely glanced up from his phone, said something cold, and walked out the door like she was invisible. She swallowed the rejection and headed outside, needing dirt under her nails to feel something real. Trey next door kept dribbling his basketball and cracking stupid jokes, trying to be smooth, but he was just noise. Then the spider got her. A sharp little bite on her finger. At first nothing. Then the heat hit, crawling up her arm, twisting through her blood. Her breathing changed. Her skin flushed. Every nerve lit up. The garden blurred as the venom sank in, and the hunger that took root wasn’t for food—it was hot, sudden, and it wanted everything.
Naomi stood in the bedroom, trying to get Marcus to look at her. She was naked, waiting, practically begging with her body. Marcus barely glanced up from his phone, said something cold, and walked out the door like she was invisible. She swallowed the rejection and headed outside, needing dirt under her nails to feel something real. Trey next door kept dribbling his basketball and cracking stupid jokes, trying to be smooth, but he was just noise. Then the spider got her. A sharp little bite on her finger. At first nothing. Then the heat hit, crawling up her arm, twisting through her blood. Her breathing changed. Her skin flushed. Every nerve lit up. The garden blurred as the venom sank in, and the hunger that took root wasn’t for food—it was hot, sudden, and it wanted everything.
