Chapter 2

(Y/n) found herself back in that house again. The one where she was seen at the crime except this was before it happened, the children were watching a cartoon before bed at around 21:00pm and when it was done, she told the three of them it was time to go to bed and they did as they were told like they always do. The youngest asked for a story, which the young woman happily agreed to doing. When she was done and the childrens lights were off, (Y/n) headed downstairs to watch the TV until the parents came home from their date. The rest of the night went pretty uneventful until (Y/n) heard a soft voice call her name from upstairs. The young woman didn't hesitate to run up the stairs to come to one of the children's aid. She had sounded a little freaked out by something.

"What is it?" (Y/n) asked and the second youngest daughter looked at her with scared eyes.

"I went to go to the toilet and I thought I saw someone in the hall," hearing her statement, (Y/n) couldn't help but feel a shiver run down her spine.

"Are you sure it wasn't your mind playing tricks on you?" the (Y/h/c) asked. The girl frowned at her babysitter. She was 100% sure she had seen someone. It was then that a breeze coming from downstairs brushed against (Y/n)'s skin and a thump could be heard. (Y/n)'s head snapped straight down the stairs to stare at the dark lobby, the dim light from the TV reflected against the floor eerily. She swallowed anxiously. She'd better take a look, for all their sakes. "Alright, go to your room. Lock your door," The girl quickly nodded and worried (Y/e/c) eyes watched her all the way. She wanted to make sure she got in. With the other kids' doors, she used her nail to lock them from the outside. (Y/n) then proceeded to quietly make her way down the stairs, a bat in hand that she nicked from son, the eldest. The woman stayed on high alert, trying to listen out for anything but even the silence was deafening, unless it was the thoughts in her head that were becoming white noise.

She had moved down the stairs with her back to the wall, feeling safe by that one wall before she moved to the doorway to the living room where the telly box continued to play whatever film was on. The dialogue is still quiet just like how she left it. She scoured the dimly lit room, looking out for anything strange.

Nothing.

She then moved to the kitchen where she hoped things would be the same, however they weren't. The voile curtain gently swished in the wind and (Y/n) could do nothing but stare as she felt her throat tighten. The patio door was wide open and it hadn't been opened at all that evening. Not only that, there were freshly wet footprints that walked to the direction of the living room but after that nothing since most of the liquid had come off.

Someone was in the house with them.

Without making a single sound, she silently moved back to the lobby where the phone sat on a cabinet with coats, shoes and a key bowl. She didn't bother turning the light on, not wanting to give her location away to the intruder. She slowly pressed the 9, wincing when a beeping noise rang out. She waited to hear for any noise or indication that the intruder may have heard but it was quiet, she dialled the first 1, waited again and pressed the final 1. A small smile crept on her face, feeling a sense of achievement, that was until she heard a slight shuffle and felt the eerie presence of someone standing behind her. Her eyes widened in fear as she looked in the mirror in front of her and to her horror, she made out a dark figure, a hand raised with an object. Before she could even move or make a sound, she suddenly experienced a sharp pain to the back of her head, making her fall forward and crumple to the ground.

Then she awoke to that gruesome scene.

Those poor children. They had their whole life ahead of them. She wanted them back. She wished she had done better to protect them but she failed at her job. They considered her their older sister and she considered them her siblings. An only child for most of her years being alive but then she became acquainted with Samantha, who introduced her to her children and she quickly felt like she was a part of something.

Miles, Mila and Scarlett.

That was their name. Beautiful children with beautiful hearts. Snatched away from them with the snap of the killer's fingers. (Y/n) was bitter. So very bitter about what happened. She hated herself for not doing better but she was hurting too. She too was mourning but she was considered a monster for doing something she didn't do. She could just accept it, whether that be getting caught or running away however a fire had been ignited, a vengeful one. She felt obliged to stop him, she wanted it to be her duty.

From what she gathered in those minutes of shock, that symbol on the wall was a calling card and serial killers usually left calling cards, meaning this guy potentially wanted to kill again, much to her dismay. She couldn't let that happen.

Under no circumstances.

Eddie watched with narrowed eyes as the woman who had been sleeping on his couch. She suddenly shot up, seemingly in a shocked state from something, however Eddie didn't let that faze him, time to put the interrogation game face on. She sat up, frowning at the blanket covering her before her eyes met with his dark, accusing ones. The woman just stared at him before her eyes began to slowly narrow back at him in a sneer. She didn't like how he was looking at her one bit. Experiencing a harshly disapproving look seemed to irk something in her. A wash of malevolence ran through her being as she sat there although she would never act on any of it, she just didn't like the scrutiny she was under.

The two just glared at each other, that was, until a dark mass appeared from behind the man, who too had a sneer on his face aimed at (Y/n) of course but he spoke to the both of them.

Are the two of you going to say something or are you just going to stare at each other like a pair of useless twats?

(Y/n)'s fiery (y/e/c) eyes landed on Venom, craning her neck in a way to show a dislike toward him.

"And what the fuck are you exactly because from what I witnessed you seemed like something capable of what I saw two days ago," Venom bared his teeth at her.

How DARE you accuse us of such a thing! Let me bite her head off, Eddie! Please!

"Not nice is it? Being accused of something you didn't do," the woman argued back with the Symbiote as she crossed her arms.

"That's why I brought you here," the reporter spoke up, gaining the attention of the young woman who eyed him up. Waiting for him to say more. "You mentioned before you passed out, that… it wasn't you,"

"It wasn't me, there was an intruder. He attacked me, hence the gash and then the bastard decided to frame me for his crime," (Y/n) explained, her tone filled with aggravation. Eddie eyed her silently, taking notes of her posture, her expressions and the way her eyes moved. He saw the rage in them, not the kind of rage a killer would hold after being found out, no. This rage was vengeful, she felt she had been used, cheated if you will. "He took me out from behind and he killed those children that I was supposed to look after. I was supposed to protect them and I failed them," she said, her voice shaking with anger and sadness. Eddie saw her eyes well up with tears, this outburst had come out of nowhere but he could tell she needed this. "They were like my siblings, they meant the world to me. You seriously think I could do that?" she wailed before consoling herself and it went quiet very quickly. "Do you have any idea how much despair I felt when I woke up in the darkness and fell over into what I assumed to be some sort of spillage and when the lights turned on, it turned out I had tripped over their bodies and the puddle that I had fallen in to was a pool of their blood," the (Y/h/c) haired woman tilted her head to the right, leaning it against the back of couch, her eyes staring off into space briefly before they slowly drifted to him. "Want me to share my grief and trauma more until you get the picture?"

Eddie slightly moved back at her sentence, his eyes softening at her now weakened gaze. The fire had burnt out for now, she was worn out. Venom silently moved back into his host to speak with him privately.

I don't know about you but I think she's telling the truth.

The reporter didn't reply to the Symbiote, however he definitely agreed with him. Eddie wanted to ask a few more questions though, anything that could help him help her. The man stood up before making his way over to the younger woman while she observed him as he approached her.

"Could I um... ," Eddie asked hesitantly as he motioned to the couch and (Y/n)'s weary eyes lazily glanced at him before she slowly swung her legs off of it so he could sit. She winced slightly, the small movement made her head spin. "Woah, careful now," Eddie said worriedly as he sat down beside her.

"I'm okay," (Y/n) replied weakly.

"Could I ask you a few more questions?"

"...Okay?" the woman said rather hesitantly, unsure if she really wanted to or not but she supposed she would have to if she wanted to gain this man's trust.

"If you didn't do it, why would you run from the police?" The question made the woman scoff.

"Seriously? If I woke up with the knife in my hand and in the middle of the crime scene, don't you think that it's a telling sign that they won't believe me. I'm pretty sure too that since the killer framed me, they made sure to wipe any of their fingerprints, anyway, I'm pretty sure they were wearing gloves when it happened. Besides, my fingerprints are all over that house anyway, I had a major disadvantage," Eddie nodded before asking a second question.

"Is there anything else that might be good to tell me?" (Y/n) thought for a brief moment before her eyes lit up,

"I believe they left a calling card on the wall, drawn from the children's blood,"

"Hmm, the police haven't released that yet. Do you remember what it looked like? Could you draw it for me?" the reporter asked. The (Y/h/c) nodded and she went to get up but the older man stopped her. "First, we're sorting you head out,"

"What do you mean? I can't go to the hospital, I'll called on in seconds," the woman panicked as she frowned at him, waiting for an answer to such a stupid suggestion.

"Wait, wait. Calm down. I know someone who can help you and we won't need to visit the hospital for it," Eddie said before standing up, offering her a hand. "My name's Eddie Brock, by the way,"

"No point in telling you my name but it's nice to meet you, Eddie," (Y/n) said, content in taking his hand.

"So who is it we're visiting?" I asked as I gently skipped down the steps behind my new acquaintance as we left his apartment. My hands were stuffed into my pockets and my hood covered my head as it hung low.

"Uh, my ex and her fiancé," Eddie replied in a rather embarrassed tone. I stopped on a step to give him a concerned look. "Don't worry about it," he said, his brown eyes glancing at me before he continued down the stairs.

"Okayyyy…?" I grimaced wondering what kind of relationship he had with his ex. The thought made me slightly uncomfortable but I'd rather wait first. When we got outside, I noticed Eddie moving toward a black motorcycle and I eyed it worriedly. "This is yours?" And the man replied with a nod. "Is this safe?"

"Don't you trust me?" He smiled sarcastically.

"No. You know that. Well… not fully anyway. It's just I can't really wear a helmet and what if you crash,"

"I won't crash," Eddie said as he got onto the bike and looked round at me, waiting expectantly for me to get on but it was then that I noticed he was a bit preoccupied, like he was thinking about something. "Venom told me, to tell you that if anything happens, he'll protect the both of us," I simply deadpanned.

"You really think I'm gonna believe that after it tried to bite my head of less than 24 hours ago,"

"You want your head sorted or not," Eddie taunted and I felt myself scowl at him.

"Don't get smart with me," I warned him before swinging my leg over the bike and attempted to balance without having to hold on to him.

"You know, the safest way to ride on this is to put your arms around me or you're going to fall off like that," He continued to wait patiently for me. I was hesitant but eventually I secured my arms around his waist. He turned the bike on and revved the engine before he pulled away. I instinctively hugged myself to his back, clenching my eyes shut. I hated this. "You okay back there?" He called through the wind.

"No." I replied as I held tight to him and I knew he was grinning to himself. It wasn't long before we got there, it only took a couple of seconds. "We could've walked," I said as I stumbled off the bike but her only response was a shrug as he made his way up toward a house and knocked on the door. I hung back a bit, staying on the pavement. I wasn't too sure about this idea still, what were these people going to be like when they realised it was the 'killer' everyone had been hearing about and Eddie just waltzing up with her too, asking to stitch her up.

When I heard the sound of a door opening, I glanced up at it from under my hood. There in the doorway was a beautiful woman with white blonde hair and it was evident she was confused to see up.

"Eddie, what are you doing here?" She questioned as a man approached behind her.

"Oh hey Eddie!" He greeted him.

"Hey, Dan," Eddie replied awkwardly, making me raise a brow. "Um, I have someone who needs your help. Come here," Eddie motioned for me to up and all their attention was now on me as I hesitantly made my way up.

Who's this?" The woman asked.

"Please don't be afraid, Anne. She won't hurt us," Eddie tried to reassure Anne. I glanced at him and he gave me a single nod before I removed my hood. Anne's blue eyes immediately widened along with Dan's, her mouth opened to scream or God knows what and I panicked. I quickly moved forward and covered her mouth, looking her dead in the eye.

"I'm not going to harm you or Dan, I promise," with that, I moved back to see what she may say.

"Isn't that because you only hurt children?" She said rather blatantly. I stared at her mortified before my face hardened as I glared at her.

"You know what, fuck this. You're just like everyone else. This was a stupid idea, Eddie," I said as I made my way back down the steps.

"Where are you going?" He followed after me, moving in front of me, hands on my shoulders to stop me from moving away any further.

"Somewhere where I can sort out this shit without anyone interfering,"

"Dan, call the police," I heard Anne saying and I began to panic.

"NO! Don't call the police! You stay there!" He ordered me before running back up the steps to Anne. "She didn't do it, Anne. She has a cut on the back of her head. She told me everything,"

"And you believe her, just like that?"

"Yes, I do actually," his response seemed to surprise her. "She gave me good reasons and she told me her side,"

"So why is she running, couldn't she tell this to the police,"

"She wouldn't stand a chance, the killer framed her, her prints are practically all over that house already,"

"And what makes you so sure that she's not lying about all of that,"

"Because she is mourning, Anne! You should have seen how she was. She hates herself for not protecting them better and she wants to find out who did it. She wants to clear her name. You were a lawyer once, you know how messy these things are,"

"It's not the same, Eddie,"

"It is," he insisted.

"Let me look at this cut," Dan said, making Anne whip her head round to glare at him.

"Are you serious?!" She glared at her fiancé for making such a suggestion.

"Yes, if I can have a look, I can determine what could have caused it," Dan explained and Anne seemed to calm down. He made a point.

"Fine, but if she shows any signs of violence, we're calling the cops,"

"Okay," Eddie agreed before turning to me. "Come on," I observed the three of them, my eyes lingering on the untrustworthy Anne. "You can trust them," Eddie affirmed before I made my way up the steps and into the lovely home of Dan and Anne.

(Y/n) hissed in pain as Dan gently applied pressure around the surrounding area of the wound with latex gloves while Anne and Eddie watched from the living room couches.

"Well, she has definitely dealt with some trauma. There's bruising around the gash and the gash itself is quite deep but luckily for you, there's no critical damage to your skull. I'd say you were hit with a blunt object, from behind, she couldn't have done this herself. The angle is too awkward for her to reach,"

"What if she made herself fall on something on purpose," Anne decided to suggest, hearing that (Y/n) slowly swivelled round in her seat, folding her arms off the back of the chair to scowl at the woman with an incredulous look.

"You like making shit up when you don't like hearing the truth or something?" the younger woman questioned and it seemed to ruffle Anne's feathers.

"Anne, sweetheart. It isn't possible for a human to hurt themselves to this extent on purpose. You'd have to be severely mentally unstable for something like that to happen and from what I see, (Y/n) is very stable," Dan defended, the poor man couldn't quite understand why his fianceé was acting this way. Well he understood, the woman was a wanted criminal, but as far as he knew she was telling the truth and he trusted Eddie and Venom about things like this.

"And what if she's just good at hiding it? Huh? People can hide these things, Dan?"

"Anne, please. She wouldn't be here if Venom and I thought she was a threat," Eddie tried to reassure her also but it seemed the blonde wasn't having any of it.

"What is it with you and getting into all sorts of trouble?" Anne asked, now turning on Eddie.

"Jesus fucking Christ, don't have a go at him! Do I have to explain it all again? Just for you to listen? Just for you to understand? It's barely been an hour since I told him!" (Y/n) pointed to Eddie. "Before, all of this, I was naive to think talking about trauma would be easy, but it's not, and it sure as hell does not mean you get to sit there and make a judgement of me because of what you hear on the news! I was there, not you! I'm not explaining myself to anyone again, not yet anyway. I was knocked out from behind, which yes, I remember because I didn't suffer amnesia. I suffered from a minor concussion most likely and I also remember a calling card which I know for a fact I didn't do so maybe we could stop pointing the finger at me and let me fucking work out who killed the children because I have a very bad feeling that he's going to do it again," the younger woman sucked in a load of air as her breath shook. She needed to stay calm. She closed her eyes and counted to 10, her nostrils flared as willed her heart rate to go back to its normal rate. The back of her head ached from the yelling and she just slowly moved back around to sit in the chair comfortably. Anne sat there quietly and decided it was best to not argue back, maybe she had gone too far. The two men just looked at each other in perplexingly before Dan moved to work on (Y/n)'s wound.

Eddie stared at the back of the (Y/h/c) haired woman's head as his ex's fianceé worked. He wasn't sure of what to make of that little scene. Before, he thought he would've gotten a bit overprotective because of how she spoke to Anne but between him and Dan, (Y/n) had every right to speak to her like that, even if it was someone else's house. Anne was stubborn and that was probably one of the best ways to go about it if you had a good way with words. Eddie's eyes glanced at the brown eyed, blonde haired woman. He could tell she was thinking to herself which he supposed was a good sign.

She knows how to stand up for herself.

Eddie only hummed quietly in response as he patiently waited for the Doctor to finish fixing (Y/n) up.

It took about 10 minutes for Dan to stitch the wound up completely and when he was done, he advised the shorter woman on what painkillers she should take, when she could take the stitches out etc. (Y/n) gave Dan a grateful smile as she thanked him before turning to her new acquaintance and stared at him as if to say she was ready to leave. Eddie got the picture and he stood up with a sigh.

"Thanks guys, we really owe you one," he said as (Y/n) made her way to the front door. "Promise us you won't tell anyone?" his brown eyes mainly focused on Anne. When realised it was her he was directly asking, she folded her arms and rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I won't tell anyone," she sighed irritatedly. With that, (Y/n) opened the door, the reporter following behind her until Anne's voice stopped her. The 26 year old turned around, expecting some spiteful words except she was enveloped in a comforting hug. (Y/n) didn't move for a moment as her eyes moved to look at the side of Anne's head. "I apologise for how I behaved. I still don't fully trust you yet, but as long as Eddie's trusts you… that means something. You're lucky he found you. He and Venom will take good care of you. Make sure you take care of them for me too, okay?" (Y/n) blinked at her words before reciprocating the hug. "I hope the hug helps comfort you a bit too. I'm sure you've needed one for quite a while," the two pulled apart and (Y/n) gave her a small smile.

"Thanks Anne. I'm sorry for speaking to you the way I did in your own home,"

"It's fine, hon. You're struggling right now, I'd probably be the same too," she gently patted (Y/n)'s shoulder and smiled, ushering her to go with Eddie who was waiting for her on his bike. She got on, wrapping her arms around Eddie's waist again and they were off. It took a moment for the young woman to realise that they weren't heading straight back to his apartment yet and she frowned.

"Where are we going?" she shouted to him over the wind and engine.

"Thought we could go get something to eat. Get to know each other better, you know?" he shouted back. Her face twitched in confusion at the bizarre decision but she kinda liked the idea.

"Yeah, okay. I like the sound of that," Eddie smiled, glad that she was willing to open up a bit.