Snake Charmer (Rawkfist MC Book 2) by Bijou Hunter

Back then, I was certain he was having an affair. Christine was working a
lot, and Paul isn’t the kind of guy to spend time alone. So one night during
his health kick, he made an awful tomato and tofu concoction that he shoved
into half of a grilled green pepper. That was the entire meal. Poppy was around
seven. When her dad said that was all we got for dinner, and we could eat it or
starve, she started bawling.”
    “Did you eat it?”
    “Frick no. We didn’t starve either. I
was driving by then, and Jared bought me a used blue sedan. Once I had the car,
I found a job and stopped listening to Paul. I hadn’t been good at listening to
him before then, but he was just white noise after my car. So I took Poppy and
Justice to Burger King for dinner. Paul tried stopping me. The dipfrick even
made threats. I made threats too. When he said he’d call the cops if I hit him,
I warned how I’d say he hit me first. Paul always backed down when it came to
violence. His strength was emotional abuse. The physical stuff scared the piss
out of him.”
    “You’re a good big sister.”
    “Don’t talk down to me,” Journey
grumbles, yanking her arm free.
    “I’m not. I’d have fucking loved to
have a big sister to stick up for me growing up. Oh, and a sister to buy me
food too.”
    Studying me, Journey decides I’m square
with her. Her arm slides through mine, and we walk again.
    “I can’t imagine what it’s like to be
an only child.”
    “It was lonely.”
    Journey’s taken back by my honesty. She
stops walking for a moment and stares up at me. I don’t flinch under her
intense gaze. She wants me to open up, so I plan to be an open book today.
    “Did your mom raise you alone?”
    “Off and on. At times, we moved in with
my grandparents. Mom would get in over her head. Once she felt more centered,
she’d begin fighting with them a lot. Soon, we’d move out, and she’d try to do
it alone.”
    “What was she like?”
    I’m not particularly surprised Journey
knows my mom is dead. Word gets around Tumbling Rock. No doubt the minute people
heard about our first date, they began bombarding her with my life story.
    “Mom was stubborn, self-centered,
stubborn, restless, and stubborn. You get the picture.”
    “I can’t imagine growing up in such an
uncertain situation.”
    “I bet you can. Your stepdad sounds
like a piece of work.”
    “Paul’s the kind of man capable of
breaking down insecure people. I’ve never been insecure, though. I’m me, and
I’ve always been me. I don’t get upset when people don’t want to be my friends.
I never care if I’m popular. I’ve had lots of friends, but they were never
close. I don’t trust people with my heart. Even as a kid, I kept them at arm's
length. People need to earn my trust, and Paul never did. He was so clearly an
insecure douche from day one that I never gave a flying frick what he thought
of me.”
    “So nothing anyone can say will hurt
you?”
    Journey frowns as if I’ve asked the
dumbest fucking question ever. “Of course, if my mom, dad, or sisters said
something cruel, I’d feel it. I trust them. My father less so since I didn’t
know him that well growing up. We’d visit him, and he’d feel real, and I’d
begin to trust him, but then the visit would end, and I’d start all over. With
my sisters and mom, I’m completely open. If they turn on me, I’ll have no
protection.”
    “You make human contact sound so
aggressive.”
    Journey isn’t sure if she wants to
smile. Finally, she relents to my laughter.
    “That’s what it feels like to me. Not
so much when I was a kid, but once I got older, I saw how people struggle to be
in control. Well, mainly Christine does. She is great on her own. With certain
people, she turns into a nervous little kid. I never want that to happen to
me.”
    “You kinda act like that with me.”
    “Eat feces, cop,” Journey says,
laughing and tightening her hold on my arm. “I’m cool as ice with