Page 2 of Tattered Souls (Whispering Falls #2)

Tatum

Ever since I was a little girl, I learned at an early age to never talk back.

The feel of a hand hitting your cheek, well, it didn’t feel all that great.

My father was a mean piece of work.

But he didn’t hit my older brother Granger, and for that I was thankful.

Because if I ever saw a bruise on him, it would tear me up inside.

So, that was why, when my father did it, I didn’t tell Granger.

Not because I didn’t want him to know.

But because I really didn’t want him to know.

See, Granger was my older brother.

My older brother by thirteen years.

We both had different mother’s.

But somehow, our father had custody of us.

And he hated it.

Or at least that was what I was told.

It was the same thing he told me when I did something he didn’t like.

Was it really such a crime to still have a few droplets of water in the sink after you’ve washed dishes?

No, I truly didn’t think so.

But apparently, what wasn’t a crime was to get in your vehicle and drive drunk.

Apparently, it is, asshole.

Our father was serving a sentence of six years for second-degree vehicle manslaughter.

He was charged with that on the day I turned eighteen.

And to say I wasn’t happy about that would be a lie.

I shook my head at where my thoughts had headed.

It wasn’t good to get lost inside my brain.

Especially not right now.

I was in Granger’s and my apartment, helping him pack for his three-month contract.

My brother was an underwater welder along with his best friend, Carter.

See, an underwater welder... that took a lot of schooling.

And I knew, I knew that if I ever told my brother about what our father had done to me over the years, he would lose his shit.

Lose it in such a way that it would harm his schooling or worse, his dream career field.

My phone pinged with a text message.

Lance – Dinner next weekend?

I met Lance while I was working.

He had seemed like a nice enough guy.

But what I didn’t like was how he degraded the clothes I wore.

But I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Me – Sure.

Even though I felt as though I deserved better.

And one day, maybe one day, I would finally, truly, believe that I did.