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It was true that olden son He was more like my father--ether while I was os In fact, I had an entire cityscape erected in n, even back then

This one year, I begged ht museum and I marveled at the blueprints and the modern lines of the houses I always kneanted to do so

I saw there was a prograe university as opposed to a private college, toto lose me My respect My fear And he knew it

"You dated Bethany for a long time in school," ain"

She sed The su sex whenever we could be alone But there was that one night that ruined everything

We were experiot too comfortable, too in the , and during sex, my hand came down hard on her ass, once Just once But that was all that it took She yelped and cringed and looked back at me with surprise and fear in her eyes

She knew about my father She was the only one who knew

Our relationship ended shortly thereafter Soet a glimpse of as inside of me and she hated it, was terrified of it And I knew I needed to bottle that shit up right then and there and never allow it to consume me

"Maybe," I said to my mother, only to ease her mind

Chapter Five

Jessie

I had several moments of quiet at Raw Ink this afternoon, which rarely happened, so I was able to sneak in some schoolwork I pulled out my independent study notes and laid the, custo supplies restocked, and the place requiring constant sanitation, I barely had a moment to breathe But today even Cory was quiet, because he was sporting a over Bennett wasn’t due in until later, the two female artists weren’t scheduled at all today and Dex was in one of the back roole he was tattooing on his lower back

Raw Ink was a popular shop in this town, especially on the weekends, and thankfully Oliver was a decent boss who didn’t anize the schedule along with a few other shop responsibilities, like handling our website, so he was able to oversee the business and maintain the books

He was an artist himself, but his clientele was selective He’d handpicked every employee for an apprenticeship, except for Cory and Dex, who had come from other shops, and was known as one of the best in the business

As I jotted down a couple nment, Emmy arrived early for her shift Her vibrant red hair was pulled high in a ponytail as she bounced inside the door She eet and bubbly and smart as a whip Continuously on the move, she always had a story to tell, and she’d easily become one of my closest confidantes