Binding 13 (Boys of Tommen, #1)

by Chloe Walsh

I once read somewhere that we mature with damage, not with age.

Darren was born gay, the same way Joey was born straight and I was born empty.

fending for the family was left to my mother—but I valued my ability to walk too much.

“I’m so fucking proud of you, Shan,” Joey said in a voice that was thick with emotion. “You don’t even realize how brave you are.”

I wanted him to be proud of me, to see me as more than a little girl that needed his constant protection. I needed that for myself.

My last coherent thought before I hit the ground with a thud, and a thick cloud of darkness cloaked over me, was this: Nothing changes. I was wrong, though. Everything changed after that day. Everything.

It was January. It was wet. It was cold. And for some strange, disconcerting reason, I was burning the fuck up on the inside.

“Hey, hey!” I said louder now. “Look at me.” I shook her head. “Look at my face.” This time she did. She opened her eyes, and fuck me, I unintentionally sucked in a sharp breath. Jesus, this girl was beautiful.

Thank fuck for that, because you’re ruining all of me right now, I thought to myself.

A girl, a fucking female I’d known for no longer than two hours, had managed to do what no one else ever had: knock me off-kilter.

Shannon like the river was on my mind, and I didn’t fucking like it.

Shannon Lynch had eyes the color of midnight blue that wouldn’t stay the fuck out of my head.

My brain’s track of choice: Shannon like the river, with the gorgeous blue eyes, face of an angel, and the troubled past.

The minute I laid eyes on her, something had hit me hard in the chest. Something unfamiliar and disconcerting.

mind.” And I didn’t. I felt oddly at ease listening to her speak.