Taming 7 (Boys of Tommen, #5)

by Chloe Walsh

I didn’t think too much about the words that came out of my mouth. I usually said whatever was on my mind at the time, and it formed the person I had become in the minds of my friends. I was naturally self-deprecating, never purposefully cruel, and it made people laugh. My mouth spurted shit at the expense of my own character, like a cloak of self-sabotaging protection. Nothing I said was for venomous or boasting purposes. It was for sheer protection. It was my safety net. Because I had an acute need to protect myself and I didn’t know how else to do that in a world where everyone aside from me seemed to have their shit together.

If I could sew this girl to my skin without causing her an ounce of harm, then I would do it in a heartbeat. That’s how vital she was to my life. How essential she was to my existence. If drugs were to Joey Lynch what Claire Biggs was to me, then there was no amount of rehab that could sway me to kick the habit. Because she was the habit of my lifetime.

So, fuck guarantees and don’t bet against him. He’ll forge an epic future for Aoife and AJ, just like he forged a future for his siblings.”

How could he do it? How could he live with his demons like this, and mask his pain with a smile?