Chapter 39 Pogue
POGUE
Incompetent. Useless. Wretched.
I should have seen it. Should’ve sensed it—something lurking in the dark.
But I didn’t .
Too distracted. Too mind-fucked just being near her.
She shouldn’t be here.
She shouldn’t be here.
She shouldn’t be here.
This was my punishment. A curse I carved into myself long ago.
Crack!
The sound exploded through my skull, cleaving my eardrums. And with it, every memory came alive. The sting of sharp leather. The glisten of fresh blood pooling. The sound of that laughter. Deep. Grating. Ecstatic.
My eyes snapped shut.
And suddenly—I was that boy again. Sobbing so hard that thick, green snot dripped into my mouth, choking. Gagging. Vomiting.
“Mama!” I cried out, mentally grasping the image of her face. But it slipped through the cracks of my mind . . . as it always did.
The only word that ever brought me warmth was also the one that branded me. Each time it past my lips, it was carved into my spine with strokes of scorching leather ink.
Another permanent tattoo as punishment.