Page 127 of Her Daddies' Everything

He was supposed to always be strong and tough. To be the solid wall that everyone leaned on.

That wall wasn’t supposed to crumble under pressure.

Be a man, Jenner.

Stop being such a wimp.

Take your beating without crying.

God. Was it any wonder that he was a complete basket case.

He was what his father had made him.

Sometimes he wished he could separate himself from his emotions. But then he’d just be a robot.

“You good now?” Sampson asked gruffly, standing in the doorway of the bathroom.

Jenner let out a huff of air that had nothing to do with laughter. “Good? Man, I don’t think I’ve been good for a while now.”

Years, maybe.

“You do a decent job of hiding it,” Sampson told him.

“Do I?” he asked as he stood, flushing and grabbed his toothbrush, brushing his teeth.

Sampson stepped aside as he strode into the studio and got a bottle of water from the mini-fridge he kept out here. He chugged it down before sitting on the sofa. Sampson started pacing up and down the room.

Finally, he sat and stared at Jenner intently. “What was that about?”

Sampson had always been an intense kind of guy. Big and gruff and no-nonsense. Their father had wanted Sampson to follow in his footsteps and become a Sentinel.

So, basically, an abusive fuck who did whatever the fuck he wanted to whoever he wanted.

And anyone who complained would be taken care of.

How many people who had made a complaint or stuck up for someone else had disappeared?

Jenner swallowed back more nausea.

“What is going on with you? I know you’re under stress, but are you ill? Do you need some emotional help or something?”

“Are you offering?” Jenner asked, feeling amused for the first time since they’d started this conversation.

“Fuck, no. You need someone who knew how to deal with that shit. That’s not me. Not that there’s anything wrong with needing, uh, therapy.”

Jenner rolled his eyes. Sampson could barely get the word out.

“Well? Are you going to tell me why you just looked like you’d seen a ghost? And then ran into the bathroom to vomit?”

Jenner shook his head. “You were always his favorite, you know.”

Sampson narrowed his gaze at Jenner. “That’s what this is about? The old man?”

“Isn’t it always?” Jenner said bitterly. “The old man and the Deity coming back to haunt us.”

“What did they do to you?” Sampson asked darkly.

“I don’t . . . what’s the point in talking about it?” Sampson had always been protective of him.

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