Page 97 of Raw

“Sweet girl,” he whispered into my ear before kissing the soft spot right underneath.

I was waiting on him to say something more, but when he didn’t after a while, I turned my head to kiss him.

In the end, words weren’t needed for me to know that he was deeply and madly in love with me.

29

“We don’t need all those things,” Papa muttered as we were making our way back to camp.

We had said goodbye to Mama this morning and then got picked up by Jason to drive back to Wiseman.

More snow had fallen on the mountains, and we were slowly getting further into the forest without a path in front of us.

We still knew which way to go, but the snow was making it hard.

“You could’ve just told her no,” Fennec pointed out in an annoyed tone, making Papa stop and turn to face him.

“Quit being such a smart-ass.”

“Papa!” I sighed, looking at both of them. “Can you two stop fighting? Why are you so mad at each other all of a sudden?”

Things were fine this morning until Mama urged Papa to take the boxes of pasta, rice, and crackers with us.

She also added flour and sugar, which made Papa’s mood change in an instant.

“I’m not mad,” Fennec said with a shrug, and Papa let out a harsh laugh.

“You’re not in charge here, all right? We’re able to survive without her giving us all that stuff, but you had to go behind my back and allow her to pack everything into this damn bag,” he hissed, holding up the duffle bag.

Fennec was carrying the one we had brought with us, with all of our clothes in it.

“No one’s making you eat what she gave us,” Fennec spat. “It was nice of her, so maybe appreciate her for once.”

Papa dropped the bag and took two steps toward Fennec, but he didn’t flinch or move a muscle, not afraid of Papa.

I, on the other hand, was ready to close my eyes and turn away to not see them fistfight.

Although I had never seen them like this, something told me that this wasn’t new to them.

“Listen, fucker. I didn’t come out here to live the way normal people live or to cook pasta and rice! We hunt. We eat meat, and we make our own damn food. And if you’re starting to change your damn mind about living here, you should’ve stayed in town and be part of a brainwashed society. You wanna live with me, you behave and follow my goddamn rules. Am I clear?”

Seeing Papa so angry was new to me, and I wasn’t sure how to deal with it in the beginning.

Fennec couldn’t help but grin, and with his arms out and raised shoulders, he replied, “Yes, sir.”

“Good. And wipe that stupid grin off your face. You’re not as tough as you think you are.”

Papa picked up the duffle bag without regarding him or me, and before Fennec continued to follow him, he turned to look at me with raised brows. “See? That’s what I had to deal with before you came. He’s a fucking psychopath.”

“He’s acted like this before?” I asked quietly, not wanting Papa to hear.

“Too many times. He pulled himself together when you came, but before that, the littlest things made him raise his voice.”

“Did he ever hit you?”

He didn’t respond.

Instead, he turned and followed Papa deeper into the forest.

---