Page 4 of Bone's Destiny

And pride, all of which made him a deplorable human.

Disgust rushed through me when I looked down at my thin arms and boney legs. Even my tits were small, not because they were made to be that way, genetically speaking. Before my mom ran off with her flavor of the month, I was nicely filled out.

It had been six years since she left us high and dry for greener pastures. I shouldn’t have been surprised because she never acted like a mom. She hadn’t had a nurturing bone in her body. Why she and my dad had adopted me, I may never know. Well, especially now that she was gone. Dad sure as hell never talked about her or spoke to me.

In high school, he had let me run wild and encouraged me to eat at my friends’ houses. Told me he didn’t want the law sniffing around his house and butting their noses into his business. I had been more than happy to stay away from my home. I’d seen the sketchy people he called “associates.” They were not friendly looking. When they came around, I had stayed out of sight and out of the way.

A shiver worked through my bones, remembering how they had sniffed around me. The only good deed my dad had ever done was keep them away from me. For a time, anyway. Once I turned eighteen, all bets were off. If I needed money to buy food or clothes, there was only one way he allowed me to earn my keep. Either on my knees or bent over the table, taking it in the ass. Of course, he got his cut for my services. Sixty-five percent of my earnings went to him.

What kind of father whored out his daughter? Well, maybe it would’ve been different if my mom hadn’t left or I was his biological daughter. Shit, now that I thought of it. He could have forced himself on me if he had wanted.

I gagged into the sink, but only stomach acid came up.

I needed to get out of this godforsaken place before worse shit happened, like my so-called “father” could stumble into my bedroom when drunk off his ass and try gross stuff with me.

Where could I go? How would I get away?

Maybe I could return to my hometown. The only problem with that idea was I didn’t have two nickels to rub together.

My dad had moved us out of Idaho the day after I graduated high school. He’d told me Fargo, North Dakota, would change our lives for the better. I’d suspected he’d gotten into some trouble because the only things we brought were our suitcases. Everything else had stayed behind.

I filled a glass with water and chugged it down in ten seconds flat, with my hand pressed against my stomach. Soon I’d feel bloated and not so hungry.

The back door swung open, startling me. I spun around and inhaled a relieved breath when my dad entered instead of an axe murderer.

He side-eyed me. “Whatcha looking at?”

“Hello to you too.” I rolled my eyes. “Can you give me some money to buy groceries? We’re out of everything.”

He snorted. “Because we never have anything, girl. Except—” He went straight for his beer. As he peered into the fridge, my heart raced. “Why are bottles tipped over?”

“I closed the door too firmly.”

“Why you in there anyway? There ain’t nothing for you.”

“Tell me about it,” I whispered, but not low enough.

“Are you complaining about your living conditions, Destiny? I provide the roof over your head and the electricity. What more do you need?”

“How about food? How about the right to get a freaking job?” I shouted, losing control of myself. Bad mistake.

The back of his left hand knocked me into the wall. I yelped and shuffled away, trying to stay on my feet. If I had to run into the woods, I would. Of course, he’d catch me. Drunk or not, he’d always capture me, and I’d get a beating.

“You don’t have rights, you whiny bitch! You do as I say when I say it. You understand?” He came at me, and I cowered away, shielding my face.

“Yes, I understand,” I whimpered, feeling my cheek swell. “I just… I just want to do something with my life. I’m an adult. I want to be out on my own.” Might as well get it all off my chest while he was still in the room. No telling when I’d get another chance to beg him to let me leave.

He guzzled his beer, eyeing me with disdain. “And who’s going to clean and do my laundry?”

My God, he was a loser. No wonder my mom left him. All Roland Bates had ever done was drink, gamble, and make my life a living hell.

His gaze slowly traveled over my body, giving me the heebie-jeebies. “You’re so fucking thin.”

Honestly, he was just now noticing? I didn’t move from my spot. He was by the drawer with the knives in it. If I attempted to run, I was sure as dead.

“I have a proposition for you.” He went for another beer.

Proposition? That was what he called it when he wanted to pimp me out. Luckily, I was never required to have intercourse. The men he’d set me up with only wanted blowjobs and anal. In my dad’s eyes, neither was actual sex. Or assault. I had to agree to be with the men. However, I didn’t really have a choice since I was usually starving, like today.

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