Page 83 of The Taste

“Cool name! Is he going to teach me to throw knives? Is that my present, Sophie? That’s so cool, thanks so much big sis!”

“I… what?” Sophie said, eyes roving over him, trying to compute. He waited, sick to his core.

“I told you Tommy’s brother had someone teach ax-throwing at his birthday party and I loved it, I didn’t think you were listening, but… this is so epic!”

Max was elated, and his friends fist pumped and excitedly chattered, too.

“Sophie? You bought him a knife throwing lesson for a present?” Her dad said, slightly disapprovingly.

“I…” Sophie stared. At Phantom, at her brother, at her parents. At the fucking cake. She was clearly deliberating what the hell to say and do next.

“Yes,” she said, turning back to them with a cheery, Barbie doll expression. She was playing it cool to them, like this was all planned. His fucking bold Sugar Plum Fairy. “Yes, Max, this is your present from me, sweetie, a knife throwing lesson with my friend Phantom here.”

“Cool name, bro.” Max nodded, and his friends whooped.

Fuck, Phantom thought this was going from bad to absolute living hell at lightning speed.

Her mother did a long, penetrating sweep of him. “Phantom… I see.” Her mom frowned, taking in his appearance, looking at him like he was a mangy dog. A freak. A fucking zombie.

He could only stand there, paralyzed.

“Is he not well?” Her dad asked quietly, under his breath.

“Phantom’s got a sore… throat, he’s just been told to rest his vocal cords for a bit so he’s…”

“Can I blow out my candles now?” Max huffed.

“Sure honey,” their mom said, mildly distracted but bringing her attention back to Max, beaming again. “Let’s all sing! Happy Birthday to you…”

So they all sang Happy Birthday to him. While Phantom stood there, in the flower bed, watching his world end. Again. It always did. The people he cared about, it always fucked up. Whether he did it, or it just happened, it would always end.

“Happy birthday to you…”

He should have fucking known. He watched Sophie, smiling away, looking at her family with love, such warmth and love in her eyes. He would never be a part of that. As soon as she found out he had been about to kill her younger brother, she would look at him with fear and hate.

“Happy birthday to Maaaxxxx…”

He eyed the bushes at the bottom of the garden. There was a Demonios fucker either dead already or bleeding out silently down there.

He watched as she worked it out, as that moment of realization came to her. She snatched her gaze to him. Her eyes widened. Her mouth dropped open.

“...happy birthday to you! Hurray!”

She blinked. Then her face flattened. She looked pissed. Really fucking pissed.

“One more,” she said woodenly. Repeating his words from the other night. Realizing the one more was her little brother.

“What’s that dear? No, I think you got the right number of ice creams, sweetie, you did a spare one, remember, in case one got dropped? The knife throwing entertainer can have that one-”

Phantom knew this was when his world ended. This was the exact moment everything was going to change.

“Phantom is going to go and set up in the garden and then you can go and have your lesson,” Sophie said through gritted teeth. She looked like she was holding herself back from snatching one of his knives and throwing it right back at him. “Max, Phantom, a word, quickly.” She dragged Max over to where Phantom was stood.

Sophie’s mother offered him cake and he didn’t have the words to say no to the cake, so found himself further down the garden, holding a large wedge of birthday cake. Sophie’s dad was in the shed digging out an old wooden pallet to act as the target for him to teach Max and his over-excited friends how to throw knives.

He needed to escape, he needed to get out of the light, out from the spotlight of their love. Their burning, pure love. He was fleeing before something so pure and holy. He couldn’t touch it, he couldn’t even look at it. He was a killer, and had nearly killed Sophie’s brother. Which would have killed Sophie. He nearly killed his love, his heart, his soul. It was dead now anyway. One look at Sophie’s face and he knew it was dead.

“Max… I literally don’t know where to begin!” Sophie raged.

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