Chapter 27
Today was the day he had been waiting for. Cecil could barely contain his excitement. It would be his first time attending a birthday party, and he was nervous. Cecil had never given anyone a gift before, or spent so much money on one thing. He just hoped Sin liked it.
The watch he’d purchased for the vampire was expensive, getting it engraved even more so. Well, it was expensive for him, but probably wouldn’t be for Sin.
But he had bought it with his own money—money that he had earned himself. Cecil felt accomplished. He also felt increasingly worried about what he had gotten engraved on the back.
Sin sat down in his desk chair, his hands nervously smoothing down non-existent wrinkles in his jacket. Hyde and Jekyll stared at him, waiting for Sin to speak.
“I will tell Cecil tonight,” Sin announced. Just the thought had his heart racing. “He deserves to know before things go any further.”
Jekyll frowned. “Sin, I understand your worries, but Cecil is not like the others you have dated.”
“I agree,” Hyde said. “The young man is not one to judge someone over something that cannot be changed.”
Sin wanted to believe that, and perhaps he was wrong to project his doubts on Cecil. But even knowing the quality of the man’s character, Sin’s fears refused to dissipate.
The party was taking place in the giant living room, but a few extra chairs had been added. Some people were standing, while others were sitting down and relaxing, and most were talking. But, in one way or another, everyone was angled toward Sin—who was sitting in a plush chair against the wall.
The food had been eaten and it was finally time for presents. And lucky him, Cecil got to go first. No pressure at all. No pressure, as in all the pressure.
Here goes nothing—his grip tightened on the box as he walked up to Sin. The box was black with a gray ribbon tied around it in a bow. His hands were shaking when he held it out to the man.
Taking it, Sin gave him one of his signature, yet irritatingly beautiful, smiles. The look caused Cecil’s cheeks to heat and his insides to flutter.
When the man pulled the ribbon off and opened it, he shyly asked, “Do you like it?”
Sin wrapped his arm around Cecil’s waist and pulled him to his side. “It’s perfect.” He kissed Cecil’s cheek. “And just what I needed, as I recently misplaced mine.” The man gave him another kiss. “Thank you.”
“Look on the back,” Cecil said, feeling all warm and fuzzy and hopeful.
That feeling died only a second later. The room had gone unnaturally quiet. And he wasn’t the only one who noticed.
Sin was eyeing his people; there was a frown on his face. Looking at them, Cecil flinched at their expressions. Then the murmurs began.
“Wonder where he got the money for that.”
“Where do you think?”
“You don’t know what you guys are talking about,” Hyde hissed, in an attempt to silence them.
“He sure stole enough to buy something nice,” someone snorted, ignoring Hyde’s words.
“I didn’t steal anything,” Cecil snapped.
“That must be a first for you,” said the meathead from before.
Cecil winced and bit his lip—that one stung a bit.
“Enough!” Sin shouted.
All of them listened, except one—Meathead.
“You need to see reason, Sin. The kid is a thief! He’s not right for you. He doesn’t belong here!” Many of the others nodded.
“That is not for you to decide, Kevin. None of you get to decide who I am with,” Sin growled, his voice sounded deadly.
The man’s tone of voice, if not his words, quieted them down. Even though they were silent, Cecil still felt their accusing glares. Why couldn’t they just leave him alone?
“Even if Cecil is stealing, it wouldn’t matter to me.”
Is… Did Sin think he was the one doing it? A tremble of doubt ran through him.
“Thief or not, I like Cecil. Everything else can be worked out. You can either deal with it or leave.”
Is that what I am to Sin? Just a thief. Can I be nothing else, even to the person I love?
Oh, fuck, he loved a man who thought so little of him. Cecil felt tears try to build, but he forced them back. No! He wouldn’t cry! He wasn’t that weak.
Then the anger came, at Sin, at the people in this horrible place, and lastly, at himself, for thinking he could be more than a thief. Jerking away from Sin’s grasp, he glared.
“Cecil…” Sin appeared taken aback.
“I didn’t steal anything!” Cecil shouted. Maneuvering around everyone, he stormed off down the hallway.
Sin followed and tried to get him to stop walking. “Cecil, I never said you did.”
But hadn’t he? The ‘is’ was clear enough. If Sin hadn’t thought it was me, he wouldn’t have said that.
When he reached their room, Cecil slammed the door open and walked in a few feet before spinning around to face Sin. “You are just like them! I knew all they saw was a thief, someone who was different, someone who didn’t belong. But I thought you were different!”
“I’m not… I don’t think that,” Sin denied.
There was a hurt look on Sin’s face, but Cecil couldn’t push the anger down. He couldn’t stop his doubts from coming out.
Cecil laughed bitterly. “Everyone here is terrible. Fucking judgmental assholes. I wonder how many cases they’ve dropped simply because they thought the victim wasn’t worth saving.”
“They wouldn’t do that,” Sin defended stiffly.
“Yeah, you would defend them. We both know I’m just a thief who lies all the time.”
“It’s not—”
“It’s not like that? Then what the hell is it like?!” he screamed. “Am I just someone you fuck around with?!”
“No!” Sin yelled back.
“Then what am I, Sin? As you sure as hell don’t care enough about me to believe anything I say! God, I thought it was all about me needing to trust someone again. Jokes on me. What a dumb fuck I was for believing that my trust would be returned.”
“Enough, Cecil,” Sin said softly.
“What? Can’t handle the truth?”
“Enough!” the man said, louder this time.
“Admit it! You’d rather stick your head in the sand and continue to trust some assholes because you are foolish enough to call them family!”
“ENOUGH!” Sin roared, stepping toward him with clenched fists.
Cecil cringed. He felt a flash of fear and couldn’t stop himself from stepping back.
Sin’s anger seemed to vanish instantly, and horror replaced it, followed by an expression filled with shame. “I’m sorry,” Sin rasped. “I think it would be best if I left for now…our tempers are too high.”
He apologized once more before leaving.
Cecil trembled and hugged himself in an attempt to hold back the pain. He was alone again. Alone and forever a thief…
The yelling had stopped, and Hyde hoped it meant the two men had worked things out. That hope was dashed when Sin exited the room, softly closed the door, and walked away.
Tension poured off the retreating man. More worrisome was the blood dripping from Sin’s clenched fists. The beast was close to the surface…
“Go to him, I’ll handle things here,” Hyde told his brother, before heading off to take out his frustration on the ones who caused this.
Luckily, all of them remained where he and his twin had left them. Hyde glared and stared down everyone in the room. A few snapped back that they hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Shut up,” he hissed.
“The man’s a thief! He should be thrown out,” Kevin yelled.
Hyde grinned evilly, but his voice was pleasant when he spoke. “The only one who should be thrown out is you, Kevin. Cecil did not steal anything.”
They started to protest, but Hyde silenced them with a growl. “If you idiots had taken the time to get to know him, you would see what a sweet young man he is. You would also know that Jekyll and I had found him a job. Cecil bought that watch with his own money, and you all ruined it.”
Hyde was not surprised when Kevin spoke again. He had always been a pain in the ass.
“There is still stuff missing!”
“I know that!” Hyde snapped. “But whose fault is that? Certainly not mine. If I remember correctly, Kevin, you were put in charge of finding the culprit. Are you so incompetent that after weeks of searching you still haven’t found the one responsible?”
That shut him up.
“No worries, I will find them myself, and I promise you all now, they will suffer.” Hyde clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “Now, I just need to decide what to do with all of you.”
Hyde cackled when they all paled.
Jekyll found Sin pacing in one of the guest rooms. Sin was deathly pale, the man’s hands were trembling, and there were tears in his eyes.
“I screamed at him,” Sin told him, his voice full of disgust.
“It tends to happen when couples fight.”
“You don’t get it. I lost control of my temper, and Cecil backed away from me in fear! I was so close…”
“Sin—”
“I saw what it wanted!” Sin screamed over him. “What my beast wanted to do to him…I saw it! And it wasn’t even the first time.” His boss laughed hysterically. “I held him in my arms, and all my beast wanted was to see him torn apart, his eyes empty of life!”
“You would never let that happen. You are stronger than that,” Jekyll asserted.
“Don’t you get it?! I’m not!” Sin hollered back. “At any moment, I could kill the man I love! I shouldn’t be near anyone!”
All Jekyll could do, as Sin continued to rant, was stand and listen. He could not be reasoned with right now. Sin’s deep fears had broken free. Jekyll doubted his boss even realized he had just admitted his love for Cecil.