Akimbo ✓

08 : Tasted

As he made his way downstairs, he was joined midway by Drayden. Unlike Thrill, he looked completely at ease, and did Thrill ever mention how good he looked in tuxedos?

"Behave, will you?" Drayden said.

Thrill bit the inside of his cheek and nodded.

Side by side, the two brothers walked into the lavish parlour to find David and Emily already there, waiting to greet their guests. Emily smiled at Thrill reassuringly when he got close, and it broke the boy's heart. All of them were doing this for him. Because he messed up. And though he was the one who had put them in such a place, they were reassuring him that everything will go okay.

It was so fucking wrong.

Thrill didn't deserve them.

When a footman opened the door, the first person to glide in was a woman, probably in her late forties, dressed in a gorgeous golden dress. Thrill had never met her before, but now that he was seeing her before him, he could tell the stories about her being a fierce, confident woman were possibly all true. She carried herself with a grace that was just downright... daunting to behold.

Behind her walked in Ignatius fucking Rookwood, looking like the useless prick he was. Seriously. He was wearing a dark blazer that had gold fucking embroidery on it, his hair was too perfectly done and he most definitely had people fix his stupid face to highlight those features – all of it was very ridiculously unnecessary for the occasion! Next to him was a girl with the same features as him – dark eyes, dark hair and a sculpted face – in a strapless red dress. She shot a not-so-subtle glance towards Drayden, and Thrill felt a burst of anger course through him.

David and Emily exchanged formal greetings with Odette and her kids, and all the while Ignatius kept his gaze strictly away from Thrill.

"Come, let's sit." Emily led the group towards the couches. "Dinner will be ready soon."

Drayden smiled politely at the sister (Isadora, her name was) and escorted her to a seat (who needed escorting while walking from one side of a room to the other?) and it took Thrill all his strength to not glare openly. Instead, he went and took his own seat, as far from the guests as he could without making it obvious.

Apparently, Ignatius had the same idea, because he sat beside his sister on the other end and as far from Thrill as he possibly could.

Great. This was going to be one hell of a night.

Weirdly, the other people seemed quite at ease. David and Emily were doing a great job conversing with Odette and Isadora about random things, and Drayden piped in now and then, his standard poker face flawlessly masking his dislike towards the guests.

No one brought up the incident that led them here, and Thrill wasn't sure how to feel about it – relieved for now or anxious for the storm to break?

He focused on his drink and did his best to not freak out. He was Thrill Hawthorne, who'd done some of the most dangerous things in the world, yet now, having his family exposed to the sharks like this, not knowing when the attacks would start, terrified him beyond words. And CAN ISADORA STOP CHECKING OUT DRAYDEN FOR FUCK'S SAKE?

Soon, dinner was served and the group moved to the dining hall. Thrill felt Isadora's gaze on him as he pulled his chair next to Drayden, and he didn't need to look up to see the judgement in her eyes. It was obvious what she was thinking. Thrill kept his gaze lowered and simply took his seat.

It'll be fine. Just a few more hours. It'll be over before you know it.

The first blow came when the food arrived. Odette Rookwood smiled smugly and said, "Why don't we cut to the chase, David? What exactly do you hope to achieve by inviting us here tonight?"

Thrill thought he was ready – David assured him, repeatedly, that he was well-equipped to deal with the likes of Odette Rookwood – but hearing the woman speak to David in such a manner... enraged Thrill.

Yet, there was absolutely nothing he could do.

David smiled. "It seems our boys got into a little bit of trouble recently. I thought we should settle it over –"

"Little bit of trouble?" Odette broke in. "David, your boy," she shot a disgusted look towards Thrill, "assaulted my son."

Thrill clenched his fists so hard it hurt his palms.

"I assure you, Odette, he didn't mean it as such," David replied, calmly. "It was just a silly misunderstanding. Don't you remember a time when we were young and foolish as well?" He let out a chuckle.

Odette didn't find it funny. "I don't know about you, David, but when I was young, I didn't go about forcefully kissing other girls –"

"I did not!" Thrill cried before he could stop himself.

"Thrill," David warned but Thrill was too fucking mad to care. How dare she talk to David like that, and how dare she accuse him of something he didn't even do?

"Listen, lady," Thrill spat out the same amount of disgust she had directed at him a while back, "I did not kiss your son. I might be gay," he directed the rest of his words at the fucking coward who was looking down at his lap, "but I still have taste."

"Oh, we know." Isadora let out a laugh. "Taste for your own brother, you mean?"

There it was, the bomb he'd been waiting for them to drop. He thought he was ready, that he didn't care anymore, yet from the corner of his eyes he saw Drayden's hand clench around a fork, and it shattered Thrill's heart into a million pieces.

He wanted to die, right there and right then.

He couldn't keep doing this anymore.

It fucking hurt.

He got to his feet, uncaring of how rude it was, and rushed out of the dining hall. What else could he have done anyway?

"See, David," he heard Odette say as he walked out, "this is what happens when you bring a stray dog into your house."

Thrill couldn't keep the tears at bay as he ran to his room.

This is what happens when you bring a stray dog into your house.

She was right, and Thrill knew it. He was a stray dog – filthy, unruly and utterly selfish. He didn't deserve to be here. He didn't deserve any of it –

With shaky hands, Thrill had taken out his phone to call Caspian for help, when a message popped up in the notifications.

IgnatiusTheRookwood : I'm so sorry!

Thrill typed FUCK YOU, pressed send and threw the phone against the wall as hard as he could.

~~~~

A/n

Eep, we are finally here (I will never ever get over this chapter, sigh).

Also, I tried my hand at making the book look aesthetic - it probably sucks :3

*facepalm*