Page 126 of Possess Me! (I Want You To)

“Happy birthday,” I murmured, just to try it out. Just to see how it would feel—for a second—to be normal.

Luca snuffled, slapping my chest sleepily, his face scrunching up. I cradled the back of his head, shoving him into the crook of my neck as my heart thumped unsteadily.

Two days.

Two days and I’d be dead.

It was what I wanted.

So why was I…?

Why did I feel…?

Sad.

Luca cackled as he blew out the candles on his vanilla birthday cake, amused by something I did not know about.

“You bitch!” He laughed, giving his sister a squeeze as she rolled her eyes, a delighted smile on her face despite the fact that her boyfriend hadn’t shown up like he’d said he would. The whole family had been walking on eggshells around her all day. Luca shook her happily as his shithead little brother began cutting a slice from the cake, ignoring them both.

“Wait your turn!” Eliza—Not Elizabeth, lord what is that boy teaching you—Baker smacked the spatula out of Adam’s hands as she turned to me with a warm smile. “Guests first.”

“I thought the birthday boy goes first,” Luca complained, just to be contrary.

“One,” I said, offhandedly, and he immediately straightened, his cheeks and ears growing splotchy red. His reactions…were more gratifying than any punishment could be.

Luca eyed me warily, brows furrowed in anticipation.

“One what, dear?” Eliza asked, glancing between the two of us.

“It’s obviously a weird sex thing, Mom.” Betty rolled her eyes, tucking her chin-length hair behind her ear as Luca squawked in embarrassment like the big bird he was. He had no way of disproving his sister’s words, so I got to enjoy the way his face turned bright red as he looked at me for help, even though I was the one who had caused the problem in the first place.

“Not at the table,” Eliza tsked at us both, though her eyes gleamed as she handed the piece of cake she’d rescued from Adam to me.

I stared down at it, not sure what to do.

My family had never done…this.

The birthday thing, with a party and—I shuddered—sprinkles. Luca wore the most ridiculous party hat I had ever seen in my life, a brand new pair of off-brand tennis shoes decorating his feet. They’d been a gift from his mother. One I fully approved of. The fuchsia tracksuit that had accompanied them on the other hand needed burned.

His dirty, beaten sneakers had disappeared from the hallway sometime before we’d gotten up that morning, and when she’d returned with the brand new box and a package of socks from Costco I’d had to bite back a smile.

That amusement had been short-lived, especially with Luca’s birthday cake practically glaring back at me.

Obviously, I knew I was supposed to eat it. But this still felt like a trap. I wasn’t sure if there was a specific protocol required for eating your boyfriend’s birthday cake. I’d never had a boyfriend before, or gone to a birthday party. Was I supposed to sing? Because, fuck that. I’d rather hump a cactus.

This was the fries all over again—only more treacherous should I mess up. Oddly enough…I cared what his family thought of me. I didn’t want to look like the socially incompetent asshole I was. I didn’t want to be the guy who had become a social pariah back home. I didn’t want them to know how broken I was.

I just wanted to be…

Prudence.

I handed the cake to Luca so he could deal with the mess.

Almost like he could read my mind, his eyes lit up with mirth.

“Prudence is more of an Oreo guy,” he explained graciously, as he shoveled a piece of cake into his mouth then moaned his approval, pink head bobbing. “Hey! Thish ish pwebby gewd!” He declared proudly, slapping his younger sister’s back so enthusiastically that she pitched forward. When she caught her balance she batted him away from her for the second time that day, eyes narrowed.

Her pointy nose sniffed arrogantly as she shrugged, “Why are you surprised?” She looked at her nails, her oversized punk-emo band t-shirt shifting as she dodged another of Luca’s well-meaning, back slaps. Adam snorted judgmentally, and I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, unable to ignore the amusement that threatened to return.

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