Page 104 of The Forsaken
“Did you at least get good presents?”
“I got some toys and books.”
“Not a bad haul,” Quinn replied, smiling. She liked to imagine Gabe as a little boy, and could very well guess where Emma got her precociousness.
The children finished their pizza, sang a hilariously off-key version of “Happy Birthday,” and clapped as Emma blew out her birthday candles. They wolfed down the cake in record time before running off to the arcade, armed with stacks of tokens, which they’d burn through within minutes. Quinn nibbled on a piece of cake, pleased that the party had gone off without a hitch. This was the first birthday party she’d planned, and it had been important to get it right.
Before long, all the children had been collected by their parents, and the pile of gifts was loaded in the boot of Gabe’s car.Quinn tried to hide her annoyance when Sylvia sauntered over to her. Sylvia’s smile was forced as she acknowledged Gabe, but her gaze grew hard and accusing when it slid back to Quinn.
“I think I’ll skip the cake at your place. I do hope you understand. I’ll drop Jude and Bridget at their flat. They have plans.”
Quinn wasn’t surprised that Sylvia begged off or that Jude and Bridget had decided not to come. It was a relief, actually.
“Thank you for coming, Sylvia. It meant a lot to Emma,” Gabe said, polite as ever.
“I hope she likes her gift. I put a lot of thought into it.”
“I’m sure she’ll love it,” Gabe replied when he realized Quinn wasn’t about to and it was up to him to fill the awkward silence.
“I’ll just say goodbye to Emma.” Sylvia looked around. “Where is she?”
“She had a few tokens left and wanted to use them up. She’ll be back soon.”
A few moments later, Emma came bouncing toward them, beaming. She held a tiny multi-colored bear that she must have won.
“Did you enjoy your party?” Quinn asked as she handed Emma an antibacterial wipe for her hands.
“Oh, yes. It was smashing. Can we do this again next year?”
“Let’s wait and see, shall we? Now, why don’t you say goodbye to Grandma Sylvia? She’s not coming back to the flat.”
“Bye, Grandma Sylvia,” Emma sang as she twirled around. She didn’t appear too disappointed.
“Are you ready to go? Grandma Phoebe’s already in the car.” Gabe held out his hand to Emma.
“Okay,” Emma replied. “Oh, look what I found, Daddy. It’s a pretty sticker.” Emma had extracted something from her pocket and held it out to Gabe.
“Give me that!” Gabe grabbed the sticker from Emma’s hand and shoved it in his pocket.
“But I want it,” Emma wailed.
“Where did you find it?” Gabe demanded. He took Emma by the shoulders, frightening her with his sudden change of mood.
“Over there.” Emma pointed to the table where Jude had sat with his friends while the children enjoyed pizza and birthday cake.
“Gabe, what’s wrong?” Quinn asked.
Gabe didn’t reply. His eyes blazed with fury as he scanned the premises until his gaze alighted on Jude, who’d just stepped out of the Gents’, his costume over his arm. “I’m going to kill him,” Gabe exclaimed and took off, heading straight for Jude.
“Gabe!” Quinn didn’t know if she should go after him or see to Emma, who appeared to be on the verge of tears.
Emma clung to Quinn, her eyes huge with shock. “What did Jude do?” she whimpered.
“I don’t know, darling.”
Quinn looked on in shocked silence as Gabe grabbed Jude and slammed him against the wall, knocking the wind out of him. She couldn’t hear what was being said, but when Gabe punched Jude in the face and then belted him one in the stomach, Emma began to cry, burying her face in Quinn’s side.
“Let go of him!” Sylvia bellowed, but Gabe ignored her. He held Jude pinned against the wall, his face mere inches fromthe terrified young man as his fingers closed around Jude’s windpipe.
