Page 153 of Mortal Sins

Frankie smiled, bright and adoring, almost as if he heard what Snod had meant to say. He kissed him

again, a bit more chastely than before. “Good. Now stay put. I’ve picked out a very special song just

for you.”

“For me?” Snod scowled and shook his head stubbornly. “I’m not singing.”

“No! For me to sing!” Frankie laughed, grinning impishly as he headed toward the stage.

“Ohhh, this’ll be good,” Lorenzo squealed excitedly. “Frankie is a fantastic singer.”

“I know,” Snod drawled, remembering all too well the night they had danced and sang together,

listening to that band who proclaimed things. He was curious what song Frankie could have chosen

for him.

Pushing a couple of buttons on the machine, Frankie smiled as a peppy synth song began to play. He

took the microphone in hand, confidently grinning out at the crowd, not even bothering to check the

screen as the lyrics began to pop up.

He knew this song, Snod realized, tilting his head curiously. It sounded familiar; maybe it was the

same song Frankie had been singing in the kitchen prior to their sink escapade.

Even though the beat was energetic, there was something sad and haunting in the sound of the

synthesized keyboards, Frankie’s eyes closing as he began to passionately sing. It was a song about a

man looking back on his life and finding that it was full of sin. In spite of this, he had still decided to

live his life as he saw fit so he could be happy.

Snod nearly dropped his drink, his stomach turning to a nauseous pile of goo when he heard that final

word, ‘sin.’ He was immediately uncomfortable, gulping awkwardly. The words were too much like

his own conflicted thoughts, and he felt trapped by Frankie’s voice.

“It’s a sin,” Snod said quietly, whispering the words to himself as Frankie sang them, realizing he was

suddenly sweating all over. He anxiously chugged back his drink, his hands trembling as he clutched

at an empty glass.

His skin crackled all over with chills as Frankie held several notes longer than any mere mortal

could, applause exploding from all around the bar as people cheered him on.

Snod was reading the lyrics as Frankie sang them, just to make sure he was understanding them

correctly. It was as if someone had opened up his brain and pulled his deepest and most personal

thoughts to create this song. It should have been liberating, knowing that someone else in the world

had ached in the same terrible way he did for wanting forbidden things.