Page 177 of When We Fall: Part One
“Sweetheart, there’s a package for you on the counter.”
She looked up at him. She’d barely eaten anything.
“There is?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I ordered something for Cotton.”
A genuine smile lit up her face.
I relaxed. I’d been worried I’d never see it again.
“Thank you. I can’t wait to open it with him.”
“Who’s Cotton?” I asked, hoping to keep the conversation going.
“Rosie got a kitten,” Fox said.
“Enzo took me,” she added. “He’s sleeping in my room. Maybe I can show you after dinner?—“
“He’s not going to your room,” Cole cut in. “Not fucking happening.”
Rosalie poked at her food, a frown on her face.
“It’s fine. Maybe he’ll wander down, and I’ll get to see him before I leave,” I offered, hating how sad she looked.
She gave me a quick smile. “Yeah. Maybe.”
We all went back to eating. Enzo’s phone buzzed, and he sighed before pulling it out and looking at the screen.
“I thought we weren’t doing phones at the table,” Rosalie said, glancing at the phone he held.
“It’s my father.” He leaned over and kissed her forehead quickly. “I have to take it, baby.”
She nodded and went back to pushing her food around on her plate.
“You need to eat,” Cole murmured. “Please?”
She forked some pot roast into her mouth, her movements listless. I watched her for a moment before eating my food. I hated seeing her this way.
I chewed quickly. The food was good. I’d tasted Enzo’s cooking before, and he knew his way around a kitchen. Rosalie said he often made dinner with her when he was home.
The mac and cheese, though, left something to be desired. It was clearly from a box, and Fox had added too much butter and milk. It was a soupy disaster on my plate, touching all my other food.
“These dinner rolls are good,” I commented, swallowing a bite of one.
“Thanks. It’s my mom’s recipe,” Ethan said. “I’m not much of a cook, but I can follow the directions if there’s a recipe. Usually.”
“Except when it comes to homemade pie,” Fox said, grinning at him.
Ethan let out a laugh. “Corn starch? In pie? No.”
“Thickens it,” Fox said. “Flour wasn’t a good idea.”
“Bad?” I asked, eating more food.
Fox nodded as Ethan continued to laugh.
“Yeah, man, he kept trying to fix it with sugar, but it just kept getting worse,” Fox said, his eyes sparkling at the memory. “It caught on fire.”
