Page 41 of What Is Love
Roe and Wyatt both praised me, “Good job.”
Reid, on the other hand, said, “Pay attention. You’re about to die again.”
Just as I glanced back at the TV, I was killed for the eleventh time.
After a few more matches, the doorbell rang. Wyatt jumped up to answer. It was the pizza. With four pizza boxes stacked in his hands, Wyatt headed for the dining room. Roe and Reid got up to follow. When I tried to get up, Roe stopped me. “I’ll bring you a plate.”
Are we not going to eat in the dining room?I wondered.
When all three of them returned with slices of pizza stacked on paper plates, I got my answer. Roe held out a plate to me. I was relieved to only see two slices of pizza on it instead of mountains of slices like theirs. It smelled delicious. I had to mentally prepare myself to eat. It was easier this time than it had been at Noble’s Pub.
Mother will never know,I told myself as I picked up a slice by the crust. It was still warm. All the cheese and slices of pepperoni looked greasy. That should have been a turn off. If my mouth hadn’t been watering, it might’ve been. I took a bite of the pointy end.
Oh, wow.
I stared down at the slice I had just bitten as I chewed, brows lifted, eyes undoubtedly wide. It was better than I’d imagined it would be. There was something magical about melted cheese. Did it taste this good on everything? I took another bite, slightly bigger than the last.
“I think she likes it,” Wyatt said.
I froze and glanced around. They were watching me, even Reid. They had yet to touch their own pizza. It made me feel a little awkward. At least this time I hadn’t embarrassed myself by moaning.
I quickly chewed and swallowed. “It’s good.”
My verdict seemed to please Wyatt and Roe. Reid looked indifferent, but after hearing it, he started eating. They all did.
“Are we all going to act like it’s not strange she’s never had pizza before?” Reid asked as he ate.
“Reid,” Roe said with a tone.
I paused as I was about to take another bite. Sighing, I set the slice back on my plate. He was really getting on my nerves. I’d used to have patience, resilience. I still bore the scars that had helped instill that discipline. But lately I could feel those parts of me withering. “I’m on a strict diet.”
“The last thing you need is to be on a diet,” Reid shot back.
“There are expectations of me?—”
“To starve yourself?” he cut me off.
“What the hell, Reid!” Roe and Wyatt said at the same time.
Reid set his plate on the round wooden coffee table in front of the couch and looked right at his friend sitting next to me. “What are you doing, Roe?”
I felt Roe go stiff and he looked away from Reid to stare down, his jaw clenched.
Wyatt grabbed my plate off my lap and set his and mine on the coffee table. He held out his hand to me. “Take a walk with me, gorgeous.”
I put my hand in his. “I think I should leave.”
Wyatt helped me stand and didn’t let go of my hand as he led me toward the door. “You don’t have to. They just need a minute to work out their shit,” he said as we walked out the front door.
Just as we stepped outside, the night sky made me realize how much time had passed. I hadn’t checked my phone. It was still on Wyatt’s desk. I didn’t know if Prue had reached out to me about Clay.
Before we could get far, I tugged on Wyatt’s hand. “Wait. I need my phone. It’s in your room.”
Wyatt stared at the front door, debating. “I’ll go get it. Wait right here.”
As soon as he opened the front door quietly and snuck in, Reid and Roe’s voices carried out. When Wyatt didn’t close the door all the way, I stepped closer so I could hear.
“What about the plan, Roe?” Reid asked.
