Page 57 of Beneath the Hood

There’s a lingering moment of silence.

“And the asparagus?”

“Same way, miss.”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely sure.”

My heart falters as I listen to her beg for reassurance over something as simple as oil.

She walks back in, her posture relaxed, as if the confirmation was all she needed to calm down.

“Everything okay?” I ask.

She slides back into her chair and angles her head, beaming those bright teeth straight at me. “Everything is perfect.”

I hum and nod, stuffing a piece of salmon into my mouth. But I watch her closely throughout the rest of the meal. I’m sure my staring is making her uncomfortable, I can see it in the stiffness of her shoulders and the way her eyes dart to every object in the room, but I can’t stop, my concern and my questions muddling together until a strain grows behind my eyes.

But she eats all the time. She doesn’t seem too thin.

“What?” She sighs, her fork clattering as it drops to the plate.

I lean back in my chair, relief trickling through me that she asked. That she gave me a reason to press her for answers. “What was that?”

“What was what?”

I gesture toward the hallway, raising my brow.

“Oh, I was just double-checking that my food didn’t have any of theextrastuff.” Her nose scrunches.

“Extra stuff?” I cock my head.

“Yeah... you know, all the stuff that’s on yours. I don’t eat that.”

“Like... ever?”

She shakes her head, sipping from her water.

“So, you can’t eat salmon and asparagus?”

“You see my plate, it has the same thing as you, doesn’t it?” she says sharply.

I lean back in my chair, my solar plexus burning from her tone. I don’t want to upset her, and this is clearly a sensitive subject, but this feels too important to let her brush it under the rug. “It was just a question, princess, you don’t have to send me to the gallows.”

Her lips twitch. “The gallows?”

“Yeah. You know... execution by hanging, for questioning you about your life.”

“I don’t mind if you ask about my life.”

“You sure about that?” My brows rise.

“I just—I eat clean, okay? I exercise. I keep in good shape because my job demands it, and also because it’s important to me. I don’t like to put things in my body that aren’t good for me.”

“And what I’m eating isn’t good?”

“No, I—Ugh!” She stops mid-sentence, her hands ripping at the roots of her hair. “This is why I don’t like eating around people, because nobody understands. You don’t know what it’s like. You don’tget it, and that’s okay. But don’t fucking push me, Jackson, okay? Just be happy with the results like everyone else.”

---