Page 100 of Unhinged

Why is this so adorable? He's never done anything that actually made me think,that's adorable, but this?

"This is a bowl of berries with antioxidants, and there are walnuts and eggs. And some beef sausage." He looks up at me, serious and stern. "There's, like, iron and stuff."

"Did you make this for me?"

"Of course I did. Why do you look so surprised?"

"Because you're the same man who caged me," I say, tilting my head to the side. I wink.

"And I'll cage you still if you don't eat your fucking breakfast," he says.

Aww. On brand for being an asshole.

"There's spinach in the eggs. You need your leafy greens. And this is sourdough bread, toasted with butter. It's for digestion."

"Oh my god, you sound like some kind of fitness influencer."

"A what?"

I shake my head and smile. "Never mind. This looks delicious. Thank you."

"How's your pain level right now?"

"Tolerable."

"Scale of one to ten?" he snaps sternly.

I shrug. "I mean, like… six, seven."

"Holy shit! A six? Are you serious right now?"

He sets the food down and picks up his phone, checking something. "You can't have any more meds for another couple of hours…"

"I can deal with a six. I'm starving. Just let me eat. Maybe it'll bring it down or something."

Eating is not gonna bring my pain level down, but he's freaking out.

My appetite is ravenous. I eat one bite after the other, and I smile at him over a mouthful of food.

“You did good. Thank you. Did you eat too?”

He shrugs. “I’m fine.”

“Yeah, no, that’s not an answer. Sit down and eat.”

“That’s foryou.”

“Matvei, you made enough food to feed a football team.” I stare at the mountain of eggs and toast in front of me.

He scowls. “You need to eat.”

“Iameating. But seriously, how many eggs is this?”

“Four.” He folds his arms. “You need protein.”

I point at the ridiculous pile of toast. “And what’s with six slices of toast? Worried I’d run out mid-bite?”

He shrugs. “The first two didn’t toast right, so I just… kept going.”

---