Page 267 of When We Fall: Part Two
“It’s been a week, man,” I said as Enzo came into me and E’s apartment. “He won’t eat. He won’t shower. All he does is stay in his room in bed.”
Enzo sighed. “He still hasn’t told you what he did the day he left and went for that walk?”
I shook my head. “Nope. He barely even speaks. He tells me to fuck off. That’s about it.”
Enzo rubbed his eyes. “I’ll try to talk to him. We have shit to discuss anyway.”
He walked past me and went into E’s room. Just like he’d been doing for the last week, he was lying in bed, staring at a wall.
“E, man, we need to talk,” Enzo said as I moved to sit in the chair in his room. Enzo sat on the edge of E’s bed. “Hey, come on. This is important.”
“So talk,” E mumbled, not moving.
“E, you’re being a dick,” I said. “Can you at least tell us what’s going on so we can maybe try to help you fix it?”
He remained quiet, continuing to stare at the same spot on the wall.
“Your blood work came back,” Enzo said softly. “For the DNA on the baby.”
E stiffened, but he didn’t say anything.
“It’s yours,” Enzo finished gently.
E’s bottom lip wobbled as my guts twisted. Fuck. As if shit wasn’t bad enough, we had to add that to it.
I wasn’t sure what I expected, but it wasn’t for E to stand and start breaking shit.
I made to get up to stop him, but Enzo shook his head at me. So we sat there and watched him trash his room as he screamed, his face red, and his muscles straining.
Finally, he collapsed next to Enzo on the bed, his body shaking as he cried.
“We will continue as planned,” Enzo said. “I’ll make sure the baby is born safe, and then we’ll handle things. If I’m lucky enough, I’ll have pissed off more people and they’ll kill the bitch for me.”
“Are you fucking her?” E asked.
“No.” Enzo snorted. “She’s begging for it, but she doesn’t get it. I’m a busy man and don’t have time for it. I rarely go home. I’m always at the office or doing real work.”
E relaxed at that.
“We know this is hard,” I said. “We’re worried about you. We’ll get through this. You won’t have to do shit if you don’t want to.”
He wiped at his cheeks but didn’t say anything.
“I have everything planned. I’ve already hired a nanny, so when the baby arrives in a few months, everything will be taken care of. You won’t have to do a damn thing. As soon as the kid is old enough to wipe its own ass, I’ll send it off to the best schools. I’ll sign my name on the birth certificate. Everything. I’ll do it all, E.”
E nodded, looking miserable.
“What else?” I pressed. “You’ve been bumming around for a week, man. I thought things were getting better. What happened?”
He was quiet for so long that I didn’t think he’d answer. When he finally did, he said the last thing I expected.
“I saw Rosalie.”
I sat forward. “What?”
He looked at me. “I saw her. When I went out. I-I talked to her.”
“What did she say? How was she? Was she alone? What was she wearing? Did she seem happy? Or sad?” I asked. “Did she need anything? Money? Did she say where she’s staying?”
