Chapter 45 Enzo
FORTY-FIVE
ENZO
Half the city turned up for Fox’s funeral. It was standing room only. People were gathered on sidewalks outside. Cops were directing traffic.
He’d have laughed and shaken his head, surprised that many people gave a damn. He might have even said they were nuts for wasting a Sunday afternoon.
I stared at all the photos of him throughout the years. Him. Rosalie. So many of them together. And us. The blank space from when he was away from her was filled with us.
The four horsemen.
Best friends until the end.
I wiped at my eyes, hating myself.
Santino stared straight ahead, no emotion on his face. He’d buried both his wife and son.
I understood his anger. I didn’t want trouble with him. In fact, I wanted to make things right, but I wasn’t stupid enough to think there would ever be a way to make it happen.
His coming out of hiding to be here in front of all these people in a city he once ruled…
Well, I knew things would go from bad to worse.
I listened as the priest spoke. As Santino spoke about what a great son Fox had been. He was everything a father could hope for in a son.
We weren’t asked to speak.
I understood why.
His coach spoke. A few team members shared some amusing stories about him, along with his leadership abilities. How Fox knew what being on a team meant. That he’d be missed.
And then it was time to say our goodbyes.
The entire time, Rosalie sobbed in her seat at the speeches.
She was mentioned dozens of times in them, and each time, she’d only cry louder.
Her parents arrived, but they stayed in the back and left before the service began.
She refused to see them. I knew it was because her dad would likely want her to come home.
Cole held her through all of it, Jamie’s hand in hers.
I kept an eye on E the entire time because I knew he was barely holding it together.
The drugs seemed to help him, though, because he didn’t freak out. He was too stoned.
“Come on.” Cole encouraged Rosalie as we rose to get in line to view Fox’s casket one final time.
Or our first time since we hadn’t been up there yet.
We shuffled forward. People murmured goodbye as they passed the closed casket.
When I got there, I rested my hand on it, my throat tight.
“Fox, brother, I love you,” I whispered.
“I will always love you. I’m so sorry. So fucking sorry.
I should have listened. You were right. I-I’ll fix what I can.
T-Tell my mom I miss her. Tell my dad that I’ll follow through for him.
And you… Fox, please. Forgive me for Rosalie.
” I leaned down and placed a kiss on his casket, my tears dripping onto the sleek black case.
I turned to Cole, who cried silently as Rosalie clung to him.
“Foxy,” she wept, reaching for the casket. Her hands rested on it as her body shook. “Don’t go. Foxy, please. Please don’t leave me! You promised. You promised! PLEASE!”
I watched in horror as she struggled to open his casket. The flower spray and photo of him on top toppled over as she screamed his name.
“Rosalie, baby, please,” I said, my voice cracking as I tried to drag her away from the casket.
“No. No. NO!” she screamed, fighting me. Her elbow caught me in the face, but I held tight, aware we had an audience. Her small body shook violently as tears flooded her pale cheeks.
“He needs his notebook! Don’t take him. Please, don’t take him. He-He needs it to write. Please. PLEASE!” She broke free of me and threw herself against his casket, clinging to it, her sobs echoing around us.
I glanced around, wishing I had help. Cole was too busy dealing with E’s new meltdown. He’d started to shake and cry the moment Rosalie let loose.
For the first time, I wished her father were still here. I’d tell him to take her away. To make it better. This wasn’t making her better.
And the kings weren’t here on account of it being too dangerous. They wanted to come, but I told them no. Too many targets in the same place.
I glanced around, wishing I had help. Anson stared at us, horrified, from his place in line. I gave him a sharp shake of my head because I knew if he came over, Cole would finally snap.
We had enough trouble.
“Rosalie,” Colten said softly as Jamie approached. “Hey, come on. It’s OK. It’s going to be OK.”
“It’s not,” she choked out as he reached for her. “I-I can’t do this. I can’t. I-I want to go with him. Please. His note-notebook. H-He can’t write without it. He needs it.” Her voice was a tiny, shaking whisper as she continued to cry. “Colt. Please. His notebook.”
“Shh. Come here.” I watched as Colten gently moved her away from the casket. “Enzo will make sure he gets his notebook, OK? We need to get you some water. It’s been a long day.”
“His notebook,” she whispered again, her hand moving back to the casket. “He needs it. A-And our picture. So he remembers me.”
“Oh, Rose, he won’t ever forget you,” Colten said thickly. “Come on. We need some air.”
He managed to move her away from the casket. He locked eyes with me, an unreadable expression on his face. Jamie followed them out of the room.
I chanced a look around to see visitors staring anywhere but at me. I swallowed hard and wiped at my eyes. None of us was in our right minds. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Fuck. Not like this… I was so fucking lost. This was my fault. Fuck, all my fault. I couldn’t fix it.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, my throat tight and more tears falling. “Brother. I’m so fucking sorry.”
Rosalie fell asleep on Jamie’s lap after we got home from the funeral. She cried herself to sleep. I didn’t have the heart to move her. Instead, I was surprised when E kneeled next to her.
Cole shot me a quick look as E reached out and gently brushed her hair away from her face.
“I’ll take her,” he said softly.
He didn’t wait for an answer. His hands visibly shook as he scooped her off Jamie’s lap and went to the hallway, passing Colten along the way.
I knew E wasn’t as strong as he once was and didn’t want him to drop her. Cole must have had the same idea as me, because he followed.
“E, do you need help?” I asked gently as he took the first step.
“N-No.” He shook again. “Yes. Please. Help.”
“E, let me.” Cole moved around him and took Rosalie into his arms. E collapsed against me, crying softly, his body shaking violently.
Cole shot me a look and took Rosalie to her room as I handled E.
“I-I can’t even hold my girl. It makes me so sick. I know where my body has been. I-I almost dropped her.” He jerked away from me, shuddering.
“It’s OK. She’s safe. You tried. That’s what matters.”
“She’s going to hate me so much. I’m so sick being near her, but I want her so fucking badly. It’s killing me.”
“You need to heal. She knows that. Come on. Let’s get you to bed. Tomorrow is a new day. A better day.”
He nodded morosely, and I led him to his room, where I helped him into bed.
“I know things are going to get bad,” he called out to me as I went to his door. “But I’m in, Enzo. If it makes it better. I know you will have a plan. I-I’m in.”
I nodded. “I can’t guarantee things will work out, but it couldn’t hurt, right?”
“I really hope not,” he whispered, closing his eyes.
I stepped out of his room and closed the door behind me, my throat tight. As much as I wanted to check on Rosalie, I forced myself away.
Things really were going to get bad.