6. Anson
ANSON
“You good?” I asked E as he walked into the kitchen, where Klaus and I were working on food. Ryder was in the living room with Ellis, playing with dolls.
“Uh… I-I don’t know,” he mumbled. “I’m going to go. I have… I… I have to go.”
“Yeah, man. No problem,” I said gently.
“You’re welcome to stay for food,” Klaus said. “If you’re hungry. I didn’t poison anything.”
“He’s a decent cook,” I added.
E shook his head, looking distracted. “It’s fine. Thanks. I have to get back to Laz. It’s been a rough few days, and he needs me. He’s… having issues at school.”
“Kids can be dicks,” Klaus muttered. “Pay their parents a visit.”
“Considering it,” E said tightly. “Thanks for the offer of food. Perhaps another time.”
“Mister E!” Ellis called out, rushing to him as he made to leave. He paused and stared down at her.
“Hey,” he greeted her softly. “Miss Ellis.”
She giggled. “Mister E, can you please bring Lizard here so I can play with him? My daddy got a new doll for me, and I will let him play with it.” She pointed to Klaus, who had, in fact, picked up a new Barbie for her.
She held the pretty doll out to E.
“This is her. I will let him play with her.”
E chuckled softly. “I will tell him.”
“You can take my dollie and show him,” she said, her eyes wide.
“Oh, darlin, I can’t do that,” E said gently, kneeling so he was in her face. “This is your pretty doll. He wouldn’t want you to be without it.”
She nibbled her bottom lip for a moment. “OK. I’ll be right back.”
She dashed away, leaving E to hold her doll.
“Sorry,” I said. “She’s taken a liking to you. She’ll be hard to shake now.”
“Which is why you should stay for food,” Klaus added. “We made a lot.”
“I don’t… we always have takeout or nuggets,” E said, wincing. “I haven’t actually had a decent meal in a long time.”
“Then stay,” Klaus said before I could.
“I-I can’t. I need to get to Laz, plus, shit is weird right now.” E winced and looked away.
I had no idea what had gone down between him and Rosalie or him and Evan, but judging by his sadness, I’d say he was struggling on both fronts.
“I’ll make you a plate,” I said. “For you and Laz. You can eat together.”
E hesitated for a moment before stepping forward. Based on that response, I set to work putting food into a container for him and his son. Klaus added an extra serving of spaghetti to the bowl as I put some bread together for him.
“Did you guys make this? Like homemade?” E asked, watching me slice the fresh bread.
“Yeah.” I gave him a quick smile. “Noodles and all. My dad showed me how, and I learned the bread recipe from my mom when I was a kid. The sauce is my recipe.”
“Your dad,” E murmured. “Matteo.”
“Yeah.” I swallowed and continued to work.
“I’m sorry about him,” he said. He looked from me to Klaus. “You both lost someone special to you. I didn’t know him, but he kept Rosalie safe, and he saved Fox. That’s all I need to know about the man to know he was decent.”
I smiled at him. “He was a good man. All is well. He’s with my mom now, and that’s all that matters.”
E gave me a sad look.
“He’d hate Chicago now anyway,” Klaus said, smirking at E. “Wouldn’t care for the new management.”
E let out a soft huff. “I’m pretty sure half of that management came from his balls. Dom does a decent job.”
“He’s OK.” Klaus grinned. “Pain in the ass like his old man. So if you know Dom, then you know Matteo.”
“I do. Dom is… stubborn.”
“Like his old man.” Klaus put the lid on the bowl, and I added a bag of bread to the top.
“Take it. For you and Laz. If you hate the sauce, then Klaus made it,” I said, nudging Klaus in the ribs.
He rolled his eyes and reached into the cupboard next to him and pulled out a jar of store-bought pasta sauce.
“Ethan, I made this, not that. Don’t let him fool you,” Klaus said.
E laughed softly at that. “I’m sure the sauce will be amazing.”
I didn’t get to say anything because Ellis came back into the room holding a toy dinosaur. She’d glued a tiny crown to its head long ago and put one of her pink Barbie tutus on it to make it pretty.
She handed it to E.
“Give this one to Lizard, Mister E. I think he will like it. It’s a dinosaur.”
“It has a crown and a skirt,” E mused softly.
“It was a scary dinosaur,” she said, her eyes big as she stared up at him. “I thought this would make him not scary, but he is still a little bit.”
E chuckled as he stared at the T. rex in a dress and crown.
“Will you give it to Lizard?”
“Yes. I will give it to him,” E said, holding the dinosaur.
“If he scares him, tell Lizard to put him in a drawer. It makes him less scary,” Ellis said matter-of-factly.
E huffed out another laugh. “I will be sure he gets the message.”
“Can he come play with me, though?” she asked. “Please, Mister E?”
“I’m sure you’ll get to meet him soon; then you two can play.”
“And Daddy? Will you tell my daddy to come see me? I miss him.”
A painful expression crossed E’s face. “Yes, darlin’. I’ll tell your daddy.”
Ellis surged forward and hugged E quickly before running back to Ryder and picking up her dolls again.
“Sorry about her,” I said. “She’s been adamant about meeting your boy and seeing Cole. He’s left quite the impression on her.”
“He has that effect on people,” he murmured as he watched Ellis play. “She looks a lot like him, but she’s also Rosalie. It’s so crazy to see…”
“Well, she’s also fiery like Rosalie and has a lot of Cole’s traits,” I said.
“She showed me how to throw a right hook yesterday,” Klaus said. “I’m certain she didn’t learn that here.”
“Cole,” E muttered, shaking his head.
I nodded. Fucking Cole.
I didn’t hate it, though. I liked that he wanted to teach her. I was hoping something could be worked out with him so Ellis could still have him in her life. Rosalie seemed so conflicted and hurt that I didn’t want to push the subject with her.
“Well, thank you for this. I appreciate it,” E said, taking the food.
“Anytime, man,” I said, watching as he backed away.
He left without a word, leaving me to stare at Klaus.
“Who are you going to talk to? Rosalie or Evan?”
He sighed before frowning and looking over to the living room. Ryder was gone.
“Where did Ryder go?” I called out to Ellis.
“He went to see Mommy.” She continued to brush her doll’s hair. “He said Mommy needed a hug from him.”
“What?” I looked at Klaus.
“You’re a fool,” he said, laughing softly before clapping me on the back. “I’ll go talk to Evan. You talk to Rosalie. And Ryder. I think you need to.”
I had no idea what the fuck was going on, but something low in my guts twisted hard, and I pushed it away.
Ryder wouldn’t…
He was her friend, too. Nothing more. He promised me.
I breathed out.
Klaus was being paranoid and fucking with me.
At least that’s what I repeated to myself as I made my way to Rosalie’s room.