Seven’s expression grew smug. “You heard me.”
“I don’t have a…a…teen girl movie obsession. What does that even mean?” Enzo lied. “You make me sound like a pervert or something.”
“Oh, my God,” Seven crowed. “Your face is so red right now. Are you okay? Do you need your blood pressure pills or something, Daddy?”
“Are you calling me old, you little brat?” Enzo asked, digging his fingers into Seven’s ribs until he dissolved into peals of laughter.
“Let me go. Let me go,” he gasped between giggles. “I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Enzo finally released him, letting him catch his breath, but pointed at him to let him know the fight wasn’t over, just paused.
“Vince totally ratted you out,” Seven said, once he was no longer gasping for air.
“What?” Enzo asked, even though he’d heard him perfectly fine.
“Vince said you’re obsessed with teen movies.Twilight,Mean Girls,Clueless,Can’t Hardly Wait,The DUFF. What’s that about? He promised me it wasn’t about the girls.”
“The girls?” Enzo echoed, his eyes going wide when he caught on, face twisting in disgust. “Ew, no. I just…high school sucked for me. Actually, all school sucked for me, but especially high school. I just like watching movies where the underdog actually wins. Sue me.”
“Why? What do you mean?” Seven asked. “There’s no way you were a bad student. Mama would have murdered you. Did they bully you for being a hot nerd?”
“Well, you’re half right,” Enzo muttered. “The truth is far more embarrassing than that.” When Seven continued to look at him expectantly, Enzo said, “Vince really didn’t tell you? He didn’t show you?”
Seven shook his head. “Was it something serious? Show me what?”
Enzo groaned, then hid his face in Seven’s neck, even though it required contorting himself into an uncomfortable position to do so.
“Is it really that bad?” Seven asked.
“Yes,” Enzo cried, his dramatics dragging another laugh from Seven.
Seven combed his fingers through Enzo’s hair, blunt nails scratching at the nape of his neck. “You don’t have to tell me.”
Enzo groaned. “It’s more of a show thing.”
“You don’t have to show me either if you don’t want to,” Seven said.
Enzo rolled back, then sighed, reaching for his phone. “Just promise me you won’t run away.”
“Jesus, what could possibly be that bad?” Seven asked, looking completely bewildered. “Did you have a hump? A third nipple? Is that what all those tattoos are hiding?”
Enzo went to his mother’s Facebook page, then searched by date, grimacing when he found what he was looking for. He threw the phone in Seven’s general direction, then covered his face. When Seven stayed silent for too long, he peeked between his fingers. Seven was staring at him with that flat expression he reserved for when he thought Enzo was being extra.
“What is it that I’m supposed to be looking at right now, exactly?”
“Me,” Enzo muttered.
Seven bit the corner of his lip as he watched Enzo practically writhing in embarrassment. How was this the same man who made Seven weak when he called him brat? The same man who took care of him so well when he was falling apart? Like tonight. How was he such a perfect contradiction?
“Where?” Seven asked, squinting at the phone, looking at what must have been a family photo. Twenty plus people were crowded together—kids looking in every direction but at the camera, and adults trying to smile through their aggravation. “You do remember how many siblings you have? And, no offense, but your mom kind of just hit copy-paste. I have no idea which one is you.”
Enzo uncovered his face long enough to jab a finger at his pre-teen self. “That’s me.”
Seven’s breath caught taking in the image before him. Enzo was shorter than most of his brothers, stockier, with broader shoulders, and he was adorably chubby. He had an unfortunatepair of brown plastic frames resting crooked on his otherwise perfect nose, and a face full of acne and that little shadow over his lip that some boys got when they hit puberty.
Seven began crafting a text to Enzo’s mother in his head. He needed more photos of baby Enzo. All the photos. Immediately.
“Aww,” Seven simpered. “Look at you. So cute.”
