“Emery?” At my voice, he looked up from his tablet. He knew what exactly was going on, but he was pretending not to, trying to give us a privacy that wasn’t needed. “Silas is going to sit with you. Is that okay?”
“Yeah.”
Silas, stuffing his hands in his pockets, shuffled towards the couch, then sat on the floor instead.
“He’s not a morning person,” Collin said.
I led the two towards the bedroom, where Enzo had hardly moved, although now the ice pack was tossed to the side of the bed and his arms were crossed over his chest. I swallowed against the offer of comfort.
“Enzo?” I knocked, waiting for his eyes to shift. “My friends are going to check out your knee.”
No reply.
I gave Collin an apologetic look.
“Don’t sweat it, man,” Collin laid a hand on my shoulder for a moment. Then, he entered the room, Emily following. He sat his bag on the edge of the bed, then stood back. “Emily is going to check you over. I’ll stand back here and watch.”
That at least got a nod.
“Enzo, right?” Emily asked, pulling out a few things from the bag. When she got a nod, she went straight to work. “I’m Emily. So, I hear your knee is bothering you?”
A nod.
“Is it okay if I take a look? I’ll have to touch you, but I’ll be as gentle as possible.”
“Whatever.”
I stepped back a bit more, not wanting to crowd them.
“We’ve got this, Ryker. Go check on the boys out there?” Collin suggested, lifting his chin towards the living room.
“But—”
“He’ll do better without you watching. I’ve been there, remember?”
I huffed out a breath but left them be.
In the living room, I found Emery and Silas. Neither was speaking, each pretending the other wasn’t there.
“You boys okay in here?”
“Yes, sir,” Silas answered.
I looked at Emery, and he just stared at me, like he was lost.
“You know, in order to make friends, you should talk?”
That got a shrug out of them both.
“Have you had breakfast yet, Silas? I know Emery hasn’t.”
“Kinda. I didn’t eat much. Emily was being a brat again.”
“Hmm.”
“Pancakes okay for you both?”
“With blueberries?” Emery asked, his look pleading.
