“He has the best dad,” I murmured.
E let out a little laugh, a sad smile on his face. “I’m sorry. I came in here to kick your ass and tell you to fuck off forever, but damnit. You always did have a way of making everyone love you.”
“It’s my personality,” I joked softly. “My mom always told me I could charm the skirt off a nun.”
E laughed softly at that. “She wasn’t wrong.”
“Still hate me?” I asked, smiling at him.
“Fuck you,” he said, chuckling. “Yes. But I’m working on it. I hate you a lot less now. It comes in waves.”
“Then call me the sea.” I squeezed his hand.
He wiped at his eyes with the other one. “You’re going to tell Cole and Enzo?”
I nodded. “Yeah, man. I am. They’ll hate me, too, but it needs to happen.”
“If we didn’t bury you, who did we bury?” he asked after a moment of silence.
I chuckled softly. “Morbid as it is, you buried one of my old football jerseys. Thought it was fitting since that life was over.”
“We’ve been going to the cemetery to visit your dirty fucking laundry for five years?” E stared at me.
I shrugged. “Yeah.”
“What the fuck, man?” He let out a laugh that made me grin. “God, you’re an asshole. I do fucking hate you. This just made it worse.”
I smiled at him. It felt good to be in the room with him. A lot had changed for both of us, but he was still E, only a stronger version now.
“I needed this,” he said, staring at me again. “Thank you.”
“Of course.”
“I am still going through the shock of you being alive, so it might take me some time, but I really do hate you less now.”
“I know. I understand.”
He nodded. “Take care of Rosalie, OK? No matter the outcome here. She’s one of the best parts of this fucked up world. Maybe once I have my shit sorted and feelings in check, I can…” his voice trailed off. “Well, we’ll see.”
“OK.” That was acceptable to me. He hadn’t taken joining us off the table, and honestly, I wanted him to take his time with it. It was a big step.
He got to his feet, and I followed.
“Have you considered an eye patch?” E asked, nodding to my fucked up eye. “Since I gather that you don’t like anyone to see it.”
“No. Actually, I never thought about it before, but that’s not a bad idea.”
“Well, I have my good idea moments. World won’t be so dark that way.”
“I actually use contacts sometimes, but they feel weird and make me… upset.”
He raised his brows at that.
“It’s the having something in my eye,” I mumbled. “Reminds me of the torture.”
A pained look crossed E’s face.
“It’s something I should work on, though. I can see out of it a little. Maybe there’s a surgery or something for it, but I haven’t looked into it. Figured I liked the possibility in my head, but was scared of the reality if I was told there was nothing that could be done.”
