AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Eat first, and then you can shower.” Darien stalked to the fridge and pulled open the door. He rummaged through the contents, the glow from inside reflecting on his boots, jacket, and the rings that were shaped like skulls and horned monster heads. “What would you like to eat?”
“It doesn’t matter.” She watched him continue to look through the fridge. “You’re not actually going to cook me a whole meal at this hour, are you?”
“I can help,” Ivy offered as she walked in, the others trailing behind her. She shed her trench coat and hung it up in the foyer just down the hall.
Darien straightened, those remarkable eyes meeting hers. “You need to eat.”
“Yeah, but we could just…order something?”
“Is that what you want?”
Eugene hissed, “That’s what I want.”
“I want whatever’s easiest.” Her eyes flicked to the others who were now scattered throughout the kitchen and living room. Everyone was watching her, even the young boys. “And whatever everyone else wants,” she added.
“And I want you to stop trying to please other people,” Darien said. He shut the fridge door and took out his phone. “Name a food and I’ll order it for you.”
She nibbled on her lip. “A chicken burger, please.” That should be easy enough to find. And relatively cheap. “And maybe a salad?”
“Communication’s still disabled?” Darien’s question was for Tanner.
“I never lifted it,” Tanner replied. He pulled out a chair at the kitchen table.
“I’m going to need that other credit card number.”
Tanner paused in the midst of sitting down. He dug his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans, found a paper card tucked in one of the slots, and handed it to Darien.
It didn’t take Darien long to find a restaurant that had chicken burgers on the menu. “Extra pickles?” With his focus on his phone, it took Loren a second to realize his question was for her.
As he waited for an answer, his eyes flicked up to meet hers.
She chewed on her lip. “Does it cost extra?”
He didn’t answer, and as soon as he was done placing her order, he added the others’ to the bill.
“Did anyone remember to pack my wallet?” Loren asked.
Jack sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. “Darien’s your wallet.” He laughed, and Kylar, who’d grabbed a video game controller off the coffee table, punched him in the arm. “Ow!”
Loren’s face warmed. “Absolutely not.”
Darien was staring at her, his phone frozen in those heavily tattooed hands. “You can pay me back when we get home. But for now, you won’t worry about any price tags. Deal?” She supposed she could live with that.
“Okay.” She nodded. “Deal.”
The food arrived after thirty-five minutes.
Once that first bite was in her mouth, the flavors exploding across her tongue, Loren realized just how hungry she was. She ate the burger—and the extra pickles—faster than she’d consumed anything in her life, for once not caring that everyone was stealing glances at her, all of them more interested in her than they were their own food. Especially Darien, who was the last to dig into his food. Loren was one of the first to finish, beat only by Jack and Tanner, who were quick to retreat into the living room and continue their game. A racing one, by the looks of it. Rushin’ Racers, the screen said.
Now that everyone was finished eating, Kylar stood and cleaned up the takeout containers. “Pax, Gene—off to bed. Right now.”
Paxton had nearly made it to the living room. “Aww, man!” he complained, tossing his head back. “Do we have to?”
Eugene said, “Can we play just one race?”
“It’s almost Witching Hour,” Kylar pointed out. He dumped the takeout containers into the trash. “Bed—now.”
The kids dramatically stomped to the staircase and made their way upstairs, calling “Goodnight” over their shoulders with a grudge.
