Page 266 of When We Fall: Part One

“You’ll come for me, and then you’ll breathe again. You’re going to feel good. You’re going to forget about the murderous thoughts. The pain. The fear,” Enzo whispered in my ear as he continued to stroke my cock. “Your focus will be on making our girl happy.”

“I didn’t tell you to jerk me off, De Luca,” I rumbled breathlessly as I let my head fall back against the tiles again after having looked down to watch his fist on my dick.

He chuckled softly. “Yeah, but you’re leaking your precum all over my hand, so clearly you’re not that against it. And let’s be honest, you’ve wanted me to get you off since that first time I showered with you.”

I groaned softly, remembering that day. It was right before we started focusing on Rosalie. We’d fucked with one another, and I’d secretly been a little curious because fuck it, why not? Nothing ever happened, but my dick was hard.

I parted my lips, my breathing ragged as he continued to jerk me.

“Let go,” Enzo commanded. “You feel my hand on your cock? That’s me doing whatever it takes to keep us together. To keep everything we’ve built from catching fire and burning to the ground. This is me fucking trying, Cole.”

I came with a low moan, my cock twitching in his hand. My body jerked with the intense pleasure while I clutched his wrist, feeling him stroke me.

My orgasm slowly drained, leaving me breathing hard. The only other sound was the water pelting the tiles.

Then, Enzo’s soft sobs.

I wrapped my arms around him, and we clung to one another beneath the warm spray.

“I can’t fuck this up,” he choked out, his face buried in my neck. “We can’t. Everything is falling apart. Fox is going to leave. He told us tonight. She turned down her recording contract because of E. We’re ruining their lives.I’mruining their lives.Our lives.I don’t know what to do anymore. I’m so fucking lost. I’m so lost.”

I held him through his sobs. I’d never seen him break like this before. I was still trying to process what he’d just said to me.

“She… had a recording deal offered to her?” I asked. “Foxy is leaving us?”

Enzo pulled away and wiped at his eyes.

“Yeah. She did. E lost it on her a few weeks ago. Begged her to never leave. That he needed her. Couldn’t live without her. He didn’t know she’d gotten the deal. She only told me.” He sniffled. “She promised him she’d stay. She turned down the deal. It’s why Anson was here. He found out and was trying to stop her from doing it.”

“Fuck,” I whispered, all the ugly memories coming back. I’d nearly killed Anson that night when he’d barged into our house, intent on getting to her bedroom. I thought he was trying to take her away. That he was fed up and was just going to grab her and go.

“I-I fucked up,” I said.

“We’re all fucking up. It’s not just you.” He closed his eyes briefly before opening them. They still glistened with tears. “Ineed to marry her faster. If Fox is serious, and we both know he’ll get the NFL, then I need to lock this in to keep us together. It’s the only thing I can think to do.”

“We can just talk to them?—”

“Cole, don’t you think I tried? Fox isn’t himself lately. I don’t know what’s happening, but he’s not our Fox. He’s depressed. I’m worried about him. It’s different than what E goes through. E spirals, and we always catch him. I don’t think we can catch Fox when he falls.”

“When?” I winced.

“When, brother. Not if. It’s going to happen. We need to stop this shit.”

“What are you thinking?”

“Rosalie. He lives and breathes for her. We all do, but the way Fox does it? I can’t compete with it. None of us can. I-I need to lock her in. Give her my last name. I-I’m going to move the engagement party forward. Classes end next week. We can make it happen; maybe it’ll excite her, and she’ll move the wedding too. It’s all I can do. I’ll give her the best fucking engagement party I can give her.”

“I… I’m onboard with it. I don’t want to lose her or Fox. I’m in, brother.”

He rested his forehead against mine.

“I love you,” he whispered. “You’re my best friend, man. You, Fox, and E. If one of us falls, we all fall.”

“If we fall, we won’t stay down for long,” I said fiercely. “I promise you that. We’ll get you married to our girl, and then we’ll get her that recording deal. I’ll-I’ll contact Anson myself and talk to him. I will… I won’t get her pregnant. I’ll wait so she can have her dreams.” The words splintered my soul, but I loved her so fucking much I was willing to let go of my desires to give her anything I could. At least I’d try.

“OK,” he said, pulling away from me. “Come on. Let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow is a new day. I’ll have to sit down and talk to her. No fighting, OK? Don’t tell her I told you about the recording contract. Let’s just focus on making her happy.”

“OK,” I agreed. “Whatever it takes.”