Page 28 of Burning Embers
“I think you look nice,” Lissa interjects. She sits at the center island with a single pancake in front of her, and she grabs thesyrup and begins to pour it over top. “The sweater would look better if it was pink, of course. But then again, everything looks better as pink. Sweaters, pants, dresses, shoes, socks…”
She sighs wistfully, seemingly oblivious to the syrup that’s still continually trickling over her single pancake.
Jake, however, reaches for the bottle. “You’re gonna give yourself a cavity,” he chastises.
She simply sticks her tongue out at him and resumes eating.
“What do you want to eat, Izzy?” Hale asks, drawing my attention back to him. “It’s your first day at a new school, so I decided to go all out.”
“The pancakes are really good,” Lissa says around a mouthful.
I wince nearly imperceptibly and blow out a breath. I’m not the biggest breakfast eater, having not had the option at most of my old foster homes. I’ve gotten used to coffee and nothing else, except for the occasional granola bar. Still, Hale went through all this effort…
“Eggs, please?”
“Right on it.” Hale expertly scoops a spoonful of scrambled eggs onto a plate and hands it to me.
I take it and return to my position beside Jake, who’s still protecting his damn bacon like it’s an Infinity Stone.
Jake catches the direction of my stare and scowls. “Don’t even think about it, new girl.”
“Jake, share,” Hale reprimands.
Lissa chuckles.
“I share a lot of things in life,” Jake retorts haughtily. “But not my bacon. Never my bacon. A man shouldn’t be forced to.”
“That sounded oddly sexual,” I murmur, too low for Hale or Lissa to hear.
Jake does, however, and snickers.
“Head out of gutter, new girl.” He jostles me with his shoulder.
“What about you, Seth?” Hale says. “We have eggs, pancakes, and baco?—”
“No bacon!” Jake all but growls.
I turn slightly, coming face-to-face with the third foster kid I have yet to be introduced to.
He’s young. I can tell that just by looking at him. He’s probably a few years younger than even Lissa. His brown hair flops in front of his face, obscuring his right eye from view, but his left eye studies the room with an astute intensity I’ve never seen on such a young face before. He wears an oversized gray hoodie, loose jeans, and a pair of huge red headphones that rest around his neck.
His gaze flicks to me for a fraction of a second before he dismisses me, focusing back on Hale. Instead of answering, he simply places his headphones over his ears, grabs his backpack off the floor, and heads out of the kitchen.
Hale sighs heavily.
“Don’t mind Seth,” Jake tells me, waving a piece of bacon in front of my face. I have to rein in the urge to lean forward and bite down on it, stealing it from his hands. “He’s a sweet kid, but…”
“Seth sees the world differently than we do,” Hale cuts in when it’s apparent Jake isn’t going to continue. “Change is always hard on him, so your appearance here is something he’ll have to get used to.”
“I’m sorry,” I say immediately, wincing.
I knowexactlyhow hard change can be.
“Don’t be sorry, new girl.” Jake gives my shoulder a squeeze before pushing away from the counter. “You just need to give him a chance to open up to you.” He glances at his watch before turning his attention back to me. “You almost done? We need toleave now if we’re going to make it to school early enough for you to find your classes.”
“We have to drop Seth off at his private school first,” Lissa says as she shovels the last of her sugar-drenched pancake into her mouth.
School.