The Son of Red Fang by Diana Sockriter novel Chapter 208

Chapter 208

He whispers as Lucas snickers. I let out a low growl stopping them both. I step behind Cole’s chair, placing my hand on his shoulder.

“Lean your head back against me and look around the table. Tell me what you would like,”

It takes him a minute to comply, I can feel his hesitation with touching me. It doesn’t seem to matter that we were just laying together, his nervousness remains the same.

Once his head is against my chest I start naming off the dishes on the table.

“We’ve got pot roast with diced potatoes, carrots, onion and celery. Green beans sautéed with onions and bacon. Macaroni and cheese and dinner rolls. I. know the spread isn’t as big as the dining hall or banquet hall but there’s got to be something you’re interested in eating.”

He leans forward looking at the table before opening his mouth as if to say something. He sighs with a huff as he leans back against me. I patiently wait for his response as I run my fingertips along his shoulder.

“I guess I’ll have a little of the meat and vegetables that are with it. Just keep it small. I don’t like wasting and I really don’t think I’m going to be able to eat tonight.”

“I need you to try.” I emphasize gently, handing him a pack of Zofran. “This will help ease any queasiness you have.”

He nods his head in understanding as I give him the same serving I give to my girls and set it down in front of him before serving my own plate. He concentrates on his plate, staying out of the conversation going on around him as I take my seat.

I remain silent as well, simply observing the body language of everyone there while I eat. Patrick and his son have joined us, as they do most nights. Parker is actively talking about the Super Bowl coming up in a few weeks.

“Do you watch or play any sports, Cole?”

Patrick surprises me with a desire to include Cole in the conversation.

“No sir. I wasn’t allowed anything extra at school and just completing high school was a huge struggle after I turned fifteen.”

“What happened? You couldn’t handle the work? I mean you can’t be that stupid if you’ve yet to get caught diddling little girls.”

My stomach jolts at the sound of such viciousness.

“Lucas, you have been warned about your comments.”

“You’re mean, Luke.” Madilyn cries as she hits Luke in the head.

“Hey, don’t do that.” Lucas protests as she hits him again.

“Madilyn, stop!” His voice is clear and commanding. Everyone freezes as she stares at Cole. “Revenge is ugly. You must never seek it.”

“But he hurt you. It hurts me when he hurts you.”

She has tears in her eyes as he goes silent again, looking down at his plate chasing his meat around with his fork.

“I got sick.” Everyone but Cole looks up at the sound of his voice.

“When I was fifteen I ended up in the hospital for two months with septicemia. When I got out, I had no immune system so the doctor insisted that I switch to virtual learning for the rest of the year. My school gave my father the information on how to enroll me since I had a medical note he could start me at any time and they would allow me to make up the work.

He never enrolled me into the virtual academy which forced them to fail me instead. I wasn’t the same when I returned to repeat ninth grade in September. The principal and teachers didn’t like the situation they were seeing with me and wanted to help. So, they went behind dad’s back and purchased a laptop, modem and wifi setup so I could connect to the internet anytime I was unable to attend school.

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