Page 70 of Enzo
And that was that.
Except it isn’t.
No one moved away from me, and the silence stretched too long, turning thick and awkward. I could feel Rio’s amusement, Enzo’s gaze, my pulse thudding loud in my ears.
Then—
“Yo! Rio!” Jamie called.
Rio winked at me and then ambled across the garage to where Jamie was brandishing a tailpipe. On the other hand, Enzo didn’t move.
“If Rio pressured you into helping out…” he said, his voice careful, measured, as if I didn’t know my own mind, as if I’d been tricked into agreeing. It made my skin prickle with frustration. I wanted to do something normal—just once, without him watching me like I might break.
“He didn’t pressure me;hethinks I can do it.”
His concern felt suffocating, winding me up more with every second that passed. I clenched my jaw, trying to keep my irritation in check, but the exasperation swelled inside me, a mix of anger and helplessness I couldn’t shake. I knew what I was, knew that I was a victim, but that didn’t mean I wanted to be treated like one. And yet, the one person I wanted to see me as something more—as a man, as capable—was the same one who kept watching me as if I were seconds from falling apart. It grated, sharp and unbearable. My fists clenched at my sides, my jaw tightened, and I swallowed against the frustration clawing up my throat.
Enzo exhaled, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “Yeah, but, I know what Rio can get like, and if you don’t want to do it, that’s fine. You don’t know cars…”
My jaw tightened. “I can learn.”
Enzo held my gaze, steady, unreadable. “I never said you couldn’t.”
“But you thought it!” The words slipped out, raw and heavy with the weight of something too big to hold inside. My chest felt tight, my breath shallow, and I hated how overwhelmed I felt—how small. All that time sitting with him, letting him hold me, I’d been sharing my vulnerabilities and he was throwing it back in my face.
“No—”
“I was so excited, I wanted to do it, and you’re… you’ve ruined it… and I’m not… I’m…” My voice cracked, and I swallowed hard, my fists curling not in frustration but to keep myself from shaking.
Enzo hesitated, his expression softening. A flush crept up his neck as he reached back to rub at it, his tell when he didn’t quite know what to say. “It’s just… the guys can get rowdy off the clock.”
I let out a shaky breath. “Maybe I need rowdy,” I whispered. “Maybe that’s who Robbie Ellwood is now. Maybe that’s who I must be for you to stop treating me like I’m pathetic. I know I broke down after John tried to get in, but I’m allowed to do that. It’s real, and I felt it, and I was terrified, but that doesn’t mean I’m completely broken!”
His eyes widened, and he looked as though my words had knocked the breath from him. His lips parted as if he wanted to argue, to say something that would fix whatever had cracked between us, but no words came. Instead, his hesitation stretched a second too long, his uncertainty deepening the space between us.
“I don’t… I try…” he started, his voice softer.
I shook my head, unwilling to hear whatever careful thing he was about to say. “Please, don’t,” I murmured, then turned and headed straight for my room, yanking the door shut behind me. My breath shuddered as I pressed my back to it, my pulse still too fast, my thoughts too tangled. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing the wave of emotions to pass, but the ache only deepened.
Enzo knocked. I didn’t answer, my fingers digging into the fabric of my shirt as I tried to steady myself. For a moment, silence stretched between us, thick and heavy. Then his voice filtered through the door, hesitant. “Shit, Robbie?—”
“I’m working!” I called to stop him, attempting to sound indifferent, but the tightness in my chest betrayed me. A softthudfollowed—Enzo’s head meeting the door, maybe. I squeezed my eyes shut, biting the inside of my cheek, torn between wanting him to go and wanting him to push, fight for me, and see me as more than someone who needed saving.
“We’ll talk later,” he said, his voice lower, uncertain.
“Go away, Enzo, and let me work.”
I felt hollow, as though something vital had drained out of me, leaving behind only exhaustion. My chest ached, my mind spinning with too many thoughts I didn’t want to untangle. Frustration gnawed at me, but beneath it was something close to grief. I wanted Enzo to see me differently, to treat me like I was capable, not fragile.
I’d been so fucking excited, and I’d wanted him to be happy for me. But when I thought about it, why wouldn’t he be concerned? When I jumped at every sound, when I hid in this fucking room, when I flinched at things that shouldn’t bother me—how could I expect him to treat me like I was fine when all I did was prove otherwise?
I wanted to be angry at him, but the truth was, he had every reason to worry. I barely slept or let myself exist outside safe spaces, and I knew I still carried the weight of what had happened like a shadow that refused to let go. Maybe I wasn’t fragile, but I sure as hell acted like I was. I was tired of it, tired of feeling like I was stuck in a place I couldn’t escape, but I couldn’t blame him for seeing it too.
I swallowed hard, frustration warring with the deep, aching truth I didn’t want to admit.
I opened my door, and there was Enzo, leaning against the wall. The second he saw me, he straightened, his expression shifting from unreadable to something softer, something almost regretful.
“I know you can work on the car. You can do anything you want to do,” he said, his voice low but firm. “You’re so fucking clever, Robbie. Smarter than any of us, and I’m sorry I ruined it for you.”
