“Hey, you okay?” Kyle asked that night over dinner.
In the end, Emily had decided not to bring up going out with the group. She hadn’t wanted to be around people anymore. Instead, she and Kyle had picked up pizza on the way home as Emily no longer felt hungry. She stared down at her single slice of olive and sausage and felt no inclination to take more than a bite.
“You been pretty quiet.”
“Yeah,” she lied. “I’m fine.”
He glanced down at her untouched food and then back at her. “All right. I guess Rocco is going to eat well tonight.”
The dog, hearing his name, wandered over and plopped a hopeful butt down on the linoleum. The sound of his tail sweeping back and forth in gluttonous anticipation was audible. Emily tore off a piece of crust and tossed it to the mutt. She knew it wasn’t t
