My First, My Last, My Everything

Chapter 28

Gabriella

"Jay? Dinner's ready!" I called out and gave his bedroom door another knock.

I waited for his response, but silence greeted me instead. Slowly, I turned the doorknob and peeked into his room. Empty. No sign of him anywhere.

Where the hell did he go?

I stepped into the room, closing the door behind me. I casually wandered towards the bathroom, scanning its interior, but he wasn't there either. Just then, the door swung open, and his voice spilled out into the room.

I was about to step out of the bathroom, ready to remind him about dinner, when I caught him talking to someone.

"I don't care! Just knock them out or something," he exclaimed in an urgent but hushed tone.

Frowning, I leaned against the bathroom vanity, trying to piece together his conversation. It was clear he was upset, his brows knitted and his fists clenched.

"That's the second time he's attempting to escape and trying to leave with her. If I get one more complaint, I swear to God, I'm going to fucking kill all of you!"

Quietly, I exited the bathroom, leaning against the doorframe with my arms crossed. Jay was furiously typing on his phone, his face a mask of anger.

"You okay?" He glanced up, surprised to see me, his anger immediately vanishing.

"Hey... what are you doing in here? You've been standing there long?" I shrugged, making my way towards him.

"Yep, just came in a minute ago to let you know dinner's ready. You disappeared a couple of hours ago. Where've you been?" I approached him, and he held my hand gently.

"Just wandering around the house, getting a feel for the layout," he replied nonchalantly, and I nodded in understanding.

"Who were you talking to on the phone?" A flicker of something crossed his face as he glanced away.

"One of my guys, part of the gang. Why?" I shook my head.

"Oh, nothing. You sounded pretty mad during the call. Everything okay?" He moved towards the bed, removing his leather jacket.

"Yeah, it's nothing. Don't worry about it," he replied briefly, though his response didn't quite satisfy my curiosity.

After he changed, we quickly headed downstairs to join the others for dinner. The twins, Anthony, and Cleo—were all seated, already digging into their meals. Jay pulled out a chair for me, and I smiled as I sat down beside Marco, with Jay on my other side.

I glanced around the table, searching for Jeremy, but my attention was caught by Anthony, who was watching me over his wine glass. I shifted my gaze, ignoring his stare, and looked at Noah instead.

"Where's Jeremy?" I directed my question to Noah.

"In his room. He's skipping dinner, says he's not hungry." I nodded and turned my attention to the spread in front of me.

Salad, salmon, pasta, and lasagna. All the things I didn't particularly enjoy unless they were made a certain way. I pursed my lips, grabbed the wine glass, and took a quick sip.

Well, this just complicates things. What am I going to fucking eat now?

"What's wrong? Not feeling hungry?" Jay's concerned voice pulled me from my thoughts.

The conversation at the table fell silent, everyone's gaze on me.

"I... Am... not really into this kind of food," I replied to Jay, who seemed puzzled. He looked at the food, trying to understand.

"Why? It looks decent enough," he commented.

"She won't touch it because the salad's plain, but if it had some meat, she'd eat it. She can't salmon because she's allergic to due to all seafood. The pasta's too bare, but throw in some meatballs or whatever and she'll dig in. And the lasagna? Only chicken lasagna gets her attention—her favorite."

Anthony's words stunned everyone. He rattled off my food preferences and reasons for not liking certain dishes in front of the twins, Jay, and Cleo. It was shocking, considering our history and how much we know about each other.

"How do you know all that?" Jay's tone carried a hint of irritation.

Anthony met Jay's gaze, leaning back in his chair and casually tipping his wine glass before taking a long sip.

"These type of information comes in handy when you've got an enemy like her, that you've been planning to mess with her life for ages. Knowing these details can be useful," he stated coolly.

He wasn't being entirely truthful. He knew those intricacies because I'd shared them with him when we were dating.

Jay seemed to buy his story, as did Cleo.

"Useful? How?" Noah's curiosity came through.

"Let's say I've been tracking her down, hear she's headed to a restaurant. I set up the menu, including her favorites. She'd eat out of excitement, not suspecting the poison. Done."

His words made me shudder. He responded swiftly to Noah's question, but what if it wasn't just a lie to get Noah off his back? What if he was actually plotting something like that for the future?

"Relax, I am not planning on doing anything to any of you while you're staying under my roof. Plus, it's oddly nice dining like this, considering our histories," he added after a moment's silence.

"Do you want me to call Alice to get something else for you?" he offered, drawing puzzled looks from everyone for his unusual interaction with me.

"No, thanks. I'll do it myself," I replied before pushing my chair back and heading to the kitchen.

"Yeah, I almost forgot you're quite the cook too," Anthony's comment halted me in my tracks.

Turning around, I found him smirking while continuing with his dinner in silence. I shot him a warning look before leaving the dining room.

If he continued to carelessly give out more hints, it wouldn't take long for the others to get suspicious.

His knowledge on everything about me was not based on mere research or observation—it was personal, because I told him everything about me.