by K. S. Thomas
“You followed that trail of thought way too far, Coop.”
The corner of her mouth curves up. Just the one side. I can usually tell how lost she got in her own thoughts by how long it takes her to commit to a full smile again once she’s back out. Half a smile’s not too bad. “I was just wondering if maybe she was engaged at some point and it didn’t work out. I mean, maybe that’s why the ring finger. Maybe it’s subconscious. Maybe he ditched her at the altar. Or died. I mean, I could see how either one of those could seriously piss a person off.”
“An interesting idea. Tell you what, you go straight down this hall for two more class rooms, then turn left at the third door, that’s your second period. Feel free to continue to contemplate the aliens versus broken heart theory and tell us what you’ve concluded when we catch you later.”
She stops. “Later when?”
“Lunch. Just hang by the lockers closest to the cafeteria and we’ll find you.”
She nods and starts walking again, following the directions I gave her. Then she spins back around on her heel, grinning. “This is weird by the way. You treating me like it’s the first time I’ve ever started a new school and had to find my way around in uncharted territory.”
I’m about to answer her when Ed cuts in, “He’s not being nearly as nice as you think. Your next class is in the opposite direction, out the doors and to your left in the last trailer parallel to this building. And there aren’t any lockers to be found anywhere near the cafeteria.” He presses his lips together and shakes his head back and forth in slow motion. “At all.”
She briefly looks offended as she marches back to where she came from. Then, she grabs me by the arms in passing, yanks me to her and smacks her lips square against mine, laughing. “Thank God. I was starting to think our last stint in a holding cell made you go soft or something.”
Then she keeps walking backwards toward the doors, her eyes locked on mine and giving me the finger the entire way.
Reed
Present Day
After what feels like a small lifetime, I’m finally back to the same spot I stood this morning. Front steps to her building. My fingers grasp the door handle, and I take a moment to just stand here and let it all sink in. The last time I stood here, my entire life changed. Or maybe, it just changed back. All the missing pieces I’ve been struggling with all this time, no longer matter. Because I’m working on a completely different puzzle now and I’ve got Cooper to help me put it all back together.
I take a deep breath and use my free hand to reach for the buzzer. Her voice finds me through the intercom a few seconds later.
“Reed?”
“Yeah, babe. It’s me.” I’m home.
I can hear the hum of the door being unlocked and it clicks as I push it open. Right before the line goes dead, I catch the distinct sound of giggles. Someone’s with her. I smile. I smile because she’s got a friend who isn’t Gun. And I smile because she’s spent the evening with someone who’s happy for her. Happy for us.
I take two and three steps at a time just to get upstairs. She’s standing in the open doorframe waiting for me when I reach the top floor. Her long strawberry blonde hair is tied up in a loose bun and she’s wearing nothing but a tank top and sweats. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone more beautiful. I don’t even say hi, I just keep moving until she’s in my arms and my mouth is crushing hers, allowing me to taste her sweet lips while I cradle my entire world against my chest, close to my heart.
“I missed you,” she whispers. “Promise you won’t leave me again.”
“I promise.” From now on, everything we do, we do together.
She smiles and I can feel the motion on my own lips as she does. “Good.” She softly grazes her mouth over mine once more before she pulls away, tugging me by the hand over the threshold into her apartment. “Come on, there’s someone I want you to meet.”
I must have heard those words a hundred times over the last few years, and more often than not I was being introduced to someone who already knew me. It got to the point I dreaded the sound of that simple statement. It all changes tonight. This is Cooper’s world. Her friends. Her life. I want to know all there is to know.
“So, you’re the mysterious Reed,” a young woman says as soon as I’m inside. It’s not until I turn toward the living room that I see her. She looks about our age. Maybe a little younger. She’s got bright amber colored eyes, smiling almost as wildly as her mouth is. She’s got a great smile. And I’m not just thinking that because the last friend of Cooper’s I met was scowling at me the whole time we were stuck together.
She’s petite, smaller than Coop with purple streaks twisted into her black braids which reach all the way down to her butt. There’s something very fresh and carefree about her. I like her already. Whoever she is.
“The mysterious Reed?” I ask. “I didn’t know I had a reputation worthy of a title.”
“Oh, you have so much more than just a title.” She chuckles. “You have an entire legend to go with it. Or, would it be considered a fairy tale?” She tips her head toward Coop, who’s blushing so intensely, I think it’s turning her soft ginger colored hair a deeper shade of red.
“You’ll have to excuse Cammie,” Cooper replies, giving her friend a haughty glare she can barely keep going long enough to finish her sentence. Then she’s grinning again. “She spends a lot of her time hanging around the medieval realm. She can’t help herself.”
I step forward to take her outstretched hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Cammie.”
“Nice to meet you, too. And about time!” She shakes my hand. She’s got a firm grip for someone so tiny.
“How long have you two known each other?” I ask. Even if I’m fairly certain after her last statement that this is in fact our first meeting, I’d like to be sure.
“We met about six years ago.” She says, exchanging a glance with Cooper which I make a mental note to ask about later.
“Is that how long you’ve lived here?” I turn my attention toward Cooper now. I might as well make the most of this conversation because I don’t plan on talking much once Cammie says goodnight.
She shakes her head. “No.” She pauses and I don’t know if she’s waiting for me to actually verbalize my next question in spite of both of us knowing what it is, or hoping I won’t ask it all. Before I can decide whether to change course or not, she answers, “Cammie and I met through her brother, Ed. He went to school with us,” her voice trails off quietly. “You knew him.”
“He was a friend of mine?” I don’t have any friends named Ed now.
“No.” Cooper shakes her head, but doesn’t expound on her answer.
“My brother and Gun have been best friends since they lived in the same group home when they were seventeen,” Cammie fills me in. She’s very matter of fact about the whole thing and I kind of appreciate that she just laid it out for me. No emotions. No sugar coating. Just, the facts.
“Group home?”
Cooper pries her eyes away from Cammie who may have just been petrified by the dangerous glare sent in her direction, and turns back to me, looking slightly confused. “Yeah. That’s how Gun and I know each other. We both grew up in the system.”
Damn. That’s not the sort of thing I should have to be told a second time. But I’m hearing it like it’s brand new information, so now I have questions. Questions she’s probably already answered for me. Questions that probably dig up all sorts of painful memories for her, but questions I definitely need answers to.
“I’m sorry, Cooper. I...don’t remember.”
Her expression softens with a kind understanding and she lifts up onto her toes to gently press her lips to mine. “It’s okay, Reed. We have all the time in the world for me to remind you.”
“On that note,” Cammie says, slinking her way past us toward the door. “You two sound like you have some catching up to do. And me, I’ve got about ten hours of Netflix to get caught up on.” She winks at Cooper. “
See you two lovebirds later.” She pulls the door shut behind her and then, finally, it’s just us.
Cooper
It’s quiet, now that it’s just the two of us. The dark of night has settled in comfortably all around, leaving only the flicker of flames from the three candles I lit for light. It’s peaceful. Beautiful.
Lying on the couch against Reed’s chest, with his arms wrapped snuggly around me, I can feel the rise and fall of his breathing and it soothes my soul. He’s real. He’s here.
I close my eyes and inhale deeply, taking a moment to appreciate the shift. I’m not alone. Or, more importantly, I don’t feel alone. And not just because I’m cocooned in his entire being, but because his entire being is everywhere. Somehow, he has the power to fill every inch of this apartment. No matter which room I’m in, I can feel him there. It’s my favorite feeling in the world.
“I feel like there’s so much I don’t know,” he murmurs quietly behind my ear. “Scratch that. I feel like I know all there is to know...but, logically, I can’t help but see how much I’m still missing of you, even when you’re right here in my arms.”
“What do you want to know?” It’s weird, but the idea of letting him in, sharing my past with him all over again, makes me nervous. I know it shouldn’t. I know what we share is so much bigger than anything that’s happened to us, but part of me will always wonder how someone so beautiful ever fell in love with someone as flawed as me in the first place. And, I suppose, I worry whether he’ll be able to a second time.
His arms squeeze me tighter and his lips press to my temple. “Let’s start with something fun. Tell me how we met.”
I sigh, nestling myself deeper into my Reed cocoon and settling in for story time. “We met in high school. Senior year. I had just transferred and, it being my first day at a new school, I was having a bit of a hard time getting around.” It also didn’t help that Gun kept giving me wrong directions on purpose. Although, I suppose it did. It’s what led me to Reed.
“Let me guess, I took one look at you lost and alone and volunteered to be your guide.” I can hear the smile in his voice and I can’t help but grin myself.
“Something like that. You passed me in the hall on your way to the cafeteria and ran over three freshmen, knocking all their books to the floor in the process because you were so distracted by me.” I reach up to brush a stray strand of hair from my forehead. I feel like I’m that girl again. Walking down the halls, completely content with pretending not to give a shit when the most gorgeous guy on earth comes along and changes everything.
“I did not,” he argues playfully, but I think he knows it’s true. Better be. He must have told me the story a hundred times, even if I still never believed it. Although, I suppose I will now, since it’s the only memory we have to go on.
“Sure did. You even had to buy one of them lunch that day because another dude walking by stepped on his sandwich, which, you know, was only on the floor to begin with because of you. Well, me. At least, that’s how you always told it. I missed most of it because I was too nervous to look at you for more than two-thirds of a second at a time.”
He pulls me around to face him. “What about now?”
I reach up and let my fingers trace the outline of his face. His chiseled jaw, perfect mouth, and those warm blue eyes, are enough to make me never want to look at anything else ever again.
“Now? Now I could stare at you for all eternity.” I meant it to sound at least slightly silly, but it didn’t. It was one hundred and ten percent pure sap.
“Good,” he whispers, “Because I’m going to spend the foreseeable future falling in love with you for the second time, Cooper. And this time, I don’t want you to miss it.”
Chapter Ten
Gun
7 Years Earlier
“He asked me on a date,” she blurts out.
I can feel Ed’s eyes digging into the side of my head, waiting to hear my response. I don’t answer right away. Just keep staring at the TV in front of us and the baseball game we’re all supposed to be watching. I remind myself that the Red Sox are winning. That this puts me in a good mood. Then, I shrug, plaster a look of fake curiosity onto my face and turn toward her.
“And? What did you say?”
She blushes. The only time I’ve ever seen her cheeks go so red was when she was twelve and the new social worker she’d been reassigned to, called her Jane Doe in front of an entire police station filled with people. We’d been picked up for stealing a loaf of bread and some peanut butter after being on the streets for nearly a week without anyone coming around to bring us back. Anyway, even then, I think she was mostly flushed from being pissed.
“I said yes.”
I nod, turning my attention back to the game. “Good.”
“Good?” She sounds surprised.
“You like him, right?” I reach for the open bag of pretzels on the coffee table.
“I do.” She doesn’t seem nearly as convinced of this as she did two days ago when she was bouncing up and down and squealing about having met the cutest boy in school. It was completely out of character, but then that whole day had been off to an entirely too ‘normal’ start for her, and I assumed experiencing all the regular high school shit, including meeting the high school football star, had simply pushed her over the edge. Judging by the timid way she’s acting right now, she’s taking things to the extreme in the opposite direction today.
“Do you like him?” she asks, as if she needs my approval.
“Do I like Reed McAllister?” I laugh. “We don’t exactly hang in the same circles, Coop. But sure, what’s not to like, right?” I bump Ed with my elbow, trying to include him in this exchange to ease the weird tension this conversation is causing.
Ed snorts. “His sister, for one thing. That chick is crazy.”
Cooper frowns. “Who’s his sister?”
I’d answer, except I’ve never met her.
“Kerri. She graduated last year, but before that, everyone in school knew who she was. That girl was a commuter train to Crazyville, stopping every five minutes to pick up more suckers stupid enough to make the trip.” Ed reaches into the bag of pretzels on my lap and pulls out a handful. “Now, I’m not saying you’re dumb enough to jump on board, but you should know, that’s not going to stop her from jumpin’ the tracks and plowing your skinny ass over if she gets wind you’re dating her little brother.”
She shrugs. “I can handle crazy. That’s pretty much the only area I’m qualified in.” She twists around in her seat, lifting up to sit on her legs for more height and a better, more demanding angle as she continues to prod us. “But what about Reed? Are you guys saying you wouldn’t hang out with him? If he was with me?”
I sigh. “Listen Coop, whether we want to be buddies with your new big crush or not is a non-issue. He could be the coolest dude in the world, and I still wouldn’t tell you to start planning group playdates.”
Her big blue eyes give the distinct impression of a set prepping to disperse daggers, and her rounded little nose crinkles with dissatisfaction. “Why not?”
I arch my brow. She can’t be serious. “Because, Coop. The last thing a guy wants to find when he shows up to hang with a girl he’s into, is two other dudes. Just trust me on this. You’ll be better off if we keep our distance. At least for the time being.”
“Fine,” she huffs, yanking the pretzels from my grip and stomping her way out of the living room. From the sound of her footsteps, she’s headed for the kitchen. I’d yell for her to bring me a drink, but odds are, right about now, she’d toss it at my head before giving it to me like a civilized person.
“What was that?” Ed asks, reaching for the remote to mute the game. Apparently, we’re about to have a serious sort of conversation.
“What are you talking about? You were there. Cooper likes Reed McAllister.”
He nods dramatically. “Yeah. That part I got. What the hell was that bullshit you said about us staying outta their way so he
doesn’t get his little panties in a wad?”
“You saying he wouldn’t?” Let’s be real. I haven’t met a guy at our school yet who wouldn’t be intimidated, if not shitting his pants, if he showed up to take Cooper on a date and found me and Ed standing right behind her, ready to tag along and watch their every move.
“I’m saying, that’s not the reason you’re backing off. You don’t give a rat’s ass if Reed is uncomfortable.”
I lean my head back to listen for Cooper. Everything is still quiet.
“Of course I don’t care about Reed. This isn’t for him. It’s for her. She likes him and I don’t wanna screw it up for her.”
“Bullshit,” he starts up again.
“Not bullshit.” Probably the lamest comeback in the history of arguments.
“This has nothing to do with them. This, is about you.” Ed leans in closer and lowers his voice, “You’re a fucking coward. Admit it. You can’t tell her how you feel, but you can’t fucking face seeing her with someone else either.”
“Ah. I see now how you know that Kerri chick. You’ve been riding her crazy train.” I yank the remote from his hand, preparing to put a stop to this stupid conversation. “I don’t have feelings like that for Cooper.”
“What kind of feelings are they then exactly?”
I point the remote at the TV and pause. “The kind you have for someone you meet locked in a closet when you’re nine, sitting in the pitch black, drenched in your own damn pee, starving and fucking terrified.”
“Don’t give me that shit.” He waves his hand as if he could dismiss everything I’ve just said so easily. “You’ve been through hell and back with this girl. And yeah, the hell parts were ugly as fuck, but you and I both know you’d go to hell and stay there if it meant she didn’t have to go again. If that’s not love, what exactly do you think it is?”
I want to press my finger down on the volume so badly it hurts, but I can’t. It’s just locked into place, resting right above it, unable to move. “It’s not love. At least not the sort of fairytale crap she’s looking for.”