“Want me to walk you?”
I look up into those perfect blues.
So beautiful.
Full of hope.
Everything about Rex is too good to be true. Sooner or later, the hat will drop and the way he’s got me feeling, I’m not gonna land on my feet. “If you keep hanging out with me, Rex, people are gonna start talking.”
He shrugs, slipping his hand in mine. He brings my palm to his lips and plants a featherlight kiss on my knuckles. “They already are. I don’t care what anyone thinks, Piper. I like you.”
“You shouldn’t.” The words taste like crow because I want Rex to like me. Goodness, I want him to like me. “Whatever this is between us, it will only end in heartbreak.”
“You don’t know that.”
But I do. There’s only four weeks until Gerald is released. I shouldn’t let myself get used to having Rex around. Shouldn’t like the way my hand
feels in his. But I do. God, I do.
“Nice flower,” Cooper chides. He leans against the navy blue handrail in the stairwell, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. If looks could kill I’d be dead already, but Death’s a finicky bitch.
I pluck the daisy from behind my ear and let it fall to the floor. I try to keep my voice steady, but inside I’m shaking. Things have been off between us this year and progressively getting worse. He is, and forever will be, my best friend, but still… “What’s up Coop?”
He stands up straight and steps towards me, stopping inches from my face. Cooper’s not aggressive. On the football field he does what he needs to do to win the game, but off the field he’s a teddy bear. This new side of him is a little scary. “You tell me, Piper.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I take a step back. Even with a few inches between us, I’m trembling. I’m not afraid of Cooper. He won’t hurt me. He’s just angry. Keep telling yourself that.
Cooper reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. He swipes the screen a couple times before shoving a group Snap story in my face. Fucking Snapchat. There’s a still of me pressed against Tad with a “play” triangle on it. I take his phone and start the video. It backs up a few seconds, to where I'm dancing like an uncoordinated stripper and then Tad comes up behind me. Bits of fragmented memories come together as I watch two minutes of my life play out for the world to see. My head falling back against Tad’s chest. His lips finding the soft skin of my neck. I reach up and touch where I think they’ve been, where Rex’s were last night. And then it stops.
My gaze falls to my feet. I can’t look Cooper in the eye. The last time I drank like that was over a year ago. When I kissed him. I can only imagine what he thinks of me. Of my reputation. Poor, broken Piper seeking attention from all the wrong people. That’s not the case but I know Cooper. The pessimist in him will assume the worst. I scroll through the group, looking for Rex’s name. I find Logan’s and a few others I recognize, but not his. Satisfied, I hand Cooper back his phone. “How many people have seen this?”
“There’s at least a hundred in the chat and I don’t know how many comments.” He shakes his head in disgust. “So much for your reputation being bullshit, Piper.”
There it is. My reputation, the one I’m trying hard as hell to get rid of has bitten me in the ass once again. Cooper knows the truth about what I did and didn’t do this year. Through it all, he’s stood by my side, never batting an eye at the rumors. Now, it looks like he’s second guessing everything that’s ever been said about me. Cooper puts the phone to sleep and shoves it back in his pocket. “What were you thinking?”
That I needed to make the memories go away. That for one stupid night in my life I wanted to feel normal and have a little fun. “I don’t know, I guess I wasn’t. What does it matter? Girls get drunk and hook up all the time.”
Cooper’s brows furrow. “So you hooked up with Tad?”
The disappointment etched on his face burns a hole in me. Even though I didn’t do anything wrong, I feel guilty. Dirty. “No. Of course not. I’m just saying me having a good time isn’t a big deal.”
“That’s bullshit, Piper, and you know it.” Cooper pauses, chewing on the inside of his cheek, mulling over his words. He’s right, it’s a huge deal. A step in my long-awaited recovery. A moment Cooper’s probably upset he missed. “This was at Rex’s house wasn’t it?”
I groan. Somehow, I knew this would circle back to Rex. For reasons I can’t fathom, Cooper’s hated the guy since he moved here back in January. Although, because of how nice Cooper is to everyone, you’d never know. Not until he let you in enough to show his true colors. “Does that even matter?”
“I knew it was just a matter of time until Rex sucked you in. This whole nice guy thing that he’s got going on, it’s just an act. A fucking act that you’re stupid enough to fall for like every other girl in the school. At least they aren’t changing themselves to get his attention.”
“Really?” That’s the angle he’s working? “That I’m different? Sorry to rock your world there, Coop, but I don’t have to be moody and pissed off all the time. I’m eighteen years old! I can laugh and have fun every once in a blue moon! But I forgot, I can only be happy when you’re around.”
“Your partying and letting people touch you.” Cooper’s voice echoes in the small space. He’s not yelling, not yet, but as tensions rise between us, I can feel it coming. We’ve never fought before. It’s like riding a bike for the first time knowing your going to fall. My adrenaline’s pumping. It’s only a matter of time until I lose control and hit the pavement, so to speak.
“Maybe I’m getting better.” I say my voice growing to match his. I’m trying my hardest to stay strong, but I’m struggling. I want to scream and cry at the same time. I need to focus on my frustration towards Cooper if I’m going to make it through this. If not, I’ll be a mess of tears before it’s over. “Did you ever think of that?”
“No, Piper, I didn’t. You don’t just magically get better over the weekend. That’s not how your shit works.”
“Really? My shit.” I cross my arms, tears morphing into fire. How dare he. Cooper doesn’t have the faintest clue about what I cope with on a daily basis. If he did, he’d try harder to understand my boundary issues, not push me damn near my breaking point, forcing me to hug him every fucking day. “What exactly is my shit, Cooper?”
He groans and rubs the back of his head. “I don’t know. Depression?”