Chapter 31
AMARA
The last few months of school in Maryland came and went in the blink of an eye. While I had a great time making a new little life for myself, I was missing home.
I was missing Cooper and Natalia.
So when school let out, I was nagging my parents about going back to Delaware for the summer.
And now, driving there in the evening, all I feel is nervous.
We get in late that night, and I barely sleep, thinking over everything I want to say to him.
I sent Cooper two letters so far, and I got one back, quickly after the first. I kept everything brief, but there’s so much left unsaid, and so much that I want to get into.
I get to his house in the late morning, my heart beating a mile a minute.
And when he opens the door, a huge, dazzling smile on his face, I want to faint.
Faint, pass out, and die.
“Hey,” he says as Natalia comes barreling out, wrapping me in a huge hug.
“Oh my god, how is your new school? I can’t believe how much bigger it is than ours. You would not believe how much of a bitch Sam is being.”
We walk to our favorite ice cream shop as we catch up on the little things.
“School is good. I met more friends, which is nice.” I was worried about meeting new people, but I knew that I’d have Mila there.
“That girl you met that one summer there with you?” Cooper asks.
“Yeah. And I met a couple more friends through her. They’re all really cool. We’ve been staying over at one of their houses a bunch. Her parents are really nice.”
“I can’t wait to meet them. They’ve gotta be better than what we have here,” Natalia moans.
“I think so, other than you guys,” I shrug.
“Her dad makes cake on Sundays. Like, we get up in the morning and have cake. It’s pretty nice.
He’s been having some health problems, though, so we didn’t go over last week.
” I sigh, worrying about it. Although the move was hard, integrating with a new group of friends was really easy, and I actually really love them. “How’s football camp?”
While he was okay last year, Cooper has been desperate to start, despite not being a senior. His grandpa signed him up for football camp this year to get him ready.
Cooper shrugs. “It’s good. Grandpa likes coming to them,” he flinches. “He almost got kicked out the other week, though.”
“Why?”
Natalia rolls her eyes. “Because he was cursing at the coach. I love grandpa, but it would have been well deserved.”
“Yeah. When we left, he called him soft.”
I grin. It certainly does sound like Grandpa Kenny.
“He has always loved watching you play, though.”
Natalia frowns.
“What?” I ask, confused.
Cooper waves her off. “Nothing, he just fell the other day. He’s doing great.”
I frown. “Are you sure?”
They both nod. “He was up and dancing in the kitchen making pancakes this morning. I promise he’s alright.”
I accept the answer reluctantly, not wanting to pry too much. They would tell me if something really bad happened.
“He’s also making Cooper start to think about college because of it.” Natalia licks her ice cream cone.
“Already?”
“He said he wants him to make sure he’s doing everything he needs to in order to get in.”
“Where have you looked?”
Cooper gives me a tight, awkward smile before looking down guiltily. “That’s kinda the thing. I don’t know if I want to go.”
I gasp. “Really?”
He shrugs, and Natalia looks annoyed. “I don’t know how the next few years are going to look. I’ll figure it out when it’s time.”
The hours pass by as we catch up, and finally, Natalia heads off to meet with others. She promises that we’ll have a sleepover tomorrow.
“Okay. Now spill. Why don’t you want to go to college?”
Cooper rolls his eyes and throws himself back in his chair, sinking his hands into the pockets of his pants.
“I just think that someone is going to need to stay back. Grandpa is doing fine at the moment, but his doctor said it could go downhill fast at any moment. I think someone needs to stay around for him.”
I don’t ask the obvious question on my mind: What’s going to happen to the two of them if he passes before he’s eighteen? But heartache settles into my bones at the thought of losing him.
“I feel like he’d want you to go, Coop.”
He shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter if he wants me to, if he doesn’t have someone here to help him. Natalia has too much going for her to get stuck here.”
“You do too!” I all but yell. “He wants you to look at colleges for a reason, Cooper.”
“I just think that it’s important for me to be realistic. If I get my hopes up too high, or I focus too hard on it, it’s going to break my heart when I can’t go, you know?”
“Your grandpa would want to see you play football.”
He nods sadly. “He would. I just hope he gets there.”