Chapter 6
Blake
Closing the front door, I lean against it, mind reeling from what just went down.
Everything was going fine. I’m not a crowd person, but Tabitha was nice enough to sit outside with me, away from the crazy. She was fun to talk to, not too chatty, but not quiet enough to make you feel awkward and ignored.
Then Cooper came, and I got to talk to him, an actual conversation this time. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to see that Cooper isn’t like the typical jocks I grew up around.
He cares more about being there for his friends than what people think of him.
What he did for me upstairs solidified it for me. He didn’t have to defend me; I’m no one to him. I just met him the day before, and I’ve hung out with his friends once, but he did anyway. He didn’t think twice about pulling Mickey off me.
I went upstairs to use the bathroom, and as soon as I was out, the asshole ambushed me, spewing his normal bullshit, and trying to intimidate me into helping him.
When that didn’t work, he resorted to threats and bodily harm.
I was ready to take the hit, to let him get his cheap shots in, knowing I wasn’t going to cave.
Before the first blow could hit me, Cooper came out of nowhere and tackled the guy to the ground.
The way he handled it wasn’t what I expected. I thought they would get into a full-blown brawl, two jocks beating their chests for power.
I was wrong.
Cooper held his cool. He was composed and ready to walk away without hitting the asshole. Even though he deserved it and a lot more.
That was, until Mickey opened his big, stupid mouth and made a homophobic comment. Not going to lie, I felt a jolt of satisfaction watching Cooper punch Mickey for that in his dumb face.
If Cooper defending me wasn’t enough of a mind fuck, the way he took care of me after sure as hell was.
He was sweet, calm, and gentle, and got me an ice pack. Then he offered to leave the party, the party that was meant to celebrate his team's win, just to take me home.
I stare down at the slightly melted ice pack and think, why?
Why me? Why did he go through all of that for me?
I’m just... me? No one’s ever stood up for me before, and I don’t know how to handle it.
I’m waiting for some kind of punchline because my brain can’t process the fact that someone would actually be this nice to me.
Not just Cooper, but his whole friend group, too.
Nina thinks the reason I never had many friends growing up was because I was a shy, awkward kid and preferred to keep to myself.
That's not the case, though. The fact is that when I tried to make friends, people would brush me off as the weird, geeky kid with big glasses, braces, and bad acne.
It was the same when I got older, even though my skin cleared, I got new glasses, and the braces came off.
It was too late by then, I was already a social pariah.
Add in the fact that I was bullied every day and beaten up almost weekly, and I stopped trying.
It was safer to be on my own, away from everyone else.
Eventually, I grew into a distrusting, paranoid, overthinking adult. People have tried to befriend me in the last few years of college, but I shut it down and sent them running, because it was easier to reject their friendship than to allow myself to be vulnerable.
That was until Val came into my life, like a bulldozer, and refused to take no for an answer.
My grumpy demeanor didn’t do anything to dissuade her. She outshined my gloom.
Cooper seems to be doing the same thing.
Swallowing hard, I wince as pain spikes my throat. The asshole managed to choke me hard enough to make me gasp for air before Cooper intervened.
I brush my hand over the spot, then place the still-cold ice pack over my tender skin.
The coolness is a soothing balm, numbing the pain.
I head right up to my room, wanting to avoid my mom before she can see me and question what happened.
The last thing I need is my mom’s pity. I got enough of that in high school.
Locking the door behind me, I walk to the mirror above my dresser to inspect the damage. Peeling the ice pack away, I look at the red fingerprints around my neck and groan.
“How the hell am I going to hide this?” I mutter, fingertips grazing the marks again. Good thing I wear hoodies. I’ll just have to make sure the hood is up. No one but my sister gets close enough to me to notice, anyway.
Sighing heavily, I pull my clothes off and crawl into bed, setting my alarm for early tomorrow morning. At least something good is gonna happen this weekend. I’m dying to get my car back.
Once I’m lying down, I place the ice pack back on my throat and close my eyes.
With each breath, sleep starts to pull me under.
My brain won’t shut off, though. Thoughts of Cooper rush through my mind. His smile, his laugh, the way he’s so damn genuine. The way he looked when he was on top of Mickey. Powerful and untouchable. Like some kind of superhero, there to save the day.
God, how delusional am I?
Am I that starved for human connection? A friendship? Am I idolizing this guy just because he is a decent person?
How fucked up did my past make me? Maybe I should be seeing a therapist or something because nothing about anything in my life is normal.
He was just nice, Blake. Stop thinking too much into it. Is it that hard to believe that people can be good?
Sadly, yes.
Part of me wonders, though, if this is some kind of fluke or if he really is just a stand-up kind of guy?
****
I’m regretting booking an appointment this early, but it’s the only time I’ll have available until next weekend. I’ve got school all week during the day, and the shop is closed by five on weeknights.
I could go another week without it, I guess, walking isn’t so bad. But I know Val has some spidey senses or something, because she just knows when I’m walking home and shows up out of nowhere.
It’s not that I don’t appreciate her help, it’s that I don’t want to feel like I’m a burden to anyone or that I expect anything. I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.
That's why I’m driving at a snail’s pace with my hazards on, praying the car doesn’t die on me, or worse, blow up before I make it to the shop.
Every time a car honks its horn, I jump and curse. Sticking my hand out the window, I wave them off. “Go!” I shout.
The car zooms by, and when I look over, I see the driver flipping me off.
“Lovely.” I sigh, just wanting to get to the shop in one piece.
Twenty minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot with a few minutes to spare before my appointment.
As I’m looking for a place to park the car, the damn thing decides to die. Right in the middle of the parking lot.
“You have got to be kidding me.” I groan, letting my head fall to the steering wheel.
There’s a knock on my window. My head snaps up and to the side, eyes growing in size when I see a familiar head of blond hair and a set of blue eyes.
“Cooper?” I whisper to myself.
His lips lift into his trademark boyish smile. “Fancy seeing you here, Latte Boy.” He winks, stepping back.
Opening the car door, I scowl, cheeks warming. “What are you doing here?” I ask with more snap than warranted. I don’t mean to, I just wasn’t expecting him to be here.
“I work here.” He chuckles. “My pops owns the place.”
“Oh.” My brows furrow. That would explain why he’s dressed in blue work coveralls, covered in grease.
“I’m guessing you are our eight A.M. appointment?”
“Yeah.” I rub the back of my neck. “Sorry about the car.” I wave a hand toward it. “Honestly, I’m surprised it made it this far.”
“Why didn’t you have it towed here?”
“I have just enough to get the car fixed, anything else I’d have to save up for.” Why am I telling him these personal things? The man doesn’t need to know how much I’m struggling with money.
It’s not that my family is hard off, it’s just that this car is my responsibility, and it’s my job to keep it maintained.
Anything my mom makes goes towards taking care of me, my sister, and the house.
She’s already putting the both of us through college and doing us both a big favor by letting us live at home to save money. This isn’t her issue, it’s mine.
“I know how you feel. Thankfully, I know how to fix cars, or I’d be screwed.” He chuckles. “Alright, can I have the keys? I’ll get this bad boy in the garage and take a look.”
I hand him the keys. “Not sure it’s going to start again.
I think I killed it.” I really hope driving it here didn’t make things worse.
I don’t even know how much this is going to cost me.
I only saved for what one of the shops in town quoted me when I called up and did my best to describe what was wrong.
It might not even be the carburetor that's broken, it could be anything.
Not that I'd know because the best I can do is jumpstart the car and change a tire. Anything else, I’m a lost cause.
“No need to start it, just need to put it in neutral. The engine might have died, but the battery didn’t. Hey, Robbie,” he shouts. A second later, a guy with shaggy brown hair steps out. “You wanna give me a hand?”
Together, the two of them get my car into the shop. Cooper pushes while Robbie steers.
I find myself watching him, oddly impressed by how strong he is.
It’s like everything I learn about the guy proves time and again that he’s not like all the other jocks I’ve met. I know, I’ve said it before, and I have a feeling I’ll say it again. But it’s true.
“Alright.” He dusts off his hands once the car is where it needs to be. “It’s going to be a few hours to look everything over. Do you have someone to come grab you or...”
“Ah, no.” I shake my head. “Is it okay if I hang out here? Do you have a waiting room or something? If not, it’s cool, it’s nice out, I could take a walk or something.”