"Nick? He's in most of my classes. He's nice, and he helped me study."
"I said I would help you. I'm smarter than him. I'm also your man unless you want that to change?"
"You're breaking up with me on test day?" I whispered, starting to cry.
"Damn it," he said, pulling me out of the classroom. Once again, the other students became scarce to avoid Cooper. "I'm not breaking up anything."
"Why are you so angry?"
"I can't turn around without you and Nick getting cozy."
"That's bullshit."
"Whatever. Look, we need to take this test so we can get out of here. I need you to calm down."
"Are you going to calm down?" I asked, wiping my eyes.
"Say it," he demanded in a quiet voice. "Say it and I'll calm the fuck down."
"That I love you or that you're mine?"
"I know I'm yours. I need to know you're mine."
"Who the fuck else's would I be?" I growled at him.
Cooper grinned at my tone. "You're so fucking hot when you get pissed. I wish we could leave right now."
"I'm not getting naked with you until you stop acting like a douche."
"Even if I do this?" he asked, kissing my neck before returning to class.
Lowering my gaze, I avoided the looky-loos as I followed Cooper back into class where the instructor waited. Soon, Manuel handed out our tests and my panic returned. Half of the questions were in Spanish, and I understood none of them. Was I supposed to know how to read this? Why hadn't I learned? Was the panic making me dumber or was I stupid and so I was panicking?
I spent so much time freaking out about freaking out that I had to hurry to finish the test in time. Handing the packet back to Manuel as I walked out with Cooper, I had a bad feeling that no matter who I studied with I might be in over my head.
Cooper remained grumpy for the rest of the afternoon. He even frowned during sex, watching me like he was searching for something on my face. By the time he dropped me off at work, I was ready for a little space. Even so, I worried the last few weeks with me had distracted him, and he'd done poorly on his tests too.
Despite the wonky day, the first few hours of work were great. Test day put everyone on edge, so they hadn't eaten much. After the exams were over, students showed up at Denny's and ordered most of the menu. Super busy, I loved every minute of the rush. In fact, by the time Cooper arrived, I was rolling in cash and ready to celebrate. Maybe I'd treat him to something special?
Usually, when Cooper arrived, he'd kiss me in a completely inappropriate way before sitting down where he spent the next few hours making lewd comments to get me to laugh. This time, though, Cooper walked straight to the restroom, and I assumed even Cooper Johansson got sick.
When he emerged, his sleeves were pulled down past his hands, making him look like a kid in an oversized shirt. His expression made me worry more.
"What's wrong?"
Cooper shook his head as he took my face into his hands still hidden in the shirt sleeves. "Tell me you love me," he whispered.
"I love you so much, and you're scaring me."
"I had a shit day, but I need you to need me like I need you."
"I do," I said, sitting next to him in the booth. "You look sick."
"Just stressed. I have a lot of pressure on me to take over shit, and I'm not even done with college. My pop is in a hurry to take a backseat in the business, and it's all on me, and I only have you to help me relax. Everyone else just takes. Well, Aaron is cool, but no one relaxes me like you do, baby."
Cooper turned to look at me, and I saw such fear in his eyes. "You can't live without me, right?" he asked in a pleading voice. "If I fucked up, you'd give me another chance, right?"
"Fucked up? Like if you were with another girl?"
His expression full of pain, Cooper shook his head. "If I'm scared I'll lose you, why would I cheat?"
"I don't know, but you seem freaked out. I can't imagine what would be so bad that you'd be this way?"
Cooper studied my face in a way that made me think he wanted to confess. Was it really another girl? Was an ex pregnant? I couldn't imagine every girl was on birth control, and Cooper wasn't great about using condoms. I waited for him to explain, but he only tightened his lips into a grim frown.
"You're coming to my place tonight, right?"
"Of course."
Cooper nodded, taking my hand. "I thought we should blow off school and work. Just take off for a few days. A little vacation."
"I want to find out how I did on the tests and they'll tell us tomorrow. Friday at the latest."
"I'll have someone email them to you."
"Why do you want to leave so badly? Are you in trouble?"
Cooper shook his head, but I knew he was lying. He'd done something bad enough to scare him. When he kissed me, I realized Cooper was shaking.
He said I relaxed him. Even without knowing what he did, I needed to soothe away his tension. Squirming around in the booth until I was on my knees, I had him lean against my chest while I caressed his head. His hair wasn't as short, and it felt soft against my fingertips. Cooper wrapped his arms around my waist and exhaled softly against me.
"Whatever happened, it'll be okay."
"Do you promise?" he asked, sounding like a kid.
"Yes," I said, unable to say anything else.
Cooper looked up at me, his dark eyes overflowing with emotion. "Don't leave me," he whispered, fighting for control. "Fuck, Farah. We're perfect together so you need to stay."
Kissing him, I tried not to show my concern, but he had me worried. If it wasn't about a girl, what could he have done to cause me to leave? Did he kill someone? I knew his family business was violent. I knew Tucker likely dealt with those bastards harassing girls after Maddy made a toast to her hero who made it safe to walk the streets again. I understood Cooper would take over the family business and deal with his dad's old biker contacts. I just didn't think the violence would affect Cooper so strongly.
Later at his place, he never quite calmed down. When we were together, he held me too tightly like I might run away if he loosened his grip. As we dozed, I thought I heard him apologizing and saying he needed me to stay.
The next day, Cooper did everything he could to convince me to ditch school. He turned off the alarm, but I woke up on my own. He distracted me with sex and food. I still wanted to go to school and find out my grades. It was making me nuts not knowing, and Cooper's secret wasn't helping me settle down. I promised him everything would be alright and he finally drove us to school.
Kissing me like he was saying goodbye, Cooper looked so young and vulnerable when I walked to my first class. I glanced back and waved, but he just stared. The mood in class wasn't any better. Apparently, everyone thought they failed every test. A lot of students didn't even show up to class, rather than learn their fates. I was nervous too, but then I heard how the counselors were calling in the people with really bad test results. When I arrived in my third class without an invite to the Admin building, I felt pretty confident. Then Skye found me.
"I should have warned you that Cooper is the jealous type," she said, sitting next to me in class and checking her appearance in a little compact. "I think I just got distracted by Tyler's abs. Have you seen them? They're pretty fucking spectacular. Oh, and he aced everything yesterday. Didn't even break a sweat. Hot and smart, I've hit the motherload."
As usual, I had to wait until Skye finished before I could return to the first thing she said. "What about Cooper?"
"You didn't really like Nick, did you? He's cute, but not really hot. Not rich or smart. He's not Tyler, and he certainly isn't Cooper."
"What about Nick?"
Shrugging, Skye focused on a crying girl who entered the room. The girl's friends descended upon her with promises to study more.
"I did fine," Skye said. "I mean, how could I not? I showed up. I took notes. I stayed awake. How hard is it to pass these tests? Fucking hillbillies."
Shaking my head, I wanted Skye to focus. "What happened to Nick? He hasn't been in class, but a lot of people ditched today."
"Oh, he's in the hospital. Cooper fucked him up. How could you not know that when it's your boyfriend and your whatever Nick is to you?"
As a cold dread settled into my stomach, I thought I might vomit. "Will Nick be okay?"
"You should stop worrying about Nick," Skye muttered, glaring at me. "Guys like Cooper don't want their girlfriends talking up losers. You need to keep your eye on the ball, Farah, or you'll lose him."
Normally when Skye got bitchy with me, I pulled within myself and avoided conflict. This time, though, I walked out of the room just as the instructor entered. I didn't care about anything except finding Cooper and making him explain what the fuck he thought he was doing?
Cooper was in his Analytic Geometry and Calculus class when I found him, but he wasn't listening. His gaze was on the chair in front of him, and he looked either pissed or depressed. Standing at the doorway, I waited for him to notice. The minute our eyes met, Cooper knew I knew, and I saw his gaze harden.