My One and Only(78)
Haleigh swiped at the tear running down her cheek. “She’s kicking me out.”
“She what?” Cooper said, rising to his feet.
Staring at her hands, Haleigh added, “At least she’s giving me thirty days.”
“To hell with that,” he raged. “She is not kicking you out because of me.”
“Of course she isn’t,” Haleigh corrected. “She’s kicking me out because of me. Because I’m a worthless human being who is more than likely going to ruin your life. And if that’s the case, I’m going to have to do it while living in my car.”
“No,” he said, dropping back down beside her. “You are not worthless and you are not going to ruin my life. Abby is angry over losing Kyle and she’s taking it out on you. On us. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter,” Haleigh cried. “She’s been my best friend since we were nine years old. We’ve gone through everything together. She knows every horrible thing my mother has ever said to me. She didn’t abandon me when I couldn’t get my nose out of a bottle, and then once I got out and kept falling back in, she was never more than a phone call away. Through it all, Abby has been there, and now she’s so sure that this is a mistake, she’s willing to throw me out of her house to save you.”
Cooper’s hands curled into fists. He’d never wanted to throttle his sister as much as he did in that moment. Why would she take this away from him? Why would she get in the way of the happiness of two people she claimed to love?
“I don’t care how far she’s willing to go,” he said, “she’s wrong.”
“I don’t think she is,” Haleigh said, her voice crumbling. “What if all I’m doing is switching out one addiction for another?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I drank to drown out the voices. To numb the pain and feel good, even if that good wasn’t real. What if I’m doing the same thing with you?”
“I’m not a drink, I’m a person, Haleigh Rae. There’s nothing wrong with two people making each other feel good. And there is nothing fake about what’s going on here.”
Brown eyes stared up at the ceiling. “You don’t know that. I don’t know if I’m here because this is real or because when I’m with you all the bad stuff goes away. You’re as much a drug for me as a bottle of whiskey ever was. I don’t want to use you like that.”
Dropping to his knees in front of her, Cooper cupped Haleigh’s face, forcing her to look him in the eye.
“Do not believe for one second that this isn’t real. What happens in that bedroom upstairs is something I’ve never had with another woman. When you’re working beside me in the kitchen, I can’t imagine a day when you won’t be there. After you leave in the morning, I smell your scent on my pillow and think about the next time I’ll get to touch you. Nothing has ever been this real for me, and I know you feel it, too. I know it every time you arch against me, every time you smile at me over your coffee, and every damn second that we’re apart. If I’m your drug, then you’re mine, and I refuse to give you up.”
Taking one of his hands, she placed a kiss in his palm, “That’s the best thing anyone has ever said to me. But that’s why I have to protect you. Because you won’t protect yourself.”
“Protect me from what?” he said, frustration pulsing through him.
“From me! I came within inches of diving straight into a bottle instead of coming here. Tonight, I controlled it, but what happens when I screw up and give in? When I reach for a drink instead of you?” she asked.
“It isn’t when but if, Haleigh. And if that ever happens, I’ll be there to take you home and hold your hair back and help you find the strength to say no the next time.”
Haleigh shook her hands in front of his face. “You make it sound so simple.”
“It is simple. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
“And what happens when I push you too far?” she asked. “What happens when we have a fight and I say horrible things?”
“Exactly what’s happening right now,” he answered, realizing for the first time ever that he’d found someone he was willing to fight with. And fight for. “I know what you’ve been through. And I know that you’ve been strong enough to overcome it all. I won’t be another person who let you down, Haleigh. You can lash out and throw things for all I care, but when you’re done, I’ll be here. Ready for another round or a good cry or a night of make-up sex. Whatever you throw my way, I am not giving up.”