Page 82 of Boots & Scars

"Cooper," I started again, trying to find the right words amidst the chaos in my mind.

I felt like the ground had been ripped out from under me as everything I thought I knew shattered into pieces around us.

"Don't believe me?" Cooper's voice cut through the haze of my thoughts. "I'll show you."

He grabbed his phone, fingers moving quickly as he pulled up an article. My eyes scanned the small text, the words blurring together. It was an article about my parents' divorce, mentioning how my mother retained full custody in exchange for a cut in child support.

"He and my mom are in California on some beach," Cooper said, pulling his phone back and holding it out for me to see. The image of them together hit me like a punch to the gut. "See? The world isn't sunshine and roses. It never has been. My mother knew what my father did to me and still left me with him. Said it was my own fault for not minding my business. And you're the same. You couldn't just stop. You think the world is beautiful. It's not. Not when the people who love you the most are willing to hurt you the deepest." He shook his head, a grim expression settling on his face. "You should leave."

I opened my mouth to argue, to say something—anything—but no words came out. Instead, I found myself getting out of bed, the cool air hitting my skin as I pulled on my clothes.

Once dressed, I walked over to Cooper. My heart felt heavy with unspoken words and unresolved feelings.

"I love you, Cooper," I said, looking him in the eye.

He glared at me, his eyes hard and unyielding. "Don't. You don't know what love is."

"Maybe," I replied, feeling tears well up in my eyes. "But I think love is something I get to decide for myself." The tears started to spill over, tracing warm paths down my cheeks. "And you deserve to be loved. Even if you don't want mine."

I turned and walked out of his room, each step feeling like a weight dragging me down. I hoped—prayed—that Cooper would call me back like the hero did in the books I'd read so many times. But he didn't.

He let me leave.

As I stepped out into the cold night air, my chest felt tight with a mixture of heartbreak and determination. The door clicked shut behind me, sealing off whatever hope I'd had that Cooper would change his mind.

The silence of the night wrapped around me as I walked away from his house, each step taking me further from him and deeper into an uncertain future.

Even as my tears continued to fall, I couldn't help but cling to the belief that love was worth fighting for—even if it meant enduring this pain now.

But first, I had to speak to my mother.

24

Cooper

The ache radiated from my chest, gnawing at my nerves like a wild animal. I stumbled into my room, each step a fresh jolt of agony. My fingers trembled as I reached for the light switch, but I missed it, knocking a framed photo off the wall instead. It shattered on the floor, glass shards scattering everywhere.

"Damn it!" My voice echoed through the empty house.

I grabbed the nearest thing within reach—a chair—and hurled it against the wall. The sound of splintering wood barely registered over the roar in my head. I couldn't think straight. Couldn't breathe right. Everything was falling apart.

Bookshelves became casualties next, volumes tumbling to the ground in a chaotic mess. I yanked open drawers and upended their contents, clothes spilling out in a whirlwind of fabric. The pain in my chest flared with each movement, but it only fueled my anger.

A mirror caught my eye. My reflection stared back at me, those scars etched into my face serving as a cruel reminder of not only the past but now. Ofher.

I hated that face. Hated everything it represented. Without thinking, I punched the mirror, and pain shot through my knuckles, sharp and immediate. Blood smeared across the cracked glass.

My breath came in ragged gasps as I surveyed the wreckage I'd created. The room looked like a war zone—my war zone. Destruction brought some twisted sense of relief, but it didn't erase the turmoil inside me.

The bed stood untouched in the center of the chaos, mocking me with its calmness. With memories of what had happened there not even an hour ago. I tore off the sheets, flinging pillows across the room. They landed with dull thuds, insignificant against the backdrop of devastation.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand. For a moment, I considered smashing it too, but instead, I sank to my knees on the cold floor, surrounded by broken pieces of my life.

The pain hadn't lessened; if anything, it intensified with each passing second. But there was nothing left to break now except myself.

Everly ruined everything. Why couldn't she shut the fuck up? Why did she… why did she…

Care?a voice in my head asked.

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