Page 152 of Collateral Damage
I brush past him, intent on leaving him in my past, but he’s not giving up so easily. He walks alongside me.
“I fucked up and set us on a path I never should’ve even considered, but I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
I scoff. “Yeah, Perry told me all about how you blame me for your leg. It breaks my heart, Cooper. It really does. I’m so sorry for my part in that day, but that was an accident, and what you did to me was purposely malicious.”
He reaches for my arm, but I shove him off.
“Don’t touch me.”
My eyes scan the street for an open cab, but so far, no luck. I need to get out of here. I should’ve called a car. I’d take the nearest subway, but Cooper would just follow me down there.
“I can fix this,” he says. “Iwillfix this.”
My voice wobbles. “Cooper, you cost me The Laurence Foundation.”
He knows how much it means to me.
Sometimes broken things can’t be fixed.
“This is you and me, Sybil. This is us. We’re Sybil and Cooper. We’ll be okay. We have to be.”
He tries to touch me again, and I stop, turning on him, my hands balled into fists at my sides. “You were mybest friend.”
“You were my best friend when you hurt me,” he says, “but I forgave you.”
“Don’t—”
“We’retogether, you and me. I never thought I would be so lucky to have you, but it happened. I went to my dad to stop allthis as soon as we returned to the city. He said he would. I didn’t know he had already involved Vale or the full extent of their plans.”
That gives me pause.
Cooper sees that as an in. “You love me. I know you love me.”
I can’t deny it, but I won’t confirm it, either.
“And I love you,” he presses. “There’s a lot I need to explain, but right now, we’re short on time, and you’re going to have to trust me.”
I laugh. “Trust you?”
“Yes. I swore to myself long ago that if I was ever lucky enough to win you over, I wouldneverlose you.” His voice is raw with emotion, and I desperately want to believe him. “You think I’d let you leave me without a fight? No, Sybil. We’renotbreaking up. I’m not my brother. I can’t let this be over.”
I turn away, lost for words.
“I have a plan to fix this, but we need to go. We’re already running late.”
I close my eyes for a second, just long enough to breathe through the mix of pain and love pulsing in my chest. “Cooper, I don’t know if I can do this.”
“Come with me.” His voice is softer this time, and there’s a desperate edge I’ve never heard from him before. “Please. If you want to be done with me when this is over, then we can have a conversation about that, but right now, you’vegotto let me fix this. I need you by my side. I need you, Sybil, in every way. Always. But especially today.”
He’s earnest, his eyes open and begging. A little seed of hope grows in my heart. He watches me—waiting—not touching me. Against my better judgment, I nod.
Sixty-Six
Sybil
Present - Age 27
Before I know it, we’re riding up the elevator of Laurence International. Cooper stands close. “You may want to know… I’ve already spoken with your mother. She’s aware of what’s about to happen.”
