Page 110 of Falling Like Leaves
“She’s staying. I’m going,” I say.
“Are you coming back, then?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “I’ll at least have to come back to get my stuff. But I’m going to try to talk some sense into my dad. I need him to fix whatever’s happening between him and my mom. Worst case, I need him to talk my mom into letting me stay in the city with him, since she seems to suddenly think this is a permanent thing.”
Cooper bites his lip. “Well, would that really be so bad? Finishing senior year here? With me?”
“Coop, I don’t belong here.”
“What are you talking about?” he asks. “People know and love you here. Youdobelong here. And we can figure out what comes next together.” He takes my hand in his. “Don’t go. Please.”
“I have to. Everything is wrong. I mean, I got a C, and—”
He groans. “What are you talking about? Tell me this isn’t about the C. It was one lousy C, Ellis!”
“It’s not about the C. It’s about what the C represents. I’ve gotten too comfortable here.”
“Sowhat? You’ve been happy. You’ve been letting yourself have fun for a change. How is that a bad thing?”
“Cooper, I feel like my whole future is slipping away.”
“And what about us? What aboutourfuture?”
“We can still make this work. It was always the plan, right? I was always going back to the city.”
“When you had to, sure. But you don’t now. You have a choice,” he says. “Your print is on this place. If you don’t belong here, then I sure as hell don’t belong in your life in New York.”
“What do you mean? You’ll be there for school next year.”
“Yeah, and I’ll be like an extra puzzle piece that doesn’t have a place. How do Ifitinto your plans for your future?” He shakes his head. “I don’t.”
“You can’t possibly be asking me to choose you over my future. To change all my plans for you.”
“No. I’m asking you to change your plans foryou, Ellis,” he says, exasperated. “What we have is good. So fucking good. But maybe it’s not good enough for you.”
“Coop, come on.”
“Don’t go.”
My eyes burn. “I have to. And if I’m going to catch the next bus, I have to go now.”
He looks at the ground, but not before I see his eyes glassing over. He nods to himself, like he’s weighing his words. “Then I guess this is goodbye.” He holds my gaze as he drops my hand. “And it’s the last one I’m going to say to you, Ellis.”
“Cooper,” I breathe.
“Have a nice life,” he says as he turns and walks back into the café.
Forty-five minutes later, I’m on the back of the bus with nothing more than my phone and wallet, sobbing as Bramble Falls fades into the distance.
Chapter Thirty-Four
I use the key I keep in my wallet to let myself into the apartment. Sunlight floods the living room, revealing our spotless space. So spotless that it’s almost lifeless. There’s no evidence that Dad’s been here since we left.
Mom always did the dishes, but there aren’t any dirty ones on the counter or in the sink. She washed the laundry, but there are no dirty shirts thrown across the back of the couch or piled in the corner. She took out the trash, but the bin isn’t overflowing.
I can’t imagine Dad doing any of those things. Maybe he hired a housekeeper.
With the exception of a few condiments, the refrigerator is nearly empty. Not surprising since he’s probably been getting takeout without Mom here to cook, but I am starving.
