Page 105 of Songbird: Black Kite
“You.”
“Me,” I agreed, offering her a smile and hoping I didn’t look like a complete psycho. “How are you?”
“Fine,” she hedged slowly, her gaze darting from her mom to me and back again. “Am I in trouble?”
I choked, my fist coming up to cover my mouth as I tried to wrap my head around her answer.
“No, Coop. Of course not,” Wren said lightly, her reaction to Cooper’s statement much more chill than mine. “But it is important.” Wren looked to me, her expression hesitant, and I took a step toward her, hoping I could offer some support.
In that moment, I actually kind of wished that Alex was here; the guy didn’t know the meaning of awkward silence. He’d have blurted out something completely inappropriate to break up the tension, and the whole thing would have been easier.
As it was, I stood silently, waiting for Wren to break the news in a way she thought appropriate. I knew I was the outsider here, and I didn’t want to push my luck.
“Cooper,” Wren finally said, taking a deep breath. “Cooper, this is Hawk. He’s, um, well...”
“Mom,” Cooper cut in, her eyes narrowed at me, glaring, before she looked back to Wren. “What’s going on? Why is he here? Are you going to tell me he’s your boyfriend now or something?”
“No!” Wren barked at the same time as I said, “Yes.”
Wren shot me a glare.
“Cooper, no. Hawk isnotmy boyfriend.”
“Seems like he wants to be your boyfriend.” Leaning back on the couch, Cooper smirked at her mother. “Could be good, you know? You haven’t been on a date in a really long time. Auntie Sabrina said she thinks your virginity grew back.”
“Cooper!”
“What?”
“That’s not appropriate or even possible. And that’s not what’s happening here.”
“Well, whatishappening here? I have homework, and my guild needs me for a raid tonight.”
I had no fuckin’ idea what she was talking about, but I couldn’t stop staring at her while she said it. Everything about her was fascinating, from the way she spoke to the confidence with which she behaved. I was beyond charmed. I couldn’t help but think about how much my mother would love her.
I fuckin’ needed this to go well.
“Your guild can wait, Cooper. I have to talk to you.”
“Fine.” She drew the word out long, rolling her eyes to the ceiling like it was the most inconvenient thing that had ever happened to her.
“Cooper, Hawk is someone I met a long time ago, and we’ve only just reconnected.”
Yeah, that was good. Reconnected. It sounded like we’d just lost track of each other, not that we’d been kept apart by a malicious harpy of a woman hell bent on ruining my fuckin’ life.
“Cool.” Cooper offered me an assessing look, and I felt myself straightening my posture under her scrutiny.
“It is cool. It’s cool because Hawk is someone that’s very important to me. To us, really.” Wren faltered again, and I reached for her hand, trying to offer some semblance of support. “What I mean is—”
“Holy crap, Mom,” Cooper cut in, her exasperation clear as she stood, phone in one hand as she gestured between us. “I mean, just spit it out already. He’s my dad. Big whoop. Can I go now?”
My heart stalled in my chest as her words dropped like a bomb in the living room. In the silence that followed, you could have heard a pin drop.
“What? How?” Wren eventually stuttered. “Cooper, how did you know?”
Cooper hesitated, her eyes cutting to the side for a second before she looked back at Wren.
Cooper hesitated, looking like she was considering her answer before she finally offered a dismissive shrug.
