Page 111 of Enough
The entire ride down in the elevator, Gwen is as white as a ghost. I place my arm around her shoulder as I pray that Cooper’s okay.
We rush through the E.R. There are police everywhere and people are flying about. Alarms are beeping and no one’s at the desk. Gwen and I scramble from curtain to curtain, but we can’t find him. Gwen’s panicking, and I can see she’s about to fall apart.
“Look at me!” I demand. “Cooper’s strong. I’m sure he’s fine.”
She nods as her eyes search the E.R. and every face of every police officer who rushes past.
Gwen recognizes a nurse she did rounds with when she was covering. “Monroe!” she calls out to him and he races to her. “There was a cop brought in. He was shot. Where is he?” she begs.
“He’s in surgery. They took him right away. Shot to the chest. It’s pretty bad.” He pushes past her to the desk and I catch her before she falls to the ground.
I feel my heart constrict.Not Cooper. Not him.
I lead her off down a side hall and she collapses to the floor. I slide down with her and we both start to cry.
“How did this happen? He must have been working overtime. Oh God! I was so mean to him. I ignored him and even told him to leave me alone when he persisted. The things I said… I didn’t mean any of it. I love him and I never told him. What if he dies? What if I never get to tell him?” She sobs into my shoulder.
We hold hands and cry together. My heart breaks for her, and I pray Cooper somehow makes it through. “He’s strong, Gwen.” I pull her face to look at me. “He’s a fighter. He’s not going to give up. He’ll pull through this.”
“I swear to you, Ev. If he makes it through this, no matter what shape he’s in, I’m never going to let him go again. How could I be so stupid? How could I not see how different and how special he is? I fucked this up and now he may never know how I feel.” Tears flow down her face and I glance up to see Jalissa coming down the hall.
“What? What happened?” she asks as she bends down to us.
“He’s in surgery. They said it’s really bad. She’s scared he might not make it,” I explain as I cradle an inconsolable Gwen.
“Huh?” she questions as she pulls back. “Surgery? Oh, for the love of God…” She takes off toward the main floor and we push off the ground to follow her. We watch her peek her head into various curtains and then finally one in the very back along the farthest wall. She purses her lips as we stand in front of her and quickly yanks back the curtain. Sitting up on a bed with a bandage around his shoulder is Cooper. A doctor is nearby, writing on his chart.
Gwen and I gasp.
He smiles. “Hey, ladies! Did you come to keep mecompany?” he asks with a wide sweep of his unbandaged arm.
Gwen flies past me and straight into him. He flinches but adjusts to wrap his free arm around her. She sobs into his chest and concern drips down his face.
“Hey…” he says as he pulls her back slightly. “Why are you crying? Are you all right?” He searches her face and she grips his bearded face in her hands.
“Are you? Are you really okay?”
“I’m fine, sweetheart. One grazed my shoulder, but I got four in the bad guy. I just wish I’d gotten him before he got one in my partner. I sure hope he’s okay.”
“I thought you were… They told me you were really hurt!” she shouts.
“I’m here and I’m fine. I’m tough. You don’t need to worry about me. Nobody takes me down.” He laughs as if the idea of him being weak is ridiculous.
She hits him on the leg, and he flinches and laughs his deep Cooper laugh. The sound is magical. “God dammit, Cooper! Do you know how scared I was? I thought you were going to die! I’ve been sitting in the hall crying for ten minutes.”
“You were crying over me?” he questions, his eyes darkening as his mood shifts.
“Yes!” she replies matter-of-factly.
“Why?” he asks, shaking his head, his eyes glazed in confusion.
She grabs his face in her hands once more. “Because I love you, you big knucklehead. I love you!”
I’ve never seen Cooper stunned before. He usually has a cocky response for everything. But this time he just stares blankly into her eyes for a moment and swallows hard. “Whatdid you say?” he asks as if he didn’t hear her correctly.
“You heard me,” she whispers. “I never really wanted you to go away. I’m sorry. It’s just you gave me what I didn’t even know I wanted and it scared me.”
He swallows and I almost think I see a tremble in his lips. “Are you sure? Are you sure it’s not just the drama of the night? Because if you’re not one hundred thirty percent certain, then you need to say it right now,” he insists as he points to the ground.
