“Bailey,” my grandma spoke, gently drawing my attention to her, “Is everything okay?” I nodded and stared at my plate, feeling as though my emotions had gone through the blender. I opened my mouth to speak, but as I tried to find the words to set my grandparents at ease, my tears broke free and I broke down sobbing. As they finally calmed me down, I told them some of what was bothering me, about being hated at school by Cooper and his friends, about my volatile relationship with Coop, and my mom refusing to admit that Louis had existed.
My grandparents both stood in outrage at that and I leaned on the table tiredly as they spoke over my head. After a few minutes, my grandma shook my shoulder gently.
“Bailey, we’ve set up the guest room for you to sleep in today. You can drive back later when you’re rested, okay, or you can stay here the night if you want and can go home tomorrow.”
I crawled into the guest bed and completely relaxed, I fell asleep at nine and didn’t wake up for hours. My body was stiff as I woke up and I looked at my cell to see what time it was, but it was still off. I glanced around and saw the time on the clock on the dresser. I shot out of bed and knew that Coop was going to be furious when I got home.
I shot into the guest washroom, cleaning my face, and using the facilities. Voices sounded from the sitting room and I walked out to see my dad standing stoically in front of the fireplace. His eyes widened as he looked at me, but other than that he gave no sign he knew who I was. “Mom, Dad?” he asked, his eyes darting between them both. I moved towards the kitchen but before the door swung shut, I heard him ask, with disgust coloring his tone, “What the hell is this?”
My granddad went on the defensive and told my dad that I was still his daughter and that I needed my dad. Did he want what happened to Louis to happen to me? My dad began shouting at his parents that they needed to stay out of his business, and I knew I had to interject. My grandparents were good people, and they didn’t deserve to fall out with their son over me.
“Grandma, Grampa, thank you so much for having me, but I really need to be getting home, please don’t argue on my account. My dad made his feelings about me clear in the letter he sent me six years ago.” Everyone’s eyes shot to me and my granddad’s face fell. I walked over and hugged him tightly. “I’ll come back and visit soon.” He nodded and glared at my dad over my shoulder. I walked to my grandma and hugged her tight too. “Would it be okay if I come to stay in a few weeks, for the weekend?”
My grandma’s face lit up, and she smiled, delightedly. “Sure it would be okay. Ian,” she called to my grandpa. “Did you hear? Bailey wants to come here to stay, for the weekend?”
My grandpa turned and smiled widely as I walked towards the door and my dad followed me out.
“Drive safe,” he said as he shut the door behind me. I pressed the on button on my cell and it flooded with messages, mostly from Coop, but one from my mom which I answered and one from Zane which I also answered.
I drove out of town and headed home with dread in the pit of my stomach.
I arrived home at half-past nine. As soon as I was in the garage, my nerves kicked in, but the house seemed empty. I walked slowly into the kitchen as pangs of hunger hit me. I decided to make a sandwich to take upstairs with me.
I set about making my sandwich and made an extra one for later, so I didn’t need to face Coop until the next day when our parents could act as buffers. A door slammed overhead, and I jumped like a marionette on a string. I needed to calm down, it wasn’t my fault I’d reacted as I had.
I put all the ingredients away and made my way slowly upstairs, my head darting from side to side as I walked. My paranoia seemed to be taking me to a whole new level, but as I stepped onto our floor my eyes darted along the hall and I breathed out in relief. As I tiptoed along the hallway his door opened and I froze, trapped in his glare. He moved towards me and I swallowed, backing up a step.
His face was furious, and he leaned over me. “Where. Are. My. Keys?” he asked, accentuating each word. I shrugged, and he hit the wall behind my head hard. My head rattled and my eyes widened. “Where. Are. My. Fucking. Keys?” he asked again, louder and more forceful. He hit the wall closer this time and my hair moved in the breeze.
Zane walked up the stairs and shoved Coop away from me. My whole body shook in horror and my plate slipped from my fingers shattering on the floor. Zane stood in front of Coop shouting at him, but his words didn’t register. I spun and headed for the stairs as Coop called after me.
“Bailey, shit. I’m sorry.” I didn’t answer him, just ran down the stairs and went out the back door onto the deck.
It didn’t matter that it had started to rain or that the wind was picking up. He’d never looked at me like that before; he’d scared me, and I wanted to be nowhere near him. Adrenaline thrummed through me and I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking. I paced around the gazebo watching the water and shaking my hands in front of me as I willed myself to try and calm down, to breathe normally, but nothing was working.
The image of his face as he stood over me, rigid in anger blew everything else out of my mind and my eyes started to water. I scrubbed my hands over my face as I heard gentle footsteps on the wooden path. My eyes shot over and when I saw it was Coop, I wanted to take off, but there was nowhere for me to go unless I went into the water. I considered it and he held his hands up as my face tightened when I looked back at him.
“Bails.” His voice was low and uncertain. I couldn’t look at him, it hurt so badly to meet his eyes, so I turned and stared out over the water. He moved closer to me and I moved away. His ragged breath told me that my reaction was hurting him. Great, serves him right, I thought.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think and I shouldn’t have reacted like that.” I shrugged and stared out at the water. His eyes were on me and his gaze burned into me, but I didn’t want him anywhere near me. I was sorely tempted to push him into the water. “Look at me, please?” his voice begged, but I shook my head again, unable to speak through the lump in my throat.
I turned and went to move away when his hand shot out and closed over my wrist. “Let me go,” I managed in a broken whisper, and he dropped his hand instantly.
“Please, Bails, this is so unfair. I am so in love with you and I don’t want things to be how they are. Just let me explain. Hear me out.”
His words lit a fuse in me, and I spun around. “It isn’t fair for you. Are you serious? You’re a selfish prick, Cooper; have you considered for a second how much you’ve hurt me. You say you love me, but this isn’t love. This is a goddamn clusterfuck of a mess.” I sucked in a breath and watched as his eyes widened. “I get it that you think you love me, but if you really did, you’d never have slept with her… No, you’d never have let her manipulate you into having her… in fact, you’d never have tried to use her to get to me.”
I turned and ran into the house, bumping into Zane on the stairs. He took one look at me and pulled me into his arms. He held me as I sobbed and rubbed my back. As I calmed down, he pushed me towards the stairs.
“Go to bed, Bailey. You look exhausted.” I kissed his cheek, and he smiled at me as I rounded the stairs.