My hand held onto his and I watched his chest rise and fall, counting the breaths until there was nothing more to count. My mom began sobbing and the nurses came in and ushered me out to my grandparents.
I came back to the present and Coop was looking down at me with fear in his expression.
“Bails, what is it?” He turned and glanced at the headstone we were sitting at. “Louis,” he mouthed as his eyes turned to me in horror. “Your brother’s grave?” he asked softly, and I nodded.
“Bails,” he muttered, “I’m sorry.”
I wasn’t looking at him. I was looking at Louis’ gravestone as memories of that awful day played behind my eyes.
“A few days before Louis died,” I murmured, staring down at the green grass we were sitting on, “I was in the room alone, while my mom tried to reach my dad when Louis had a seizure. The doctors and nurses all rushed in and I moved to stand by the door as they tried to save him.” I closed my eyes as images of that day rushed back and Coop’s fingers tightened on mine. “They brought him back and told my mom that he wasn’t showing any signs of brain activity. I was only nine.” Coop kissed my head and rocked me back and forth and for a while, we just sat there.
“Bailey,” he spoke softly and I glanced up at him, meeting his gaze, “perhaps you should stay at your grandparents’ for a few days…”
“I couldn’t agree more,” a recognizable voice said from behind me and I turned in Coop’s lap to see my dad standing there. His eyes were narrowed at Cooper and when his eyes flashed to mine, they showed disgust.
“Dad, what are you doing here?” I asked as Coop stiffened. He shifted me from his lap and stood, holding his hand out to my father.
“Hi, sir, I’m…” he began, but my dad cut him off.
“I know who you are.” He turned his gaze to me and glared down at me as I sat stunned on the ground. “Give me a minute alone with my daughter.” Coop glanced down at me and I nodded numbly at him. He turned and walked away leaving me and my dad at Louis’s grave.
“Bailey, what on earth…?” he began as he paced back and forth, with flowers in his hand.
“Dad, why are you here?” I asked again and he turned to glare at me.
“He’s my son,” he said and pointed to the headstone. “I always visit when I’m in town. Lex and the kids are at your grandparents’.” I grimaced at the sound of my stepmother’s name.
My head swam in shock, he always visited Louis? He’d caught me on Coop’s lap and at Louis’s grave. Shit, that was messed up.
“Bailey, why were you sitting on your stepbrother’s lap in the middle of the day in a crematorium?” Oh hell, he did know who Coop was. I rolled my shoulders as I considered my answer carefully.
“It’s not what it looked like.” I paused as his gaze narrowed and my face began to heat under his glare.
“Really? It looked like you were on a date with your stepbrother at your brother’s graveside. So, what is it, Bailey?” His angry voice made my back stiffen. He’d not been in my life for the last six years and hadn’t even been to see Louis when he was in the hospital.
I wanted to walk away from him, but I couldn’t do it, so I answered honestly in a small voice.
“Coop brought me here because his brother had a seizure in front of me today.” The sun was suddenly hidden by a cloud and my top became cold on my back as a droplet of sweat rolled down my neck.
“What does that have to do with anything?” he snapped, brushing his fingers across the top of Louis’s grave and his eyes went to the stone as I realized he probably didn’t know about that day. He wasn’t there.
“Louis had a real bad seizure when he was in the hospital, and I was alone with him when it happened.”
My dad glared at me and moved towards me.
“Stop lying, Bailey, Louis was killed instantly in the crash.” I shook my head and stepped back from my dad as though he’d slapped me.
“I think you better check your facts. I was there, you weren’t. Mom called and called you, and she couldn’t reach you for the two weeks he was in the coma.”
I turned and began running down the hill as my dad called after me.
“Bailey?” I ignored him, running towards Coop as fast as I could. He was pacing beside the car and glanced up as I ran into the lot. He held out his arms and after a moment’s hesitation, I went straight into his embrace. He ran his fingers over my arms and kissed my head.
“Take me home, Cooper,” I muttered against his chest, and he kissed my head one more time before pushing me towards the door of the car. As I climbed in and locked the door, I wondered why my dad thought Louis had been killed instantly. Who would lie to him and deprive him of the opportunity to say goodbye to his son? It had to have been Alexa, but why would anyone do that? I knew she hated us, but to actively stop my dad from being there to see his son was sick.
The drive home was as silent as the one to the crematorium, but I went back with Coop because the alternative was my grandparents’ house with the woman who hated me and would have loved nothing more than to make me feel unwelcome in a place that was supposed to be a safe haven for me.
We got home a little after lunch, and we both went to our rooms, not speaking. His face was pinched when we got to the house and our parents weren’t back yet. I lay down in my bed and curled under the comforter. I closed my eyes and drifted off waking as a text pinged and I scrambled around the bed for my cell.
It was from my mom.
Zane’s okay. He’s being admitted for tests. We’ll be back in a few hours. Let Cooper know.
I groaned and tried to move over to get out of bed, finding a warm body curled in behind me. Coop’s arms were across my leg and my chest, and he snored gently. He didn’t move as I scooted up the bed into a sitting position, I didn’t want to wake him up, but I knew if my mom or Shawn came home and caught him in my bed, even if it was just for comfort, there would be hell to pay.
For a moment, I sat and watched him sleep. His brown hair was getting a little long and it covered the top of his neck. It was getting a little curl in it too and was damp at the back of his neck. His cheeks were soft and relaxed and his forehead smooth without stress or worry on it. His lips parted as he breathed, and his eyes were relaxed and completely closed over.
I reached over and stroked his cheek feeling the slight scratch of stubble. His breathing sped up as I touched him and I leaned over, pressing my lips to his gently and sucking on the bottom one as he opened his eyes slowly. As I pulled back, he wrapped his hand around my neck guiding me back to him and he moved his lips against mine in a way that stoked the fire in me.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, pulling back. “Bailey, I’m sorry for being such a shit to you. I didn’t know about your brother, and I was scared.” I kissed him gently once and shifted my body away from him.
“Coop, our parents are coming back soon. You need to get out of here before they catch you.” He nodded once and sat up, pulling his top back on. As he stood, I watched with fascination as he pulled his pants up and stuffed his erection into his pants.