The Sun, The Moon and The Ocean

chapter eight

● above is a photo of Cooper chilling on the white sand one afternoon ●

I WAS ALMOST as confused as I was excited when Cooper blurted those words to me, standing in the middle of the flat with the sun shining across his dark hair. Addison and I had exchanged glances while Noah objected for what I guessed the millionth time to his best friend coming with me. "Cooper, bro, you're not going," Noah had said, shaking his head. 

Cooper imitated him, "Uh, Noah, bro I am going." Addie and I giggled at this and Noah shot his icy blue eyes in our direction. He turned back to Cooper, who continued to fold clothes rather neatly into the red suitcase leveled with his knees. "Sophia can handle herself, she does not need a date," he scolded, "Especially not a date who is a complete stranger and bli-"

Suddenly, Cooper shoved his last t-shirt into the case and interrupted him, his voice was strong and fierce. "Noah, I am not letting that stop me anymore," I had never heard him talk like that before and I guessed Addison had not either. From the corner of my eye, I saw her thin body tighten and she took a step back with her left foot. Cooper pushed on, "And I'm especially not going to let you use that argument against me all the time." The growl of his voice set Noah back. I couldn't tell if his clenched jaw was a sign of guilt or a rise of anger. Noah breathed deeply as Cooper zipped up his suitcase. I wondered if this kind of tension always surrounded the two boys, if Noah always stopped Cooper from doing things and if Cooper just put up with it. I assumed it was the first time Cooper had spat those words to Noah like that because he was speechless. Addison tried to cut in, "Coop, before you set your heart on leaving, you need to ask Sophia." Cooper swallowed and nodded then immediately requested, "Sophia, it would mean the world to me if you let me accompany you." I looked at Noah, who had his head down, studying his shoes. Then I looked at Addie, who shrugged her shoulders in response. 

I laid my eyes on Cooper. His fingers were intertwined with his own in front of his body. I knew he wanted to go so badly, although I wasn't sure if the only reason he wanted to was to prove a point to his best friend. But by the way Cooper bit his right cheek in his mouth told me it was something more. I pulled my lips into a smile, "I would like that very much."

Cooper signed a breath of relief and thanked me. I noticed Noah's knuckles turning white at his hips, which cut my breath short. Noah sucked in air to speak and Addison quickly stepped closer to me and softly rested her hand on my forearm. "Okay, Coop, if you want to leave this place for a couple days then be my guest," Noah began, then escalated, "But do you know what I don't fucking get?" Cooper's eyes shifted to the floor. 

"I don't get why you suddenly decide to be brave when this god damn stranger-" he pointed to me "-comes into your life and not when your best friend has been here this whole time." His voice was cold, his throat raspy. It echoed in my ears and pounded against my heart. Cooper said nothing and turned his back to Noah, making him scoff. "Yeah, send me a fucking postcard, mate. I bet it'll be a beautiful wedding."

With that, Noah grabbed his wallet off the counter aggressively. He stomped past me and Addison, not even noticing our stares, out the door he slammed and he was gone. Silence fell in the room and I wondered if this was my fault.

Noah accused me of it and though I never intentionally did anything to cause Cooper to feel inclined to come with me, I still felt at fault. I wondered if Noah felt betrayed and if Cooper thought the same. Best friends in a fight is far worse than any other people fighting. Feelings get crushed, trust is shattered and you wonder if things will ever be the same. 

And I put these boys through those feelings apparently. 

Addison gave my arm a squeeze before letting go and stepping towards Cooper, who ran his fingers through his curly hair, tugging at the ends. "Coop," Addie spoke softly, slipping his wrist into her palm. "As silly as it is, he has a right to be upset." A couple seconds passed and Cooper slowly nodded then murmured, "I know and that's the worst part." Addison ran her hand up and down his back a couple times, which struck some jealousy in me. 

I immediately ignored it.

She continued, "And as silly as it is, you also have the right to go with her." My body relaxed and I  tiptoed forward a bit. Sydney appeared out of the hallway, sensing her master's frustrated aura and trotted her paws over to his side. He forced a chuckled as he felt her furry head beneath his hand. "I hope the dog tagging along won't be an issue?" He asked me. I laughed, "Of course she won't be."

☼

Addison had gone and followed her brother, planning to calm him down. She left the room, leaving me, Cooper, Sydney and the lingering tension all alone. I offered him to come to my apartment to eat some lunch and down a refreshing smoothie. He obliged with a gentle voice. We walked down the hallway, I grabbed the paper bag of cheeseburgers that Addison and I brought in hopes to have a light-hearted lunch between the four of us. But now it was for me, Cooper and a half of cheeseburger for Sydney.

We sat on my sofa as we munched in silence, the sun shining through my curtains upon our skin. I decided to end the awkwardness and ask, "So why exactly do you want to come with me to my sister's wedding?"

He finished chewing the bite of beef in his mouth before answering, "As much as I hate to say this, it is for a selfish reason." I leaned back a little, feeling somewhat hurt. "Noah isn't wrong about what he said and I'm not either. I'm tired of containing myself here and not living my life. I mean, yeah I've done things wrong before but it doesn't mean I'll do them again."

I furrowed my eyebrows and my chest twisted, knowing exactly what "wrong thing" he was talking about, even though he didn't know that I understood. If I was Cooper, I could never live with that horrid event in the back of my mind constantly. He was incredibly strong and I imagined just how thick his skin was.

He was like the sun and the moon, and I've never met anyone who could be both. His world was full of darkness and he lived in a constant twilight; yet, Cooper brought sunshine everywhere he wandered. He walked with golden rays flowing in his skin, he lit up every room, he put sparkles in people's eyes, he created ablaze in every person he communicated with. And thats what made him so extraordinary. Cooper brought out the goodness in people, even when he lived in a universe full of black. I admired him greatly for that.

"But Cooper," I urged, "You live a good life here, you know that don't you?" He nodded eagerly. "Oh, yes. And it only got better when you came into it."

My heart must have beat out of my chest.

"But I've always felt limited in my abilities as you can probably imagine. And I don't know, when you told all of us that you dropped out and came here to complete your dream of creating art, that just inspired me to do something with myself. Instead of sitting around in my comfort zone, running away from the thing I probably need to face the most."

I could relate to that statement, even if I couldn't pin point what he needed to face. I needed to get out of Broken Hill, my life would be a very unsatisfying one. I would still be attending my 8am classes, learning about human anatomy and how to take temperatures. I would come home to a silent house that thought I was just the average child and Penny would do all the talking at the dinner table.

I would have been very lonely.

I took a couple more bites of my burger and patted Cooper's knee reassuringly. "I'll do my best to help you out with that." He smiled gratefully to my right, "Thank you, Sophia. I hope I will be good company."

We smiled and continued eating. I pulled out my phone and tapped on Penny's contact name then tapped message.

I typed, "Bringing someone along tomorrow if that's alright. He's a good one. :) "

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

happy tuesday, my loves! i think this chapter is one of my favorite ones, i hope it's one of yours too! next chapter the adventure REALLY begins!! thank you guys so much for reading this, it is absolutely crazy how many of you are reading this thing. i'm so thankful that you're enjoying it.

remember to comment and vote, i love talking to you guys!

-nicole robinson