The Opposite [BxB] ✔

Chapter Twenty-One

"I've never been loved."

"Not-uh! You have Percy and your parents! What about your friends? What about Hope? She helped you with giving me papers and asking me out." I denied, causing Cooper to look up at me with teary eyes. He shook his head, like I was wrong about something... Then what? What am I wrong about?

"Dad tried giving me away when I was seven, saying he didn't like where I was heading in life..." he began to sob, thick tears retracing the last one's trails. "s-said I wasn't going to be a good person.. told me I would never get far in life.." he muttered between cries. "he placed a price on me... like I was an object..! Mom w-was at work in the farm.... I n-never got to see her.. until I turned fourteen.." he wailed, burying his eyes in the balls of his wrists as tears leaked from behind his hands. "Stormie, I was so scared when he showed up! I was about to piss myself!" he yelled, to which I listened. I was speechless from what he told me. I didn't think his father was that bad of a person... He was really nice at times, but then his short temper would turn him into a blaze in less than a second.

"Oh.. I-I didn't know.." I whispered, half speechless as his rambling came to an end. "I'm so sorry, Cooper." I finished, now feeling guilty for the way he cried in pain. He sat in front of me, bawling his eyes out whilst I uncontrollably shivered. He sniffled and wiped his eyes, obviously trying to look strong with some sort of pride left in him. Then, tears filled his stressed eyes once again. His shaky hands cupped my cheeks tenderly, causing me to look up to him.

"I'm sorry.. H-Here I am crying and you're freezing c-cold... Borrow one of my shirts from my t-top drawer.." he sniffled, now looking down to the scratches he left on me a few minutes ago. Feeling the eyes on my injury, I just followed his gaze to see four large nail marks dug into my skin. The blood had stopped and only seeped out in small droplets when I tensed. It wasn't severe, nor did it hurt as much as it used to. "I'm sorry.. a-again... Here, I'll get you a s-shirt.. I don't want y-you hurting your ankle." He stood up from the bed and walked to his dresser. After opening a few drawers and scanning the clothing inside, he finally chose a shirt and walked back over to the bed. It was a back and white patterned baseball tee with the words, "I AM FREE" written on the front of it in bold, capital letters.

He handed it to me before reaching into the drawer of his nightstand and grabbing small pack of tissues. Blowing his nose into the white cloth, he scrunched his face up in disgust as he wiped his tear-racked face. I looked down to the covers of his bed, shaking my head in confusion. Both today and yesterday... They're so weird. First, his dad shows up and switches between joyful and raging. Then, I have that weird dream and Cooper confesses his love for me.. I say I don't love him back and he hurts me. Finally, he cries and lets everything off his chest. How am I supposed to take all that in?! It's so confusing! What did I do to make this weekend such a wreck?

"Cooper, why are you so hard to understand..?" I mumbled, to which he looked up with expectant eyes. "I don't know what problems your family has been through in the past, and I don't want to know... One thing I want to understand is you... You go to parties and get drunk, even when you're under the legal age. But at home, you become solemn and depressed... I just want to know which part of you is telling the truth." I explicated with great detail, failing to notice how Cooper sat down next to me. "I just want to know.. To help you like you did me." I returned to the silence, hoping to pull an answer from him.

"H-How did I help you?"

I gave him an incredulous look and scoffed so quietly, only the mice under the floorboards could hear it. "Before I met you, I was like a living statue. I had no facial expression, only giving people blank stares. Then, you bumped into me and for the first time in forever, I felt surprised and baffled. You were the first person to make me cry after my mom left me.." I tried to persuade him into knowing how I felt. I was so extremely grateful for his presence. Without him, I wouldn't have been content with my life with the way it continued to be.

"Going to parties is just a coping skill for me." he admitted. "I like blending in with the crowds and watching others get as wasted as I do. It reminds me how we're all just human. We all get drunk, we all do bad things here in a while and.. we all make mistakes. I certainly have. Becoming just a face in the crowd of people makes me feel safe... Makes me feel like I'm a missing puzzle piece that holds the picture together. It just makes me feel special." he paused to take a breath. "I knew from the minute I saw you that you had the same problem as me.. So I tried to be the bigger person and encourage you to be bolder."

My heart was beating like crazy.. I had nothing to say after he was done. I never expected him to be so insecure... and with the same thing as me? It's like destiny that we met at such a time.. "That ties up so many loose ends..." I let out a humorless laugh and shook my head with an unruly smile. At last in the long run, I leaned to the side and turned Cooper's head my way. I pressed my lips against his, tasting the bitter sweetness of his mouth again. I had no idea what it was, but it was addicting like some sort of drug. I placed a hand on the side of his neck, slowly stroking the skin with a strong satisfaction welling up in my stomach.

I pulled back from the kiss and smiled fondly. "Let's go on a date today, to get our minds off things."

**