“Okay, honey. Glad you came over. Tell your mother hello, will you?”
I nodded and stepped outside, closing the door quietly. What just happened?
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR: Mike
Mom thought Thursday night’s dinner had gone swimmingly. I wasn’t convinced.
“You were well spoken, honey,”she’d said.“Surprisingly articulate as well.”
“Uh, thanks, I think?”I questioned.
“No, I just mean you sounded so mature, Michael. That was precisely what Cooper needed to hear.”
“He walked out, Mom. I don’t think it went as well as you think it did,”I’d challenged.
She waved me off.“You’ll see. I still say bravo to you.”
Mom was wrong. Cooper avoided me like I had COVID all day Friday.Holy fuck, they don’t know about COVID.At any rate, nothing had changed between us and I didn’t like it much.
He all but completely ignored me in second period and we sat next to each other for fuck’s sake. I grabbed his sleeve when students funneled out the door into the hallway after the bell rang, pulling him back into the empty classroom. Mr. Hicks had already left for his hallway monitor duties in between classes.
“Hey, are we good?” I asked, trying to act calm and cool.
“Yeah, I think so,” he answered.
“You only think so?” I asked, concerned I’d been correct and Mom had misread the mood. “Then how about you help me understand what’s happening, Coop?”
“I heard you loud and clear at dinner, Mikey. I get it now,” he began,nervously watching the open door and the crowded hallway. “I just need more time, is all.”
“What part did you get?” I pushed, being careful to not appear threatening or upset.
“You weren’t forced to give in to me, and youmayormay notbe gay,” he began. “I think I heard what I needed to hear.”
Cooper was distant and cold, and it broke my heart. I felt alone in my attempt to get us back on track and wasn’t sure what to say or how to act. And in that moment I didn’t know how to fucking breath when I looked into his empty eyes. I’d hurt him somewhere deep and I needed to know how to undo what I’d done. I was suddenly fearful that I wasn’t in his heart anymore. His eyes proved that much.
I backed away. “You don’t feel the same about me, do you?” I whispered, loosening my grip on his wrist. “I’ve destroyed what we had.”
He couldn’t look at me, a tell-tell sign that he’d checked out and possibly moved on. I’d seen Coop quit on people who had hurt him before, and I knew it took a lot to lose him. Had I done that?
He removed my hand from his wrist. “You took something that I believed in, our friendship to be exact, and you changed it,” he started, choking up. “I trusted in what we had. I’ve never told you this, but I built walls around my heart to protect me from how I felt about you, Mikey.”
“But . . .”
He checked the door again. “I’m not done,” he stated, sounding unlike himself. “And then youout of the bluetell me what you told me?”
“I meant the part about being gay,” I interjected. “This is me, Coop. Why would I lie about something like this?”
“I don’t know. You tell me,” he said. “I see you standing here, and I know you look like you and all, but youare notyou. You’re . . . you’re . . . different, Mikey. Something is not right.”
“BecauseI amdifferent,” I protested. “I’m growing up. I’m almost eighteen. Besides, why would I lie about wanting to be with you that way? I wouldn’t do that to you, Coop. I just wouldn’t.”
He sighed and shrugged his shoulders, probably frustrated by my words. “What happened last Sunday?” he demanded. “If you want my trust then tell me what happened.”
“Nothing happened,” I lied. There was no way I could tell him that I’d suddenly zapped into a parallel dimension. If he was confused now, that news would put him in the loony bin.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Coop, listen to me,” I began.
