“Okay.”The agreement slips free before I can think better of it, but come on, I was always going to agree.This is Copeland, my heart.Of course, I’m going to try, even if it kills me and shatters my heart into so many pieces it will never be put back together.
“Yeah?”he asks, his breath hitching.
“Yeah,” I agree.
“You should get some sleep.It’s been an emotional day.”
“And you?”I can tell he’s driving.
“I’m heading back to the Manor now.I’ve been driving backroads since I left your place earlier.Now that I know you’re okay, I can rest.”
There’s the Copeland I know.He’s still in there.“Be safe.”
“I’m almost there,” he tells me.“Sweet dreams, Ells.”
“Sweet dreams, Cope.”
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Right.Tomorrow.”
“I’m here,” he tells me.“I’m safe.”
I exhale, not caring that he can hear me.The thought of losing him kills me.“Goodnight.”
“Night, baby.”
I force myself to end the call.When I go to plug the phone in for a second time, I get a text message.
Copeland: I love you.
I don’t reply, even though I want to.He knows I love him.Everyone knows I love him.Instead, I plug in my phone, lie back, close my eyes, and let every hope, every dream tied to Copeland James filter through my mind before I drift off to sleep.
Fourteen
Copeland
“All right, it’s been three days, now four, counting today, that you’ve been grinning like your face might crack.Care to fill me in?”Mom asks.
“I’m just glad to be home,” I tell her with a wink.We both know there’s more to it than that.
“Really?And why, all of a sudden, are you so happy to be home?”She’s sitting on the couch, legs covered with a blanket.She’s been sick as hell this week from her first round of chemo on Monday, and I feel a twinge of guilt to be so happy while she’s fighting so hard as they pump poison into her body.
“Just happy.”I lean down and kiss her cheek before handing her the cup of hot tea I just made for her.
“Didn’t I teach you not to lie to me?”she asks.
I smirk.“I don’t know, Momma.I thought so, but then that means that you must have gotten a burst of energy to clean out my old bedroom.You know, since it was too full for me to stay there, and it’s suddenly clean.”
She mock gasps, placing her hand against her heart.“There must have been a cleaning fairy.”She smiles.Her face is pale, her eyes rimmed with dark circles, but her spirits are high.
“Maybe.Or could it be that you lied?”I ask her.
She takes a sip of her tea.“I did no such thing.”
“Right….”I draw out the word, laughing.I settle on the recliner and take a long pull from my glass of lemonade as I stare her down.It takes her three seconds tops for her to cave.
“Fine.”She rolls her eyes dramatically.“I might have stretched the truth a teensy bit.”She holds up her thumb and forefinger to show me a very small amount of space.
