Agony(Entangled Hearts Duet #1) - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,54
is losing Cooper in my life, and that just won’t do.
Thankfully, my car isn’t blocked. Tossing my bag into the back seat, I hustle to slide behind the wheel and back out of the drive. I keep my eyes on the road, refusing to glance back at the house. No, I can’t do that. I can’t keep hoping and wishing for something that will never be. When I make it to the Stop sign at the end of the street, a single tear rolls across my cheek. Quickly, I swipe it away and roll through the Stop sign. I just need to get home. I need to hold it together until I’m in the confines of my room.
Fifteen minutes later, I’m unlocking our apartment door. Sliding the lock back into place, I go straight to my room and plop down on the bed. My eyes land on a picture of Cooper and me at our high school graduation. One tear falls, then another, and another. I don’t bother to try and stop them. I know there’s no use. This is my issue, one I need to get past. I changed the game. I’m the one who wants more. I’m the one who went and fell in love with my best friend.
After years of hoping, it’s time to lay that to rest. I need to move on. There is never going to be more than friendship between us. I just need to mourn the loss of what my heart wished it could have been. Then somehow, I need to pick up the pieces and move on. One thing is for certain, I will always love Cooper Reeves.
The sound of my phone vibrating pulls me from my slumber. Glancing at the clock, I see it’s two in the afternoon. Tossing the covers off, I scramble to my bag that I dropped on the floor and fish out my phone.
Cooper.
“Hello,” I answer, my voice gravelly from sleep.
“Reese. Where are you?” I can hear the worry in his voice.
“At home. I was sleeping. What’s wrong?”
“You left.”
Shit. I’m not ready to have this conversation. “You were snoring,” I lie. “I came home to sleep.”
“Oh.” He pauses. “Are you coming back over? We were going to grab something to eat.”
“Sure. I just need to shower.” Looks like my alone time is busted. If I refuse to go, he’s going to know that him pushing me away killed me. I can’t let him know that, because it’s not his fault that I fell in love with him.
“Okay. We’ll wait for you.”
“I can just meet you there. Where are you going?”
“We’ll wait, Reese. See you soon.” With that, he ends the call. He’s moody today, but I should have known he would be. Cooper worries, and when he woke up alone, I’m sure he thought something had happened. I know he’s worried about last night as well. He thinks things are going to be different. He’s right. He just has no idea that it’s my broken heart that pulled me from his bed during the early morning hours. Our friendship will remain the same. I’ll give it my all to ensure that it does, but my heart, well, my heart needs to move on.
I can do this. I have to.
Grabbing my clothes, I head to the shower. The entire time, I’m psyching myself up to act as if things haven’t changed between us. I’m not an actress, but I need to be ready to put on a show. I can do this. I don’t want him to see the pain, or the hurt. I need to be just Reese. His best friend. I’ll pick up the pieces without him knowing. What choice do I have?
Thirty minutes later, I’m pulling into the driveway of his house. Taking my keys from the ignition, I grab my purse and put on my “everything is fine” face. I walk into the house without knocking, just like I always do.
“Hey, there she is.” Tessa smiles at me from her seat on the couch.
“Finally. We’re starving,” Hank grumbles.
“You look like you just rolled out of bed.” I raise my eyebrows, and he chuckles.
“Busted, but I’m still starving.”
“Come on, you big baby.” I walk around the couch and hold my hand out to him, pulling him to his feet.
“Thanks, Reese.” He hauls me in for a hug, and just like every time before this one, I hug him back.
“I need my shoes.” Tessa stands and moves to find them.