Damaged and the Beast (Damaged #1)

Cooper shook his head, but I knew he was lying. He’d done something bad enough to scare him. When he kissed me, I realized Cooper was shaking.

He said I relaxed him. Even without knowing what he did, I needed to soothe away his tension. Squirming around in the booth until I was on my knees, I had him lean against my chest while I caressed his head. His hair wasn’t as short and it felt soft against my fingertips. Cooper wrapped his arms around my waist and exhaled softly against me.

“Whatever happened, it’ll be okay.”

“Do you promise?” he asked, sounding like a kid.

“Yes,” I said, unable to say anything else.

Cooper looked up at me, his dark eyes overflowing with emotion. “Don’t leave me,” he whispered, fighting for control. “Fuck, Farah. We’re perfect together so you need to stay.”

Kissing him, I tried not to show my concern, but he had me worried. If it wasn’t about a girl, what could he have done to cause me to leave? Did he kill someone? I knew his family business was violent. I knew Tucker likely dealt with those bastards harassing girls after Maddy made a toast to her hero who made it safe to walk the streets again. I understood Cooper would take over the family business and deal with his dad’s old biker contacts. I just didn’t think the violence would affect Cooper so strongly.

Later at his place, he never quite calmed down. When we were together, he held me too tightly like I might run away if he loosened his grip. As we dozed, I thought I heard him apologizing and saying he needed me to stay.

The next day, Cooper did everything he could to convince me to ditch school. He turned off the alarm, but I woke up on my own. He distracted me with sex and food. I still wanted to go to school and find out my grades. It was making me nuts not knowing and Cooper’s secret wasn’t helping me settle down. I promised him everything would be alright and he finally drove us to school.

Kissing me like he was saying goodbye, Cooper looked so young and vulnerable when I walked to my first class. I glanced back and waved, but he just stared. The mood in class wasn’t any better. Apparently, everyone thought they failed every test. A lot of students didn’t even show up to class, rather than learn their fates. I was nervous too, but then I heard how the counselors were calling in the people with really bad test results. When I arrived in my third class without an invite to the Admin building, I felt pretty confident. Then, Skye found me.

“I should have warned you that Cooper is the jealous type,” she said, sitting next to me in class and checking her appearance in a little compact. “I think I just got distracted by Tyler’s abs. Have you seen them? They’re pretty fucking spectacular. Oh, and he aced everything yesterday. Didn’t even break a sweat. Hot and smart, I’ve hit the motherload.”

As usual, I had to wait until Skye finished before I could return to the first thing she said. “What about Cooper?”

“You didn’t really like Nick, did you? He’s cute, but not really hot. Not rich or smart. He’s not Tyler and he certainly isn’t Cooper.”

“What about Nick?”

Shrugging, Skye focused on a crying girl who entered the room. The girl’s friends descended upon her with promises to study more.

“I did fine,” Skye said. “I mean, how could I not? I showed up. I took notes. I stayed awake. How hard is it to pass these tests? Fucking hillbillies.”

Shaking my head, I wanted Skye to focus. “What happened to Nick? He hasn’t been in class, but a lot of people ditched today.”

“Oh, he’s in the hospital. Cooper fucked him up. How could you not know that when it’s your boyfriend and your whatever Nick is to you?”

As a cold dread settled into my stomach, I thought I might vomit. “Will Nick be okay?”

“You should stop worrying about Nick,” Skye muttered, glaring at me. “Guys like Cooper don’t want their girlfriends talking up losers. You need to keep your eye on the ball, Farah, or you’ll lose him.”

Normally when Skye got bitchy with me, I pulled within myself and avoided conflict. This time though, I walked out of the room just as the instructor entered. I didn’t care about anything except finding Cooper and making him explain what the fuck he thought he was doing?

Cooper was in his Analytic Geometry and Calculus class when I found him, but he wasn’t listening. His gaze was on the chair in front of him and he looked either pissed or depressed. Standing at the doorway, I waited for him to notice. The minute our eyes met, Cooper knew I knew and I saw his gaze harden.

Once we were alone on the grassy quad and away from the nearby classrooms, I waited for him to explain. Instead, he stared at me until I cried.

“Why him?” Cooper asked, leaning down to speak near my ear. “Why is always fucking him?”