Damaged and the Beast (Damaged #1)

His arm still against mine, Cooper only nodded.

“I was thinking we could see a movie on Saturday. I could pay and everything.” When Cooper reached for my face, I let him caress my cheek as I continued, “I was thinking I could spend the weekend with you too.”

“But only if you do well on the quizzes, right?”

“No,” I said, holding his gaze. “If I do badly on them, it’s just me fucking up by not being smart enough. It’s not like I haven’t studied or you haven’t helped me. Whatever happens, I still want to spend the weekend with you.”

When Cooper kissed my forehead, I scooted a little closer so my hip pressed against his.

“I need you, baby,” he whispered. “I need you to let me back in.”

“Waiting isn’t about punishing you. It’s about punishing me.”

“You have to fucking stop that,” he said, frowning at me. “Hasn’t life punished you enough with your shit parents and growing up like you did? Why do you have to keep hurting yourself? If anyone should be on your side, it should be you.”

“I guess, but I’m afraid to slack off. After all, look at what happened.”

“You didn’t slack off. You studied, but you needed more help than you thought. It’s your first fucking month at school. You think I aced everything on my first tests?”

“Yes.”

Smiling slightly, Cooper rolled his eyes. “Yes, but I’m perfect.”

I rubbed my cheek against his shoulder. “Soon, Coop. You just have to wait a little longer. I promise.”

Cooper didn’t perk up completely, but his mood did improve. Mine did too. No matter what happened on the quizzes, I knew I worked hard. While I might still be struggling, I wasn’t slacking off. This counted for something. Besides, failed quizzes or not, I was spending the weekend with Cooper.

On Thursday, I called Tawny who answered in a whisper.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

Tawny said nothing and I asked again.

“I’m scared,” she whimpered. “There are these weirdoes at the motel and one of them saw me at the window. I thought Dad might be back, but he wasn’t and the weirdo winked at me. Now, I have the dresser against the door and I’m afraid to leave.”

“Tawny,” I babbled, freaking out at how she was too far away and I didn’t know how to help her. “I have to get you here.”

“I can’t live with Mom. I can’t pretend.”

“Fuck her. She’s just like you said. I was lying to myself remembering those few good times. I wanted her to be a real mom, but she doesn’t care. She has some stupid smelly boyfriend and she’s drinking again. Fuck her and this apartment. I’m using my nest egg to bring you here and get us a new place.”

“What about college?”

“I’ll still have enough to get through the year and next year probably,” I said, thinking of how I might fail and have to redo classes. “I’ll work extra shifts during holidays and the summer. I just want you out of that place.”

“I don’t know where exactly I am though or how to get to a bus station. I’m stuck here and there’s like one convenience store then nothing. The only chance I have to get away is hitchhiking. What if someone bad picks me up?” she whispered, her voice breaking.

Tawny sounded like a little girl and I wanted to climb through the phone and hug her. I wanted to fix everything, but I had made a mess of my life and wasn’t sure how to find Tawny.

“You’re in Texas?” I asked, calming myself.

“Yes. I asked the lady at the convenience store what part of Texas and she acted like I was stupid. She said the southern part then said I had to leave if I wasn’t going to buy anything. I looked in the motel room and there’s no telephone book. I haven’t seen a manager or maid to ask. The only people I see are the weirdoes staying in the next room.”

“What’s the name of the convenience store? Oh, and the motel. I’m going to see if Cooper can find you.”

“I thought you broke up.”

“We did,” I said, losing a little of my confidence, “but if he can bring you here, I’ll spend the rest of my life paying him back.”

Tawny said nothing, but I heard her moving around.

“What’s wrong?”

“I hear voices. Sometimes, those guys come around the door and look in the window. I’m hiding in the bathroom. I don’t want them to come in here. Dad says they won’t. He says they’re just fooling around when they knock.”