Damaged and the Beast (Damaged #1)

Despite my depression that evening, I didn’t call Tawny. Mostly, I was embarrassed I hadn’t been able to keep Cooper. How would I explain to my sister stranded in a shit motel that I had a chance with a rich hot guy that loved me, but I was too awful at sex to keep him from thinking I was a lesbian? Tawny wouldn’t judge outwardly, but I knew she would think I messed up. Girls like us had few chances at anything great in our lives and Cooper was great in many ways.

He wasn’t perfect though. Despite what he thought about himself, Cooper had nearly punched me in the face. Thinking back to that moment, I should have been warier of my next move. I had chosen to leave without considering how he might hurt me. Maybe I hadn’t taken it seriously enough or maybe I had been too upset to care, but I was reckless.

If I talked to Tawny, I would likely tell her how Cooper almost hit me. She would say it was good we broke up. She would judge Cooper and I didn’t want her to think poorly of him. I shouldn’t protect the asshole, but I loved him. Somehow, when I got up the nerve to call her in a day or two, I would figure out a lie to answer why Cooper and I weren’t together. I wasn’t great at lying to Tawny, but the truth was too embarrassing.

Crying in my room, I turned on the cheap clock radio to muffle my sobs. Amy and Tex were in the living room watching TV and laughing it up. While they partied, I replayed the morning with Cooper.

Finally falling asleep just after dark, I was exhausted, depressed, and dreading the next day. I woke up with the same worries. Would Cooper take away my friends? Would he show up with a new girl and rub it in my face? Would he embarrass me by acting like I didn’t exist?

By the time I saw Skye, I was prepared for the worst. Upon seeing me, she shook her head.

“Guy troubles, huh?”

“How do you know?”

“Honestly? You look like shit. Like you cried all night. Also, I heard from someone that Cooper was raging through town last night. He’s been pretty mellow lately. I figured he was freaking out because you two had a fight. The guy has temper issues.”

“We broke up.”

“Broke up?” Skye yelled then looked around and lowered her voice. “He dumped you? Man, that’s harsh. You guys just hooked up on Friday night. Everyone was talking about how he carried you out of the house. You seemed wasted or something. I don’t really know because I was all into Tyler. I met his parents, you know?”

“How did it go?” I asked, relieved to have the subject off of me and Cooper.

“Great. I’m awesome with parents. They were nice too, but my parents didn’t like Tyler. I tried to guilt them into liking him by saying they were racists if they didn’t, but they just don’t like how he’s into Jesus. It would really help if he didn’t wear the giant crucifix, but his mom bought it for him and he’s sweet on his mom.”

“I’m sure it’ll work out. You wanted to keep him for the year at least. Your parents not liking him won’t change that, will it?”

“No, but I don’t need my mom nagging at me. My little adopted brother started first grade so she’s lonely during the day. Nagging me is a fun hobby of hers.”

I forced a smile. “Screen your calls, I guess.”

Skye laughed. “Yeah, I should. That would drive her crazy.”

Once in class, I tried to pay attention to the instructor, but my mind was on seeing Cooper. Afterwards, Skye was back to talking about Tyler and how his abs were hotter than any in the universe. So busy nodding at everything she said, I didn’t see Bailey storming towards us.

“Hey, bitch!” Bailey announced, cornering me against a wall.

The thing with Bailey was her friendly banter wasn’t all that different from her raging. I wasn’t sure she was angry until she looked me up and down then did her little lip pucker “something stinks in here” expression.

“Because of you, my brother shaved off his head last night.”

“His head?” Skye said, laughing.

“Fuck off, bitch!” After Skye’s laughter stopped mid-giggle, Bailey glared at me. “You hurt him because you’re a bitch and mentally deficient.”

“He shaved his head off?” I asked confused.

“Yeah, dumbass!” Bailey yelled, shoving me against the wall hard enough for my head to bounce off the bricks. Then, she paused and her eyes focused upward. “Oh, his hair, I mean. He shaved off his hair. Not his head. Anyway, because you suck, Coop and Tuck got wasted and shaved their heads. Now, my mom is pissed because she doesn’t like their hair that short. She said it makes them look like skinheads and she doesn’t like suspenders.”

I doubted Bailey was really certain what her mom didn’t like. Either way, I wasn’t explaining anything to Bailey who punched girls over minor infractions. My head already hurt and I hated getting punched in the face.