The Devil Inside

34: Sunset

Cooper grimaced. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Vincent shrugged. "It is the way it is. Always has been. Always will be."

Maybe that was true. He knew Vincent had always held out some sort of hope for his father—that the old man would sober up and keep a steady job, that the rift that had grown between them might somehow mend after so many miserable years. But the drinking had only gotten worse in recent weeks, and with the drinking came the drunken rages, the unintelligible ravings of a man who'd lost at life and had nothing left to give. Not even for his own son.

Sometimes, all there was left to do was let go.

"If your mom needs me to bounce—" Vincent started, red-faced.

"No," Cooper cut in. They both stepped forward, following the crowd up the concrete steps. "Are you kidding me? You can crash on the couch all summer if you want. You know she loves having you there."

Vincent tried to hide a smile. "Thanks, Coop. I'm glad..."

He faltered, unable to say the words. I'm glad we didn't lose this. Cooper clapped him on the shoulder. "I know."

They brushed aside a curtain of silver streamers and stepped into the gymnasium. A host of familiar faces turned to beam at them, including the twins. Mike was the first to approach, and though the bridge between them had long since mended, Cooper couldn't help the burst of nerves that fluttered in his stomach as they clasped arms.

He knows her secret. He knows the truth.

But Mike had kept his silence, as had his brother. Maybe because they knew it was for the best. Blake wouldn't risk his scholarship, and Mike...well, Mike was Mike. His policy had always been easy to forgive, easier to forget. Neither brother seemed eager to disrupt the tentative peace that had fallen after Stephanie's downfall.

And for now, that had to be enough.

Cooper dusted off his paranoia and grinned, turning to embrace classmates whose names he knew only in passing. No one could be a stranger in a town this small. But today, they were more than strangers, more than childhood friends and tentative allies.

They were a family.

Speaking of family, he mused, eye snagging on a flash of red in the press of black fabric. Calla stood apart from the rest, observing her classmates with an air of surprise. As if she'd never imagined this day might actually come.

Cooper leaned against the wall beside her. "No tearful goodbyes?"

"Maybe later." She folded her arms, faintly amused. "This is really it."

"Did you decide where you're headed after this?"

"Home, probably." He shot her a blistering look. She grinned. "Cornell."

"Holy shit." He raised his brows, impressed. "You're going ivy."

She shrugged. "I like a challenge."

"Cornell," he repeated, staring down at his shoes. "Penn State's only, like, four hours from there."

"It is." When he looked up, she was smiling her Cheshire cat smile at him. "Planning to visit often, are you?"

"Oh, shut up," he grumbled, shoving her shoulder. "One of us has to. And we both know you won't put in the effort."

"I don't have a car."

"That's beside the point."

"Cooper." She shoved him back. "You don't have to come visit me. You'll have Vincent to keep you company. You're going to be fine."