A Wall Between

Chapter 28

"Yes I have!" Sasha insisted. "When I was like maybe eight mum's work friend's kid stayed over."

"Well, technically," Sasha's mum said. "But I set that up and you kept asking when he was going home the whole time he was there."

Sasha shrugged. That kid had been so loud and disrespectful. Sasha sat down on the arm of the couch and continued texting Cooper. My mum and dad say you can stay with us tonight. So you don't have to sleep in a car.

Are you sure that's ok? I know you're tired.

I will be a bad host probably but in cars there are no hosts at all.

True <3

Sasha bit down on a smile. When he glanced up and realised his parents were still watching him, he quietly retreated to his room.

#

Cooper jogged back upstairs, told Abra and Ellie what was happening and put together an overnight bag, and then he headed back down to the car. Not to sleep this time, but to drive to Sasha's house.

He was kind of nervous about it, if he was honest. He'd stayed with Abra's family for a little while, so he had some experience with parents who weren't his own, who were actually decent people, but he still struggled to conceive of the idea of parents who actually put their kids first. Parents, in Cooper's mind, were just people who judged you.

And, well, what if they didn't like him once they realised that he wasn't nearly as put together as he might have first appeared? Once they realised there was a reason he lived where he did? Maybe they wouldn't mind because they were used to Sasha, but the two of them weren't really that alike.

Sasha was gentle, deliberate, reserved. Cooper was... a mess. A loud and annoying mess. Sure, he could be charismatic and he generally got along with people, but sometimes. Sometimes people didn't like him.

He showed up at the address Sasha had given him, his backpack on his back, his blanket bundled up and draped across his shoulders, and his pillow clutched against his chest, and rang the doorbell. Sasha's mum answered the door.

"Oh, you came prepared!" she said when she saw him. "We were just getting some pillows and blankets together for you, but it looks like you won't need them. Come in."

Sasha was in the living room when his mum led Cooper in. He was in his pyjamas and had his arms crossed over his chest with his hands resting on his opposite shoulders. From anyone else, it would have been an awkward position, but Sasha made it look natural. And cute. Definitely cute.

Cooper went and stood close enough to him that they could talk semi-privately. "How're you doing?"

Sasha shrugged, his crossed arms rising to touch his chin. "I took the antibiotics and cleaned the bite."

"That's good. I'd probably forget to do it."

"It's half of what I think about so it's hard to forget."

"Ah. Well, that kinda sucks."

Sasha shrugged again. "The other half is worse."

Cooper wanted to hug him, but Sasha was already taking care of that himself. Besides, his posture was so closed off that he'd invented his own body language. He maybe wasn't in the mood for that. When Cooper looked around, he realised Sasha's mum had left the room. They were alone.

"Thanks for letting me stay the night," Cooper said. "I'll admit, the car wasn't actually that comfortable."

"You should've asked," Sasha murmured.