The Lies That Bind

29: The Road to Hell

"Dude."

"I know," Cooper groaned, dropping his controller so that he could bury his face in his hands and hide from the world. "Fuck. I didn't mean to. I was all...druggy."

"Druggy?"

"You know what I mean." Cooper glanced between his fingers. Waiting for Vincent's inevitable judgment.

But Vincent's lips merely twitched in the ghost of a smile. "Sure." He paused the game and faced Cooper, suddenly serious. "You mean it?"

"Mean what?"

"You love her."

Cooper looked down at his hands. "Yeah. I do. No point denying it."

Vincent didn't say anything for a long time. So long, in fact, that Cooper became aware of a pretty annoying rattling noise coming from their heater. Vincent spared him from jumping up to investigate the noise when he said, "I won't say I get it...but I get it."

Cooper frowned over at him. "That makes no sense."

"No. You and Calla make no sense." He shrugged. "But if you feel about Calla the way I feel about Nat—"

"I do," Cooper said firmly. "Well. I'd guess it's probably a little different. Y'know, with all the..." He waved a hand.

"The murdery stuff?" Vincent asked, utterly serious.

"That's one way to put it." Cooper couldn't help but smile. What was wrong with him? Vincent looked as though he wanted to ask something similar. "Things are...complicated with me and Calla. They always have been. Probably always will be. And I know you don't get it. I don't blame you."

"Well, that's a relief."

Cooper shot him a look that very much said can-you-shut-up-for-ten-seconds. He wasn't sure why, but he wanted Vincent to understand where he was coming from. He needed Vincent to understand. "When Calla told you the truth about what she was...after, you told me you fell in love with a girl who doesn't exist."

Vincent looked away from him. "I remember."

"Well," Cooper said slowly. "I fell in love with the one who does."

Vincent's eyes snapped back to his face. Cooper wondered what he saw there. If it was Calla's shadow that lingered over him, or one of his own making.

"I suppose you have," Vincent said into the silence, just as his phone flashed with an incoming call.

The expression in his eyes softened, and Cooper knew who was on the other line before Vincent ever spoke a word. "Hey, babe."

Cooper tuned out their conversation, occupied with thoughts of Calla and how he would react if she ever called him babe. He'd probably do something totally embarrassing. Like, dissolve into a puddle, or something—

"I know you said you aren't in the mood to go out," Nat was saying, her voice coming through loud and clear, thanks to Vincent always keeping his speaker volume on blast, "but Jen's throwing a New Year's party—"

"No," Vincent and Cooper blurted. They traded sheepish grins.

They'd had quite enough parties for one lifetime.

Cooper's own phone buzzed against the coffee table. He checked the screen, ignoring the unknown number he saw there. "Tell Nat we'll do brunch or something tomorrow to make up for it," Cooper offered, not wanting to make Vincent's life unnecessarily difficult.

Vincent shot him a grateful look and relayed the offer to Nat, whose friends' squeals of delight could be heard from Cooper's side of the couch. Vincent rolled his eyes.