Just Kidding | ✔️

Chapter 55: Cherry Blossom Trees

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So it seems something terrible has happened. . .

Something that you nor anyone else should know at this moment. Because just for a little while longer I want to be seen as Kyla Daniels and not the sick girl I know that I am now.

I sit and watch the sun go black in my eyes as Lora and I drive back home in silence. My bones begin to deteriorate, my heart begins to slow and all in all my entire body loses feeling. The fire that Cooper had lit inside of me is dimming.

Entering the cold house that was once warm, I watch the feeble figure of Lora stumbling into the living room. James' smiling face as he greets us, falls once his gaze sets upon Lora.

Just watching as James falls to the floor in a heap of sobs as I ascend the stairs is enough to trouble my mind. Cooper cannot know of this, not now. I fear he'll never recover.

As soon as I enter my room and close the door behind me, Snickers jump up onto me and as if nothing is wrong, I hold him in my arms and bury my face in his soft fur. The calmness doesn't last long before sobs rack my entire body and fill the room.

Here I am sobbing my eyes out at the stupidest of things, I knew it was coming so why am I sad?

Is it because I hoped for something better? Or is it because the thought of hurting Cooper or Blake is a knife in my heart.

I look over at my phone as it rings repeatedly and I'm not surprised to see Cooper's contact. Quickly wiping my tears and clearing my throat, I put up a facade that not even Cooper can break.

"Hey, babe." I answer.

"Hey?! I've been worried sick about you and all you have to say is. . .hey?!" Cooper hisses.

"Sorry?"

"Kyla, what's going on with you? What happened at the nurses office?" His questions just get harder and harder as they go.

"Nothi-" I was fully prepared to tell him that nothing was wrong and that I'm still doing fine. That I'm all better. But with Cooper I just can't.

My sobs betray me as does my mind.

"Kyla?! Kyla, what's wrong baby?"

"I-I can't tell you." I shake head, I'm surprised he can hear me through all of my wailing. Ignoring the aching of my joints and the wave of nausea rising up my throat I curl myself up and I just cry.

"Goddamnit Kyla! I'm coming over."

"No! Cooper you can't-"

The call ends and panic settles in. "Fuck." I curse, racing around the room to clean up the evidence and to shut the blinds. Maybe if he can't see me in the dim light then he won't notice how I've slowly been withering away before his very eyes.

School hasn't even ended yet. So that means that I still have time, right?

Wrong.

Only fifteen minutes pass before Cooper is barging into my bedroom. "What's going on?!" He demands. "I just saw Lora and James sobbing on the couch. Is there something you'd like to tell me? Hm?"

No. He can't know.

"It's-" my mouth isn't strong enough to withstand the bile that now urges closer to my throat. Without a second glance, I burst into my bathroom and hunch over the toilet where the contents of my stomach are released.

At the sound of Cooper dashing towards me with a speed unlike any other, I cover my face. "D-don't come over here. I'm disgusting." I'm a walking disease.

"Don't say that." He kneels beside me and through the rest of the time spent hunched over the toilet bowl, Cooper remains at my side with a hand rubbing my back. I suppose this could be a good thing seeing as he's forgotten all about his earlier question and is now leading me to my bed.

I know I can't hold off the truth for long but the more time I have to gain the confidence to spill my secret, the better it is.

"Just lay down." He pulls for blankets over me and kisses my forehead.

"You don't have to do this." I lean back into the cotton of my pillows.

"I want to." Squeezing my hand, Cooper leaves the room.

I watch as he leaves, missing his warmth and safety. The longer Cooper is away for, the more cold and distant I grow towards my own body.

When he returns I've almost shut my eyes and given way to the light but Cooper somehow holds more power over me than I do. He's capable of keeping me afloat and alive. Even when all I want to do is drown.

"Here." He sits at the edge of my bed holding a mug of steaming tea and a white cloth.

I take the mug and allow him to gently press the warm washcloth against my forehead. "Mm. Thank you." I hum, ready to give way to sleep.

"Scoot over, I'm coming in." He kicks off his shoes and snuggles close to me under the covers when I move over to allow him in.

"Please, don't go." I whisper into him. He takes my tea and sets it on the bedside table. "Never." Pressing a delicate kiss on my temple, he lulls me off to sleep where I dream of a better world.

It's a place where death and despair don't belong and eternal life sprouts from the cherry blossom trees.

Where the wind is a gentle kiss upon the cheek and sunshine is a warm smile against our skin.

It's a place that I pray I might visit someday. A place that Cooper might follow me to when the time comes.