Page 27 (1/2)

I step away fro why she can’t see my side of this

"Goddamn it…" I feel like I can barely breathe, let alone understand what’s happening I walk over to the sink and look out over the back yard to watch the snow fall After a few ain and lay the truth out "What if I can’t handle it? I love you so da love to you screws everything up for us then what? I’ll lose you Do you understand what that’ll do todown her face and it feels like acid on my skin to watch them fall What she’s about to say is written in her eyes and I s, atte could have prepared me for that the hurt I feel "You’ve already lost me, Cooper"

My eyebrows rise in surprise from the admission, but also from annoyance that she believes this "I haven’t"

She nods, "You have You’re stuck in the past" She hiccups through the tears "The tattoo, Cooper, Inhale the future, exhale the past It’s the only way forthat You are stuck in the past Nother whole body and it’s everything I can do not to wrap my arms around her, but I lose that battle withable to take it for another second, I wrap my arms around her waist and tuck her head under ht She’s always been right I fked this up on my own

We stand like this for what seeh She’s stopped crying now but hasn’t let o Part of me never wants her to The other part knows she will

The ding of her phone causes her to jump She uses her sleeve to wipe away her tears Her mask has slipped back on and she’s in defense mode Jaylinn pulls her phone out of the pocket frolances at it and then puts it back

She clears her throat "I’s I have here and then I’ll be out of your way"

"Jay," I say arning

"Don’t Cooper Don’t make this any worse than it is It’s over, it was fun while it lasted but it’s time for the both of us to o by;her to stay but my mind won’t let me

"Yo man, have you seen Jay?" I ask Eli who came to the party with us

He shakes his head, "Last I saw she was sitting on the couch over there with Kevin"

My sto dealer He used to be a tight end for the football teae but was kicked off the teas were found in his dorm He’s from New Jersey too, but he lived up north and actually went to high school with Eli in Hoboken Eli said he used to be really popular until he started hanging out with the wrong crowd

I drophoo to try and find Jaylinn Fuck, I knew I shouldn’t have brought her with irl has to do is bat her eye lashes and I cave