Beneath the Country Sky

Chapter 11: In The Wake of Loss

Weeks had passed since the passing of Victoria, and the weight of her absence still hung heavy over the hacienda. The once vibrant air felt suffocating, as if grief had settled into every corner of the estate. Scarlette and Cooper had not spoken since the funeral. Whenever they crossed paths, Scarlette would find an excuse to avoid him-either disappearing into her room or taking long walks in the fields, leaving Cooper standing in awkward silence. The distance between them had grown vast, an invisible wall built of sorrow, anger, and unresolved pain.

Cooper felt as though he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. He hadn't just lost Victoria-he was losing Scarlette too. He could see the resentment in her eyes whenever she glanced his way. Her silence was louder than any words she could have spoken. And, as if that wasn't enough, Isabel had become a shadow lingering in the back of his mind. They hadn't spoken since their argument. There was no closure, no resolution-just a hollow space where his relationship once thrived.

It was a cloudy afternoon when Isabel showed up at his door. Cooper hadn't been expecting her, but there she stood, with her auburn hair tucked behind her ears and a concerned expression on her face. She looked out of place, like she didn't belong anymore. But there was a time when seeing her would have brought Cooper immense joy, when her smile would've been enough to make his entire day better. Today, however, seeing her only made the aching in his chest worse.

"Hey," Isabel said softly, her voice carrying an awkward hesitance as she shifted on her feet.

Cooper stood in the doorway, unsure of what to say. He hadn't expected her to come-not after everything that had happened. Not after the way she had pulled away from him.

"Hey," he finally managed to say, his voice hoarse.

Isabel cleared her throat, glancing at the ground before meeting his eyes. "I heard about Victoria. I'm... I'm so sorry, Cooper."

He nodded, stepping aside to let her in. "Thanks."

The two of them walked through the house in silence, Cooper leading her to the back porch. It was the same spot where they had spent so many afternoons together, laughing and dreaming about the future. But now, the air between them felt thick and strained, weighed down by everything they weren't saying.

The view from the porch was breathtaking, with the rolling mountains stretching out into the horizon. The scene might have been peaceful, even comforting, if not for the storm raging inside of Cooper's heart.

They sat down on the old wooden bench, the silence between them almost unbearable. Isabel looked around, fidgeting with the hem of her dress. "It's beautiful here," she whispered, trying to fill the void. "I always loved this view."

Cooper didn't respond at first. He stared blankly at the mountains, his thoughts miles away. When he finally spoke, his voice was empty, devoid of the warmth it once held. "Yeah, I guess."

Isabel glanced at him, studying his profile. The Cooper she knew was always full of life, always teasing her with that playful smirk of his. But the man sitting beside her now looked like a shadow of that person-his eyes hollow, his face etched with pain. She hadn't realized just how much Victoria's death had affected him. Or maybe it wasn't just that. Maybe it was everything-Victoria, Scarlette, and her.

"I should've come sooner," Isabel said, her voice trembling slightly. "I didn't know how to... I didn't know what to say. I know things have been... complicated between us."

Complicated. The word hung in the air like a bitter aftertaste. Cooper let out a humorless laugh, his eyes still fixed on the mountains. "Complicated. That's one way to put it."

Isabel bit her lip, her heart sinking. She knew she had hurt him, but hearing the bitterness in his voice made the guilt twist inside her like a knife. "I didn't mean for things to turn out like this," she whispered. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Cooper finally turned to face her, his gaze sharp and full of the pain he had been trying to keep buried. "Then why did you?" His voice was low, but there was a tremor in it, a quiet desperation that made Isabel's chest tighten. "Why did you pull away from me, Isabel? Why did you let us fall apart?"

Isabel swallowed hard, unable to meet his eyes. "I don't know," she said quietly. "I was scared, I guess. Things were moving too fast, and I wasn't ready. I didn't want to hurt you, Cooper, but I didn't know how to tell you that I needed space."

"Space?" Cooper's laugh was bitter, almost mocking. "You didn't just need space, Isabel. You shut me out. You stopped talking to me, stopped coming around. And now, after all this time, you show up here and expect what? For everything to be okay?"

Isabel flinched at the harshness of his words, tears welling up in her eyes. "I didn't come here to make things right between us," she admitted, her voice breaking. "I came because I care about you, Cooper. I know I messed up. I know I hurt you. But I couldn't just stay away, not after what happened with Victoria. I wanted to see how you were holding up."

"I'm not holding up, Isabel," Cooper snapped, his frustration finally bubbling to the surface. "I've lost everything. Victoria's gone. Scarlette won't even look at me. And you... you broke my heart, and I still don't even know why."

The raw emotion in his voice left Isabel speechless. She had known he was hurting, but hearing him say it out loud-hearing the depth of his pain-made her feel like the worst person in the world.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "I'm so, so sorry."

Cooper shook his head, letting out a shaky breath. "Sorry doesn't change anything, Isabel. It doesn't take away the fact that you gave up on us. You gave up on me."

Isabel wiped at her tears, her hands trembling. She didn't know what to say, how to make him understand that she had never stopped caring about him-that her pulling away had been more about her own fears than about him. But now it seemed too late for explanations.

"I didn't give up on you, Cooper," she said softly. "I just... I needed time. And I know I handled it all wrong, but I never stopped loving you. I never stopped caring."

The words hung in the air, but they didn't seem to reach Cooper. He felt numb, too broken to process anything she said. "It doesn't matter," he murmured, his voice hollow. "I don't think we can fix this, Isabel. Too much has happened."

Isabel's heart shattered at his words, but deep down, she knew he was right. They were too far gone. The love they had once shared had been eroded by time, distance, and the choices they both made. No amount of apologies could fix what was broken.

Cooper turned his gaze back to the mountains, his expression distant. "You should go," he said quietly. "There's nothing left to talk about."

Isabel stood slowly, her legs feeling like they could give out beneath her. She wanted to say something, anything that would make him change his mind. But she knew there was nothing left to say. They were at the end of their road.

As she walked away, Cooper sat alone, staring blankly at the horizon. He felt empty, his heart aching with the weight of everything he had lost-Isabel, Scarlette, Victoria. The people he had once counted on, the people he loved, had all slipped away from him.

The wind whispered through the trees, carrying with it the faint scent of jasmine and the memories of a love that no longer existed. Cooper leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes as the pain washed over him in waves. He didn't know how long he could keep living like this, with his heart fractured and his soul weighed down by loss.

But for now, he would sit in the quiet, letting the emptiness consume him.