Baited

Chapter 11. Something was off

I woke up to an empty bed. Coopers spot void of warmth; I sat up a bit alarmed. He is never up before me and if he ever does, he usually wakes me.

As my eyes adjusted to the light shining in through the window, the events of last night replayed in my head. "Shit!" I spoke aloud to myself.

I needed to talk with Cooper. Was he still upset with me about Jess? Maybe even about last night? Had we made a grave mistake? One we couldn't take back.... Last night was different from the other times. I don't know how but I felt it. I felt the difference and I needed to talk to him about it.

I rushed to my dresser and pulled out a pair of grey sweats and a simple white T. Once somewhat dressed, I left my room and made my way down the stairs. Approaching the bottom step, I heard laughter and some chatter. Following the voices, I found myself in the kitchen. My siblings and Cooper sat at the kitchen table with my Mother hovering over the stove. The smell of eggs, bacon, ham and toast lingered in the air.

"Good morning, Sweetie." My Mom cooed.

I walked to my Mother, kissed her on the cheek and wished her a good morning in return.

"Sit." She demanded. "I'll make you a plate."

I approached the circular kitchen table and went to take the one seat not occupied; furthest from Cooper.

"I'll get up so you can sit next to your boyfriend." My sister commented as she began to pick her plate up.

I rolled my eyes and in an annoyed tone, told her not to bother. The jokes about Cooper and I were starting to bother me more than ever. They never bothered either of us before and so I had to remind myself to act normal. If I started snapping at every little insinuation about Cooper and I that our family and friend threw at us, they would suspect something was up.

"Yea. You're fine where you are." Cooper commented and then looked over to me.

When our eyes met he winked at me and then went back to eating. The shit was acting like everything was absolutely fine. This annoyed me to no end.

Cooper finished eating before I did and without so much as a glance in my direction, he stood up with his plate in hand and walked over to the sink and dropped it in. Knowing my Mother would threaten his life if he attempted to clean the dish himself, he left it, kissed my Mother on the cheek and headed for the door.

With a half finished plate of food, I jumped up and headed for the door.

"Oh no, lovers quarrel."

Without looking back to see who the comment came from, nor caring, I told whomever it was to "shove it" and rushed to the door just as Cooper stepped out and slammed it shut. The fucker.

I swung the door open and rushed out, meeting Cooper's brisk pace as he beelined for his house. "Cooper!" I shouted, reaching out and grabbed his forearm.

He stopped with a huff and turned to me. "What's up, Spence?" He asked in a manner that conveyed his annoyance.

Taken aback by the tone of his voice, I stepped back and glared at him. My browns unknowingly pulled together as my anger built. "Are you serious, Coop? What is your problem?" I asked in return.

His smug little ass just shrugged and attempted to turn back around to continue his short walk home. Grabbing his arm once more I twisted him around to face me once more with a force matching the rage brewing inside me. He stumbled back and next thing I knew the two of us were on the ground, wrestling on my front lawn.

Grunts and foul words were exchanged while we each fought for dominance. Equally matched, we wrestled our tensions away and eventually found ourselves laying side by side breathing heavily.