Tend To My Heart

47

Evangeline

Cooper has been avoiding me.

It's been 2 weeks since Tristan and I have made things official and I haven't had the chance to speak to Cooper, not once. Two weeks since the day he was the one to acknowledge my feelings for Tristan before I did.

Granted, it's all with valid reason, I just didn't expect it to tarnish a lifetimes worth of friendship. Make it a little weird at first, sure, but I didn't think it would come down to us never speaking again.

So, I refuse to let that happen any longer.

The rest of the group has been excusing his unusual absence with bullshit lies regardless of if they think I believe them or not.

I'm a woman of action. I take care of those I love and whether Cooper likes it or not, I won't allow this to fuck up over a decades worth of friendship.

I only worked my shift at Liv's today so, I'm taking advantage of the fact that everyone's either in class or at a study group, my boyfriend included.

Cooper, on the other hand, I know is at work and I plan to ambush him with his coffee order as well as a 'can we please try to make this work because I care about you a whole lot' muffin.

Cooper works at the library on campus. He says it's where he meets girls because the quiet ones who read catch him by surprise the most.

I now realize that most of the things he might have said about women could have been to gain a reaction out of me and my heart aches a little more for him.

I spot his familiar figure in the fiction section, his back to me as he shelves the books on the cart he's pushing around.

I try to picture it. What it would have been like, Cooper and I. My mind won't allow it. On the outside, we could have been a nice couple and yet, the man my mind keeps putting beside me is a certain blue eyed one I've got my heart set on already.

I shake my head free of the thoughts and march right over to my best friend.

I catch his attention immediately, as if he sensed me approaching and I watch the different emotions wash over his face when he turns towards me.

"V...what are you doing here?" He asks and without much enthusiasm which is another jab at my heart.

"I...I brought you this" I hold the coffee and muffin out in front of him and he has to look around, as if this were some kind of joke.

"Look, I know you've been avoiding me and I understand, Coop, I do, but I didn't think this would jeopardize our friendship and I miss you a whole lot" the words spill out of me before he has the chance to dismiss me or even run away because it looks as if he wants to do both of those things.

"V...I need some time" Cooper admits and I'm not too upset about that. I can handle time, though my heart tells me he's going to need more than I'm hoping.

"How much time...if you had to guess?" I swallow the lump forming in my throat and hate that something like this is happening almost as much as I hate the fact that I want to burst into tears because of it.

"I don't know" Cooper sighs and it almost sounds agitated.

"Well...I just want you to know that I miss you and you're one of my best friends and I'd really hate for something like this to taint our friendship. I lov-"

"Fucking hell, Vangie!" Cooper cuts me off with an exasperated laugh and though he manages to stay quiet enough to not draw attention, it still startles me.

"I don't think you fully comprehend how I'm feeling right now!" He tells me, running a hand through his hair while my own hands try not to crush the treats I brought for him.