Georgia's Last Words

Chapter Twenty-Three

Tick-tock, tick-tock. 

The digital clock doesn’t make the sound of a regular wall clock, but I make the sound in my mind. It’s strangely comforting, the constant sound of one thing-even if it is in my head. I watch the clock, waiting for the red numbers to change every minute. 

Tick-tock.

Cooper’s arm is laying across me. I have the blankets pulled up to my chin, afraid to show any of my bare skin. Tucked in tightly around me is the blankets separating Cooper’s skin from mine. A sheet, a comforter, and a blanket separates us. Last night when I slept over he draped the blanket over me because I was shivering. Such a sweetheart. 

Despite everything I’m thinking to myself now, I find a smile planted on my face. It’s a sincere smile, but I still make sure to keep the blankets wedged in between our two bodies. This morning something happened that almost happened months ago that would have been wrong then, but today, as I see it, it was right. 

Since Cooper is snoring softly, I investigate his room with my sharp eyes. There’s not many personal items, a couple pictures, his clothes, a knick-knack or two, and his school books. He is sort of messy, clothes are scattered across the floor, but they sit in one general area. His books and school papers liter his desk. And CDs sit in messy piles near his stereo. 

Only one thing catches my eye in his whole dorm room. There’s a framed picture sitting on his nightstand. I’m not sure how I missed it earlier, it’s a picture I love. It’s of Cooper and I, from this summer. His hair was a little too long and going everywhere. I had my hair down, it was one of those rare nights without much humidity and I risked frizzy hair in front of my crush. We both have huge smiles on our faces, lemonade in hand, and cookies on the windowsill in front of us. I can remember that night so clearly.

“Who was the poor soul that went out with you tonight?” I asked Cooper who just showed up at my house. 

He rolls his eyes. “Some dimwit that I could have gone my whole life without knowing. She was so blonde.”

“See you should only date brunettes, they’re smart and can have fun.” It was a lame joke, but it was my way of flirting nonchalantly. 

“Yeah, maybe I should,” he said so softly that it gave me a bit of hope. “Do you want to sit on the roof tonight?”

It was weird the way he had changed the subject, but I didn’t waste time trying to figure out what he meant. “Sure.”

My house has an almost flat roof that hangs from my window out across our porch. It’s nice to sit up there when the sky is clear and watch the stars. Plus if you want to bring refreshments up there, they won’t fall. So we took a pitcher of lemonade, two glasses, and a plate of fresh cookies up to my room and out on the roof. I poured the lemonade and then sat back with a cookie looking up at the stars. 

“Smile you two!” The voice belonged to my overly cheery mother. 

She stood just inside my window with a camera. Cooper and I put on our best smiles and raised our glasses as if toasting to the end of the summer. Our cookies barely made it in the picture. However, everything of that night was captured in one quick flash from a camera my mother held. 

“This is just the cutest picture I’ve ever seen. I’ll make sure to get copies for both of you. You’ll never want to forget this picture.” 

Neither of us realized how true those words would be held to our hearts in just a couple of hours. 

Once Mom was gone, Cooper started eating a cookie and sipping his glass of lemonade. I had already made it to my second glass and my cookie was halfway gone. He glanced over at me, but darted his eyes quickly. We both laid on our backs and stared at the stars, picking out the few constellations we actually knew.