Shadowstruck

Chapter 12 Part 2

Cooper could barely make out the words Noah was saying. He looked up a bit, confused. 

"I'm sorry."

There was a ringing in his ears and he felt guilt wash over him. Noah kept talking.

"Are you okay?"

A voice worked its way into Cooper's mind. 

Lie. Lie. Lie. Protect yourself. Keep up the facade. Trust me. It'll be okay. Lie. 

He nodded, avoiding eye contact. The voice grew louder. 

Lie. Make him believe you. Keep up the facade.

"...are you sure?"

The voice was replaced by a static buzzing, ringing in his head.

He couldn't bring himself to say anything. He looked to the ground, scared, closing in on himself. He could feel his grip on everything weakening. He glanced at his hand.

It was hazy and slightly transparent.

He turned from Noah, pulling it against his chest and trying to steady his breath, trying to calm down, his eyes closed. Cooper risked a glance at Noah, seeing an indecipherable expression on his face. He directed his gaze to his now opaque hand, letting it drop as the panic and fear faded just a bit and he could mentally let go.

Cooper looked over at Noah carefully, the same unintelligible emotion on his face from before. 

He tried to speak, taking a few tries before his vocal cords decided to start working again instead of letting out barely intelligible mutters. "Are you okay?"

Noah took a second to react, blinking quickly and shaking his head, avoiding eye contact. "Yeah, I- I, uh, I'm fine."

Cooper ran his thumb over the nail of his finger lightly, back and forth, still sensing the worrying lurking just beneath the surface. He shoved it down, letting concern come to the front. "Alright..." He watched Noah walk past him, head down and letting their shoulders brush as he made his way to the door. Cooper froze for just a second before following him out.