that she had moved away. I knew I missed my chance to get to know her. I remember her dad’s words. He said, ‘I’m sorry, son. Maybe your paths will cross again someday.’ I left there that day thinking I would never see her again. And for five years that girl has been on my mind and forgetting her doesn’t work. I’ve tried.”
Cooper’s expression changed. He turned toward me and held my face in the palms of his hands. “And then I saw her again… at the airport, standing beside my grandmother. It was you. Your face was etched into my memory. I knew who you were before my grandmother even told me. And when she said you were back because your father died my heart broke for you. I wanted to take away your pain all over again. I knew you were going to need time to grieve. So I stayed away. Again. Until my grandmother intervened.”
“Cooper…I—”
“Shhh,” he said, placing one finger over my lips. “Don’t say anything yet. Let me finish.”
He reached for both of my hands again and he placed them in his lap. “I never knew if this was something I needed to bring up. You never mentioned any of this to me, so I figured this was something you wanted to bury. And your heart was so broken. But the reason I’m finally telling you is because I need you to know that I understand where you’re coming from. I know what happened to you. It’s why I’ve insisted on taking things slow. For you. If you don’t think I see how overwhelmed you are when you’re around me, you would be wrong. I do see it. I see so much of you. I see how beautiful your long brown hair is…how it reminds me of caramel and how you use it as a curtain sometimes when you want to hide your face. And did you know that your brown eyes have flecks of gold in them? It’s true. I see that sometimes you chew your bottom lip and how your cheeks flush whenever I get close to you. How you sometimes bite your nails when you get nervous. I see how big your heart is…your amazing sense of humor. And I see a girl who gets scared sometimes, and I want that girl to know that I understand why. I want that girl to know that I’m willing to give her whatever she needs. I want that girl to trust me.”
Cooper reached in his front pocket and pulled out something shiny and then wrapped it around my wrist. “I got this bracelet for you, to remind you who you are.”
Engraved on the bracelet was: Delicate, Bold, & Beautiful
I traced the words with my finger as my brain rushed to catch up with everything.
“Like the flower, Lily,” he said. “That’s how I see you.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I whispered. “Thank you. You’ve been like my guardian angel and…” A tear fell onto the bracelet. “All this time, and I never knew it was you who saved me.”
My mind tracked back to that day on the plane when Ms. Sophie was convinced we were meant to meet that day and asked me if I believed in fate. I had no idea how fate was working in my life until now.
Thirteen
Fallen
I don’t know how long I sat there staring down at the bracelet that was now wrapped around my wrist, promising myself that I would never take it off. The cold metal was warming on my skin as I continued to trace the words slowly. I’d spent the last five years in a hazy fog, shutting out most of the world around me. I moved through life simply going through the motions, never realizing that I had pushed pause on my life and was afraid of actually living.
Cooper had been carrying around the events of that awful day as long as I had, only he was cursed with remembering it all, while I was lucky enough to not remember. Funny isn’t it? Thinking how lucky I was. I never considered myself lucky until right now, this very moment. Watching Cooper struggle to tell me what he saw, what he endured, how he recalled in painful detail the anguish my daddy went through. I can’t imagine being in that room not knowing if someone I loved and cared about was going to live or die.
Cooper’s expression changed. He turned toward me and held my face in the palms of his hands. “And then I saw her again… at the airport, standing beside my grandmother. It was you. Your face was etched into my memory. I knew who you were before my grandmother even told me. And when she said you were back because your father died my heart broke for you. I wanted to take away your pain all over again. I knew you were going to need time to grieve. So I stayed away. Again. Until my grandmother intervened.”
“Cooper…I—”
“Shhh,” he said, placing one finger over my lips. “Don’t say anything yet. Let me finish.”
He reached for both of my hands again and he placed them in his lap. “I never knew if this was something I needed to bring up. You never mentioned any of this to me, so I figured this was something you wanted to bury. And your heart was so broken. But the reason I’m finally telling you is because I need you to know that I understand where you’re coming from. I know what happened to you. It’s why I’ve insisted on taking things slow. For you. If you don’t think I see how overwhelmed you are when you’re around me, you would be wrong. I do see it. I see so much of you. I see how beautiful your long brown hair is…how it reminds me of caramel and how you use it as a curtain sometimes when you want to hide your face. And did you know that your brown eyes have flecks of gold in them? It’s true. I see that sometimes you chew your bottom lip and how your cheeks flush whenever I get close to you. How you sometimes bite your nails when you get nervous. I see how big your heart is…your amazing sense of humor. And I see a girl who gets scared sometimes, and I want that girl to know that I understand why. I want that girl to know that I’m willing to give her whatever she needs. I want that girl to trust me.”
Cooper reached in his front pocket and pulled out something shiny and then wrapped it around my wrist. “I got this bracelet for you, to remind you who you are.”
Engraved on the bracelet was: Delicate, Bold, & Beautiful
I traced the words with my finger as my brain rushed to catch up with everything.
“Like the flower, Lily,” he said. “That’s how I see you.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I whispered. “Thank you. You’ve been like my guardian angel and…” A tear fell onto the bracelet. “All this time, and I never knew it was you who saved me.”
My mind tracked back to that day on the plane when Ms. Sophie was convinced we were meant to meet that day and asked me if I believed in fate. I had no idea how fate was working in my life until now.
Thirteen
Fallen
I don’t know how long I sat there staring down at the bracelet that was now wrapped around my wrist, promising myself that I would never take it off. The cold metal was warming on my skin as I continued to trace the words slowly. I’d spent the last five years in a hazy fog, shutting out most of the world around me. I moved through life simply going through the motions, never realizing that I had pushed pause on my life and was afraid of actually living.
Cooper had been carrying around the events of that awful day as long as I had, only he was cursed with remembering it all, while I was lucky enough to not remember. Funny isn’t it? Thinking how lucky I was. I never considered myself lucky until right now, this very moment. Watching Cooper struggle to tell me what he saw, what he endured, how he recalled in painful detail the anguish my daddy went through. I can’t imagine being in that room not knowing if someone I loved and cared about was going to live or die.
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