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“Shelly.” I fucking knew it. Of course the girl I just start dating has to work with one of Shelly’s friends.
“Emma, you can’t believe anything that girl says. You saw for yourself how fucked up Shelly is. I’m just sorry it followed you to work. Maybe I should talk to this girl.” When it fucking rains, it pours. My mom, now this. I can’t catch a fucking break. I hang my head feeling defeated at the moment.
“Cowboy, I know who you are. I told her to shove it up her ass. Believe me, I’m capable of handling the situation. I shouldn’t have even bothered you with it, but I was just so pissed. I’m better now, honestly. She walked into the break room with her tail between her legs.” She laughs and I immediately start to feel better.
“Doll, what did I just tell you? I want you to tell me everything. I hope your day gets better.”
“It will. How was the rest of your night? I tried to stay awake, but I passed out around two.” Well shit, now I guess I need to be honest.
“Honestly, it was awful. My mom came over hysterical about my dad. I was up most of the night with her.” I look down in the parking lot and notice my mom’s car door isn’t even closed all the way. It makes me wonder how the fuck she drove here. I’ll need to close that, although the battery is p
robably already dead.
“Cooper, I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do? Anything you or she needs?” This makes me smile. I wish she got to know my mom the way she was before my dad died. I know she’ll love her though, she’s still an amazing person. She just has to deal with a lot more now.
“No, thank you though. She will sleep most of the day and I’ll let her stay with me a few days until she is better.” I hear voices in the background and Emma laughs. Damn, how is it possible I miss this girl when I just saw her last night?
“I need to get back in there. My client is here. But Cooper, if you guys need anything at all, please call me. I get off at seven, so I can bring you dinner if you want.” This girl right here is quickly making her way into my heart.
“I’ll see how the day goes, but thanks. Call me when you get home tonight.” We hang up just as Levi pulls up. When he gets out of his truck, I yell to him to close my mom’s car door. I stand up and wait for him. When he gets up to me, I open the door for him since his hands are full. We get into my apartment and he puts everything down before grabbing me. He gives me a quick hug before pulling out a stool to sit down.
“How is she doing?” He starts unpacking the food, so I go to grab a couple of plates.
“She’s still sleeping. I have no idea what brought it on, when she last ate or slept. She looked like shit when she showed up though, so I’m sure it’s been a while.” I shake my head and put the plates down. I scrub my face with my hands and blow out a breath. “I just don’t know how to deal with it sometimes. I really thought the therapy and medication would help. I mean I guess it does because these episodes don’t happen as often, but I thought it would be completely gone.” He slaps my shoulder before putting my sandwich on the plate.
“I know man, but you do an amazing job at taking care of her. She’d be lost without you. You know I’m here for anything you need. I’ll stick around and try to get her laughing. She loves me.” We both laugh, but he is right she does love him. He can always get her to laugh, and I can’t thank him enough for all the times he’s done it.
We eat lunch, and bullshit. He tells me about a tattoo he did last night, and I tell him all about my night with Emma. I then tell him about the phone call from her. He reacted just like I thought he would.
“Coop, I fucking hate that bitch. She is such a troublemaker. She really is fucked up. Next time she shows up with her tits hanging out at the bar, I’m going to tell her what a bitch she is too. I don’t give a shit what you say. I like Emma and I think you guys are good for each other, so I’ll be damned if that trainwreck is going to fuck it up.” I just smirk at him. I know better than to try to disagree with him. He’ll just make more of a scene if I do. Although, I’m hoping, after the other night, she just stays the fuck away.
After about an hour of bullshitting, he says he needs to go get the shop ready because he has a client coming in for a finish-up. He promised to be back later tonight to check in on my mom, and I know he will. Just before he walks out the door, he turns to look at me.
“Hey, Coop.” I raise my eyebrows in question. “You’ll get through this, just like you always do. Don’t let it get the best of you, alright?” I give him a nod.
“Levi, I promise you, man, it would take a hell of a lot for me to go down that path again. But thanks, man.” Satisfied he has nothing to worry about, he leaves. No one else worries about me going down that road again, except for Levi. Even though I’ve never had the slightest slip up, he still says the same thing to me. He’s one hell of a friend.
I spend the rest of the afternoon doing laundry and going over the books for the bar. It takes more time than I thought it would, but I feel like a weight is lifted once it’s done. I’ve got an hour before I need to open the bar, so I sit down on the couch to try to relax for just a bit. I lay my head back and close my eyes. Holy shit, I am tired. It’s going to be a long night. I couldn’t have had my eyes closed for more than five minutes when I hear my mom screaming. I sit up and rub my neck. “Fuck.” I rush into my room and she is curled up in a ball screaming for my dad again. This is a really bad episode. Most of the time after some sleep she starts to pull herself out of it. Fuck, I’m going to need help tonight. I sit on the bed and rub her back while she screams.
“ROB! WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME? WHY? ROB, PLEASE HELP ME. OH GOD I CAN’T DO THIS WITHOUT YOU.” I close my eyes against the tears that once again are building.
“Mom, it’s alright. I’m right here, I won’t let anything happen to you.” Every time she is finished screaming, I repeat myself until finally she is just crying. “Mom, I’ll be right back.” I quickly run into the living room to grab my phone. Fuck, the bar should be opening. I quickly call Roy.
“Hey Boss, what’s up?” I need to get right to the point because I need to get back to my mom.
“Roy, listen, I need you tonight. I actually need you right now.” I hear him moving around.
“Alright, I’m leaving now. Just get it open, I’ll be there in a half-hour.” We hang up and I dial Nikki.
“Hi, Cooper. I’m pulling in the parking lot now.”
“Alright, just making sure. I’ll be right down.” I go into my room and find that my mom fell back to sleep. I blow out a breath, thankful that I should have at least the half hour until Roy gets here until she wakes up. I rush down and let the girls in. I just leave the door unlocked, since we should be opening. I pull all the stools down and quickly wipe the bar down before getting the glasses set up. Thankfully, we get everything done before anyone comes in. I serve a few people before Roy shows up. He slaps my back when he makes his way behind the bar.
“I’m here now. Go.” I don’t even need to explain myself to the people in my life. They just know what I need. I toss the rag in the sink and grab myself a water.
“Thanks, Roy. I’ll be back before closing.”
“Boss, you don’t need to. I’ve got this.” I just nod and make my way back up to my apartment. Thankfully, when I go check on my mom she is still sleeping. I sit down, pull out my phone, and text Levi asking him to stop at my mom’s house to grab her medicine before he comes back over. I toss the phone next to me and cover my face with my hands. I need to try to get myself to relax so I can help my mom. Just then my stomach growls making me realize I haven’t eaten in hours. I stand up to go see what I have to make for dinner because Levi won’t be here for a few hours; no way I can wait that long. I open the fridge, nothing. I check the cabinets, nothing.
