Haunted (13 page)

When we were over halfway there, Matty emerged from the entrance. He glanced at the questionables quickly before stepping off into the street towards us. They seemed to be interested in him, but made no move to abandon their posts.

“That's the boy scout?” Cooper asked, leaning down to speak into my ear.

“Matty. His name is Matty.”

Matty the Boy Scout jogged the last few yards over to us. He was wearing a white crew neck undershirt and black basketball shorts. He'd thrown on shoes in a hurry as he was sockless. It was a little chilly out for that attire and I wondered if his jogging wasn't more for a warming effect rather than a speedy approach.

“Hey, Ruby,” he said, stopping directly in front of me. He looked down quickly at my hand entwined with Cooper's before meeting his gaze. “You must be Cooper.”

He thrust his right hand forward to introduce himself properly as well as force Cooper to release mine. He didn't.

“I must be,” he replied.

I wriggled my hand away from Cooper so I could join Matty and diffuse the situation, or run away from it.

“You'll have to forgive Cooper's lack of manners. He's a little pissed at me because I'm making him late for a hot, hot date,” I explained. “Here are the keys. I'm done in two hours. Don't keep me waiting.”

I heaved the keys at him and shot him my most incinerating glare.

“Wouldn't dream of it,” he replied.

He turned on his heels and started off to the car. Matty put his arm around my shoulders and ushered me toward the building. Facing our onlookers again, I realized they were slowly making their way toward us.

“Do I get her next?” one of them yelled from the back of the group.

“Just ignore them,” Matty said down to me, before bringing his gaze up to meet theirs. I felt the tension in his body as he held me close to him, picking up his pace slightly. We were nearly to the building, but with the recent movement of the guys, they were blocking our way to the entrance; a standoff was brewing.

“How much?” another asked.

“I'm thinking the odds are that she's free,” a voice said. It belonged to the biggest member of the goon squad. He looked older and far more menacing than the rest. Matty gently pushed me behind him, seeing the writing on the wall. He knew there was about to be a fight and even though he was horribly outnumbered he was willing to battle regardless.

“I'm thinking the odds are that she's not,” Matty said, stepping towards the big guy.

They were practically nose to nose, ready to pop off when I heard someone yelling from behind me.

“I'm thinking the odds are that if any of you lay a finger on her, you'll all be dead.” Cooper strode up alongside Matty before forcing his way between the two men. “Ruby, go inside. Now,” he ordered.

“No, Ruby, stay outside and play,” the big guy responded.

“Matty, take her inside,” Cooper commanded, not taking his eyes off of the other man.

Matty hesitated. He wanted me safe, but he wasn't willing to back down and leave Cooper by himself, not realizing that the fight wouldn't be a challenge for him at all.

My blood pressure went through the roof with the anticipation of what was going to happen. All the men were coiled, waiting for the slightest movement from one another. It was going to be a brawl and I was worried that Cooper was going to kill someone.

The big guy took his eyes off of Cooper for a moment to look down at me. He winked as a smile crossed his face and I knew it was all Cooper needed to set him off. When I heard the siren of the passing cruiser blare twice I let out a breath I'd been holding for far too long. Two officers stepped out toward us as one spoke into his shoulder radio. The guys took off running down the street leaving only Matty, Cooper, myself and the big guy. The cops didn't take any interest in the runners.

“What seems to be the problem here, fellas?” one officer asked.

We all stood silently, Cooper and Mr. Big still facing off as if the law wasn't breathing down their backs, literally.

I heard the snaps of holsters and knew that we were in trouble if I didn't say something and soon. Boston PD didn't play around.

“I was trying to go to class, Officer, and this guy and his friends were threatening me,” I explained. “My friends were just trying to help.”

“Is that what happened?” the other officer asked Cooper. He said nothing, just continued to stare down his target.

“It is, Sir,” Matty added. “Cooper was bringing her to class and I met them outside. I had seen these guys out here earlier and was worried about her coming up alone. We were almost in when they threatened her. We were just trying to protect her.”

“Well, how about we break this up and everyone goes on their way, or we'll all be going down to the precinct.”

“Sounds good,” I said, turning Matty towards the door before tugging on Cooper's arm to pull him away from the fight.

“Guess you're getting off lucky tonight,” Mr. Big said to Cooper.

“Since you're still breathing, I'd say you're the lucky one,” Cooper responded as I got in front of him and bulldozed him down the street toward the car.

The officers weren't leaving, and I didn't think it was a good sign.

“I'll get them out of here,” I told them. “Cooper, don't you have somewhere to be right now anyways? Weren't you late?”

“Yeah, I guess I am,” he said. “But I'll be back to get you later.” The growl in his voice was not reassuring. Though I couldn't see his face, I was pretty sure he wasn't reaffirming my after-class pick-up.

“OK, sounds good. See you then,” I said giving him one final shove off to the car. Mr. Big had disappeared around a corner but I doubted it was before he heard Cooper's threat.

“Are we good here?” the cops asked as they made their way back to the patrol car.

“Yes. Thank you so much,” I replied. “Have a good night.”

They nodded and took off down the street.

I watched Cooper get in the car and pull an illegal u-turn in the middle of the road before squealing the tires and peeling out. Then I walked back to Matty and we headed into the building.

“Well that was interesting,” he said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

“Yeah, I like to keep it interesting.”

“What's up with Cooper? That guy is all over the place.”

I winced as he said it. Is it that noticeable?

“To be perfectly honest, I'm not really sure. His behavior is all over the map these days. I don't think he's adapting well to the east coast,” I offered as explanation.

As we ascended the staircase, Matty became silent for a moment or two before turning to stop me halfway up.

“Ruby, I don't want you to think I'm being judgmental, but something about him is bothering me. It reminds me of someone,” he said with more seriousness than I'd ever seen him possess.

“Who? Cooper?” I asked confused. “What about him?”

“He reminds me of my brother.”

“Your brother is a moody hot-head, too?” I asked jokingly as I moved to pass him on my way up the stairs. He stepped in front of me and bent down to catch my gaze.

“No,” he replied. “He was an addict.”

I literally stumbled backwards a step, catching the railing for balance.

“What?” I asked for clarification, not giving him a chance to offer any. “Cooper is not an addict, Matty. You don't even know him.”

“I know, Ruby, I'm not trying to accuse him of it, I'm just saying he is acting exactly like my brother did.”

“And how, exactly, did you know that your brother was an addict? Did he just open up and tell you about it? Did you catch him doing it? Or did someone observe him for five minutes and inform you that that was what he was?” I asked with hostility in my voice. I was feeling defensive of Cooper. He may have been a jerk, but he was my jerk and I didn't like Matty saying horrible things about him.

He was quiet for a second before responding.

“No…,” he said softly. “We had an autopsy done after his body was found in an alley downtown.”

Fuck me.

“Matty, I…I'm so sorry. I didn't mean—”

“I know you didn't. Cooper is your friend and you don't want to hear harsh things about him. I get that. We didn't want to hear it about Nathan either,” he said as he grabbed my hands. “I don't want you to go through what we did.”

I lunged forward and hugged him as hard as I could around his waist. I felt like such a bitch and wanted to slink away and hide, but not until I made sure Matty's hurt was abated for that moment.

“Thank you,” I said softly into his chest. I wasn't sure that he was right, but I couldn't prove he was wrong either. It dawned on me that maybe Cooper's little date that he was late for wasn't with a lady of the night at all; maybe it was with a drug dealer.

Cooper's status was upgraded to CF number one yet again.

* * *

After class, I waited outside the building for twenty minutes with no sign of Cooper. Matty refused to leave until he knew my ride was coming. We both finally agreed that it wasn't looking promising, and he offered to drive me home. I didn't want him to have to drive two hours or more, but my options were limited, so I begrudgingly accepted.

When we pulled up outside of my place, I saw the TT sitting in her spot on the street. I was furious and did a shitty job of hiding it.

“Are you going to be okay?” Matty asked, looking over at me in the dimly lit car.

“I don't think I'm the one you should be worried about,” I growled before softening a bit. “I'll be fine. Thanks again, for everything.” I took his hand and gave a squeeze. My eyes said everything that I couldn't say out loud and it was obvious that Matty understood.

“You're welcome.”

My emotions started to get the best of me so I exited the car quickly and headed for the door. I unlocked it and turned to give Matty a wave before heading up. He honked in recognition and drove off.

Taking a deep breath, I climbed the stairs preparing for a battle. Ditching me in Boston was the final straw and I was going to unleash on Cooper, but I needed to gain a little composure in case Peyta was home. I didn't want her to see the hatred written all over my face.

Once I was in the apartment, I knew she wasn't around. There were no lights on except for Cooper's which let a tiny slit of light escape from under the door.

I stormed down the hall to confront him.

Your ass is mine.

16

I was startled when the door flew open just as I was about to bang on it. We looked at each other for a second before he pushed past me into the hall.

“What the hell happened to you tonight, asshole?”

“Just give me five minutes, for fuck's sake!” Cooper yelled as he slammed the bathroom door in my face, locking it behind him.

“If you think it's that easy to get rid of me, you really are high!”

He said nothing in response. The only sound coming from the room was a repetitive tapping of metal on glass – not a good omen. I pounded on the door, trying repeatedly to force it open. I found a bobby pin to try and jimmy the lock, but apparently the TV shows I'd been watching made that task look infinitely easier than it actually was.

Desperation was setting in and I decided to go with yet another TV classic – the kicked-in door. I took a healthy step backwards and raised my foot to gauge the distance I needed to cover in my windup. I did a couple quick warm up taps, which both served to give me momentum and Cooper a clue that I was about to come flying through the door, hopefully. I conjured up all my strength, putting every ounce of anger, frustration and fear I’d been suppressing into that final blow. Much to my surprise the frame cracked easily and the door flew inward, nearly knocking Cooper off his feet.

He stumbled backwards as I stormed the room looking for the mirror with his prized possession on it. I spotted it on the vanity and grabbed it, as well as the bottle of Adderall next to it, emptying them both into the toilet. I flushed it just in time to have Cooper come crashing through me to try and save his stash.

No such luck today, my friend.

When the reality set in that his drugs were gone he became enraged, and I was on the receiving end of it. He half picked me up, half drove me backwards into the hallway and smashed me into the wall, his forearm crushing my throat.

“You bitch! I need those. He'll kill me without them!” he said with eyes wide and feral.

I tried to respond but my choking and sputtering was doing little to help diffuse the situation. My vision was spotty and I realized that he had no intention of letting up. He was trying to kill me. Whatever insanity had led him to the low he was in was bad enough to make him need drugs more than he needed me. It was a sobering epiphany.

I needed to do something quickly, and my only option was apparent. Scarlet had to be unleashed. I stopped struggling uselessly with his arm and pulled my ring off, throwing it down the hall. Laughing, Scarlet watched his face turn to see what was rolling away; he paled instantly when he saw it.

She growled a low rumbling sound as she cupped Cooper's throat in retaliation and lifted him off the floor. He stared down at her, eyes still wild but this time, with fear. He'd angered her once before and gotten away with it; he seemed concerned that the leniency he'd received that time would not be seen again.