Somewhere

Chapter Nine

"You have a mild concussion," Dr. Ramos stated and I avoided all eye contact with Cooper. His anger radiated in the corner of the room like a portable furnace. My skin prickled under the harsh heat. Without looking, I could imagine him with his arms crossed, looking sullen and irritated. That look said enough.

It said, "I told you so."

It said, "This is why you should listen to me."

It said, "If I didn't care about you, I'd kill you."

Dr. Ramos explained, "There's not much we can do. You'll have to cut down on all the screen time, less time on your phone, your computer, and the TV. No strenuous activity and get plenty of rest. I can prescribe you something for the pain, if you'd like."

"Thank you," I nodded, rubbing my sweaty hands on my jeans.

Cooper tricked me this morning. We got into his car after my mother left for work and he said he was driving me to school, but we arrived at the hospital instead. With no appointment, they still saw me immediately. It was the shortest wait time ever. Dr. Ramos wrote the prescription with a smile and handed it to me, but before she left, she touched Cooper's shoulder. She asked, "Mr. Blackwood, I'd like to speak with you before you go."

Cooper was too busy glaring at me to do anything but nod at the doctor. Dr. Ramos chuckled and left the room, left us alone and my own awkwardness got the better of me. I carefully turned towards him and started making my excuses, "It's not like there was anything they could do last night! And if the doctor already knew you were a werewolf, what was the harm in coming? I would've gone if you—"

Tensing up, Cooper just raised his hand. Taking painfully slow steps, he kept his head down and put a small kiss on my broken head, still not saying anything. He was sweet to keep it all inside, when he was armed with enough ammunition to make me feel worse than I already did.

As long as I was hurt, I'd be given special treatment. He walked out of the room and It was quiet once he was gone and eerily still. It was the first time we were parted, since he told me that he was a werewolf, since we kissed. Heat trickled back up my face and I took a deep breath. Everything really changed overnight. I could feel the differences all around me and deep inside of me. Everything inside me felt bigger and brighter. The world wasn't big enough for me anymore.

Missing Cooper already, I grabbed my stuff and took one step outside. I barely had both arms in my coat when someone called my name, "Sam?"

I looked up and froze as Adam Sage came striding towards me. It was a dressed up Adam Sage with his slicked back hair that concealed his boyish curls. He wore a dark blue suit and a button up shirt, opened up just enough to make it casual. Some scruff was peeking out from his warm brown skin. I didn't know he had it in him to clean up so well to the point I barely recognized him. I was not a fan.

His face was flushed as he attempted to catch his breath. He was buzzing and glancing behind his shoulder. "Wh-what are you—?"

"Wait," I said and motioned him. "Come here. I can't talk to you like this."

Adam gave me a quizzical look, but he didn't argue. He walked up to me and when I gestured him to bend down, he did. With my hands, I fussed with his hair, shaking out the curls and returning Adam Sage to his true form. I grinned. "Okay. That's better."

Despite rolling his eyes, Adam smiled. "Whatever. What are you even doing here?"

I tried to watch out for whatever caused his anxiety from before. I explained, pinching my fingers together to show him that nothing was really wrong at all. "Oh, I just had a mild, minuscule, not even worth mentioning accident."