Made to Love: Carmen and Cooper's Story (7 page)

“
I love you too,
mom
.

Chapter Ten

Two Years Ago

“
Where is Celeste?” asks
Marcia.

“
I don’t know she isn’t answering
the phone,” I say.

At that moment I knew something was wrong.
Celeste is the most reliable and responsible person in the world. I
do not want to call my parents and worry them, so we decide to
drive to Richmond.

We arrive at the VCU dorms at 9 PM. As we
approach Celeste’s room the feeling of dread is overwhelming. We
knock but no one answers. Her roommate is coming down the hall and
she tells us that she has not seen Celeste since Wednesday
evening.

According to Ashley sometimes Celeste stays
with Jermaine I keep calling Celeste and there is still no
answer.

Marcia finds out where Jermaine stays. But no
one has seen him since Wednesday.

“
Where the fuck are they? This
doesn’t make any sense. She just said she was excited to be with us
this weekend,” I say.

Marcia is trying to keep me calm. “Carmen,
they are young and in love. They probably decided last minute to
take off somewhere.”

We both know that is not true but someone has
to stay positive. My parents are home when Marcia and I come
inside. They have not heard from Celeste either. My mother is
panicking and my father tries to be strong, but concern is written
all over his face.

Then there is a knock at the door. My father
opens the door to be greeted by two officers. They inform us that a
tragedy has taken place.

Chapter
Eleven

The Day of My Sister’s
Funeral

August 13, 2011 will always be the day that I
hate. We buried my sister that day. After the police investigation,
it was confirmed that Jermaine was a schizophrenic. He had stopped
taking his medication and in his mind he believed that Celeste was
planning on leaving him. According to witnesses he was displaying
aggressive and violent behavior. No one can confirm or deny if he
was physically abusing my sister, but from the stories I heard he
was verbally abusive. Then the fucking bastard killed himself and
left a note.

I want to apologize for what has
occurred tonight. After it was done, I realized I should have just
walked away, but I was selfish and allowed my love for Celeste get
the best of me. I can’t live without her and know that I was the
cause of the breakup. Jermaine

He has to be kidding me; he had the fucking
nerve to apologize for killing my sister. I wish he was alive so I
could have the pleasure of killing him.

Chapter
Twelve

Present Day

For the last few days Cooper has
continuously called, texted and e-mailed. I do not answer or
respond, everything was said on Friday. I don’t understand why I am
upset, but I am. Spending the last few months with Cooper now seems
like a dream. No matter how busy he becomes he always makes me his
number one priority. We spend so much time together and my favorite
is always when he is inside of me. How could I have been so stupid
to think he was serious about me, about having a relationship? No!
I refuse to blame myself. He always called me
“My Carmen”
and wanted me to meet
his father.

Cooper Jackson is an ass. Fuck
him. Damnit. I miss him. Okay, okay. I am in love with
him.

Chapter
Thirteen

Cooper

I have really messed things up with Carmen.
She is not answering any of my calls; even Marcia is avoiding me in
the office. The call from my dad really fucked me up. He has been
secretly been seeing my mom. Most kids always dream for their
parents getting back together, but not me. My mother is a heartless
bitch. My dad worked hard and long hours to give us an incredible
life. And how does she repay him? She opens her legs for some
loser. To make things worse, she cheats on my dad in our house, in
their bed. My dad begged her to go to counseling and work things
out, but she preferred to whore around. Bitch.

Oh
my
Carmen, it has only been a few
days, but I miss her. Her smile, laugh, lips everything about her.
She has brought unmeasurable pleasure to my life. I never thought I
would find happiness. Carmen is
my
world. And I may have lost her forever. Maybe I
do not deserve happiness, but I need her.

Hearing David blow the horn, I get my jacket
and head out. “David, I have to get her back.”

“
Yeah I am looking forward to
meeting the girl who stole your heart,” he says as we make our way
to Marvin’s.

David has been my best friend since elementary
school. He just got back from being in Paris for the grand opening
of the latest hotel his company has designed. Tonight I have to put
my issues on the back burner and celebrate his return.

Chapter
Fourteen

Carmen

Marcia has the bright idea that I need to go
out and drink away my sorrows. She is only giving me one night to
wallow in my misery. Tomorrow I need to figure out how to handle
Cooper.

Tonight I am getting drunk. We
walk into Marvin’s; the atmosphere is an old tavern style. The
floors are hardwood, but lack the shiny finish. To the right sit
tables which are occupied tonight. It’s like walking into a meat
market, no wonder Marcia suggested this shit.

“
Point me to the bar,” I
order.

There are pool tables on my left. The way I
feel pool may be a great stress reliever. She points her finger
towards what seems to be a second entrance. While passing the
tables, I notice so many dishes and drinks that I can barely see
the cream linen that covers it. I push through the shiny handle
that leads to the bar side, and there is the perfectly shaped oval
mahogany bar. It is dull in color as well, so that it too fits in
with the rustic look. A total of four bartenders serve the circle
of already seated civilians. All kinds of liquor fill the back
wall; such a large selection to assist in removing my pain. Getting
the bartenders attention, I order 4 shots of Patron and a
Corona.

Marcia just shakes her head saying, “This is
going to be a long night.”

“
Shut up Marcia, this is my night
of self-pity and you have the pleasure of driving my drunken ass
around. Do it with a smile.”

“
Carmen, you know I got you, but
seriously, tomorrow when Giselle comes back we are going to have a
long talk. I love you and you need to hear Cooper out.”

“
I do not want to talk about
Cooper anymore tonight. They have a dance floor and the DJ is
setting up. This is going to be a good night,” I say.

Ordering another round of shots, I am starting
to feel intoxicated. Great. I remember that I forgot to eat today.
“I think we should order something to eat, haven’t eaten all day,”
I say.

Marcia rolls her eyes and asks, “Okay, what do
you want?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I think I see
Cooper sitting at a table with a good looking man. “Marcia, I am
tripping because I am seeing Cooper.”

Marcia looks around and says, “You aren’t
tripping he is here and walking this way.”

Fuck. I am not ready to see him. My stomach
feels sick.

“
Carmen, we need to talk,” he
says.

“
There is nothing to talk about.
Please leave me alone.”

“
Is that what you really want?” He
seems to be waiting for me to answer, but then says, “I
can’t.”

“
Cooper you made it clear on
Friday how you feel.”

Oh shit I feel the vomit rising. I need to get
out of here. Rushing out of the bar, I can’t fight it any longer.
Covering my mouth, barely making it out; I puke everywhere. It’s
revolting, but I can’t stop. There is vomit all over my grey
sweater and red cashmere scarf. Thank goodness my black leather
jacket is open, but my hair was not as lucky. Someone hands me
napkins. It is Cooper.

“
Didn’t I tell you to
leave?”

“
Carmen, you are drunk and need to
go home. Let me take you.”

This is the Cooper I know, the one who is
caring and concerned about me. But it’s a lie.

“
Marcia will take me home. Go get
her.”

“
Marcia and David are talking. Do
you really want to ruin her evening?”

“
Who the fuck is David? Your best
friend, David? He is probably a jackass, just like you.”

“
That’s enough. I am taking you
home and cleaning you up.”

“Fuck you, Cooper.”

“
I know
my
Carmen, let’s
go.”

Cooper tells Marcia we are
leaving. She looks to see if everything is okay, I nod my
head.

We arrive at my apartment, and
Cooper carries me in. Even in my drunken state, I’m fully aware of
his presence. It’s hard to stay mad at him; I’m just unsure how to
feel at this point. He keeps apologizing; I tell him I am not
interested in what he has to say. Why do I refuse to give in to my
feelings? I really need to brush my teeth. Many memories of Celeste
surface to my mind as he leads me to the bathroom.

He cautiously undresses me to
avoid the remnants of my earlier vomiting episode. Cooper then
removes his clothing runs the warm water in my shower stall. I use
the double sink countertop to balance myself. I turn and press the
shuffle button, my iPod soon comes to life. It’s playing songs I
randomly selected and titled in a playlist, “That Bastard Cooper.”
I begin to brush my teeth and start daydreaming.

Lost in space, I barely feel his hand on mine
leading me to the shower where he guides me in. As he begins to
wash me, I relive our passionate times we have shared. One of John
Legends latest tracks begins to play “All of me.” I just want to
pull him all over me but my heart won’t allow it.

Cooper says, “I understand why you’ve been
avoiding me and I’m really sorry about Friday night.”

“
I don’t want to hear anything you
have to say. The only reason you’re allowed here right now is
because I’m drunk.” I turn my head and fight back the
tears.

Cooper remains silent as he begins to wash my
hair. He breaks the silence saying he missed me.

I close my eyes and say, “You
didn’t miss me, you just missed fucking me. Do you really think I’m
the type of girl who just has casual sex? Don’t you see all the red
and hearts everywhere? You should have known better.” He places me
in the stream of water to rinse my hair.

“
Carmen, the things I said, I
didn’t mean. It was out of anger.”

“
I can’t, I just can’t. I’m tired
and hungry.” He softly kisses me on my forehead.

I’m comfy and cozy in my bed while
I wait for Cooper to bring me some chicken noodle soup. God I’ve
missed him so much, just having him here and smelling his Ralph
Lauren Polo Black cologne is pure torture. Cooper wants to feed me
the soup.

“
No, I can feed myself, I don’t
need any assistance.”

“
Don’t fight me, let me does this
for you,” he persists.

Since I’m too exhausted to argue,
I give in to his request of feeding me. Now that my belly’s full,
I’m ready to go to sleep. Cooper tucks me in and says good
night.

“
Don’t leave,” I say before he
exits the door.

Never saying a word he removes his shirt and
pants. Turns off the light and climbs in the bed with
me.

“
This doesn’t change
anything.”

“
Oh yes it
does
my
Carmen,
it changes everything.”