We went back home without saying anything to each other. After what he told me on that street, he let down his arm and just told me to get in the car. Well, I don't know what to say about it, and how can he expect me to react to it? He just told me that he wants me, and that's it. I don't even know what he meant by that, so I'll just let myself ignore the idea of it.
But then, I'm curious.
Nevertheless, I still don't want to know what he meant by that.
When we got home, I smelled food coming from the kitchen, and it turns out that his father gave us a surprise visit.
"I thought you were in the countryside along with my uncles?" Cooper welcomed his dad with that question.
"Well, I just want to pay a visit before I go there, and I also want to know what's been happening lately," he said in a gentle voice, but that statement just gave me something suspicious to know about.
I can probably say that this is a rare moment that we can have with his father. The first time I saw him was a bit unfortunate since Cooper was wounded at the time. This is probably the first time that I've gotten to talk to him about casual things.
Meanwhile, I saw how Cooper took a look at the hallway to his bedroom, but I didn't mind as his father called us for dinner. He prepared paella and even brought meat for Cooper, while he made a Caesar salad for me.
"I thought you might like it rather than the half-cooked meat I've always prepared for my son," he said while looking at me.
"Is it his favorite?" I asked his father while I was looking at the meat he had prepared. It's a medium-rare steak, I guess. A big one.
"Since he was four," he said, letting out a hearty laugh.
"I'll take note of that," I said before I began to eat.
The whole dinner was filled with me talking to his father while he was eating beside me and only answering if he was asked about something. Since he's been telling a lot of stories, I at least got to know Cooper through his dad. I'm told that he's been quiet ever since he was just a boy, and he just got the sense to talk to someone in high school because he needed to.
That's cute.
When it was time to go home for his father, Cooper invited him to talk outside for a while, so I was left alone in the penthouse.
I started to clean the dining table and eventually wash the dishes. I was almost done cleaning the kitchen when Cooper got back. He went to the refrigerator to get some beer and soda. I thought he was about to get inside his room, but then he suddenly spoke.
"Don't try to pull that stunt again," he said, maybe referring to what I did with Argus being involved.
"Wow, you just talked," I said as I tried to mock him.
"I'm serious about this matter; you wouldn't know what could happen to you," he said with a hint of concern in his voice.
I sighed and looked at him.
"I can handle myself, and I'm sure you know that," I said, trying to be stubborn.
"I want to look out for you, and I'm sure—"
I interrupted him and suddenly dropped the last glass that I was rinsing.
"You want to look out? Then why the fuck do you keep yourself from that fucking room?" I burst out.
He slowly shook his head and walked down the hallway to his room.
"I don't want to fight about this," he suddenly said.
"I'm not fighting with you; I'm only asking you a question that you can't even answer properly," I said as I followed him.
"You're not allowed to go inside," he suddenly said, turning around to block my way.
"What are you hiding in there, huh? Another dead person? Or people?" I asked out of anger.
He holds both of my arms and leans his face closer to mine. It looks like he's towering over me because of our height difference.
"You're not allowed, for now," he said calmly.
"Answer the fucking question," I demanded.
He lowered his head and sighed for a moment before he looked at me again.
"I'm not hiding dead people inside; I just have something to do for my family, and I hope you can understand that," he said as he sounded like he was begging me to stop asking about it.
I looked him straight in the eye to confirm what he just said. Well, it looks like it's true, though.
"I have to do this on my own," he said as he sighed again afterwards. I can feel how he trembles a little upon sighing.
I suddenly felt too dumb to force him to talk about it. Based on what I just saw, it seems like he's been trying to get things done on his own, and the more I tried to learn about it, the more I just pushed him to be fragile. Just like he said, it's for his family. Maybe it's something I shouldn't know, which is why he's been hiding it from me.
I hold his arms to at least calm him. I let it go, and I held both of his hands.
"Did I make you uncomfortable?" I asked out of nowhere.
He immediately shook his head.
"Do you want to be alone now?" I asked again.
"Please?" he pleaded.
I let go of his hand, and I looked at him. He couldn't look back at me, and he just spoke for the last time.
"I'll make it up to you, I promise," he said before he turned around and opened his door.
But before he could finally go inside, I said something I didn't even think I could say out loud.
"I love you."
I saw how his back stiffened as a reaction to what I said, but after he paused for a minute, he went inside his room and left me with nothing.
Yeah, just like what I expected.