Page 21 of That One Moment

My phone buzzes as I’m blowing up the ninth black polka dot balloon, my head feeling a little fuzzy from the effort.

Cooper:Did you know that paintballing actually fucking HURTS?

Me:I did.

Cooper:Failed to mention that to me. Thought you loved me?

Me:And ruin your birthday? Never.

He sends back an angry face emoji and I chuckle under my breath.

Cooper:We’ll be there in thirty minutes. Just heading back to my place to change.

Cooper doesn’t mention Caiden, and I don’t ask. Not yet. I’m torn about telling him what Sage told me but at the same time, I don’t want to start keeping things from the man I love. That doesn’t bode well for the start of our relationship.Is it your place though?I ask myself over and over again as I blow up more balloons. Eventually, once all forty are blown up - twenty for each twin - my lips taste like plastic and I need to sit down for a moment to clear the dizziness in my head.

“The guests of honor are here!” my favourite voice says as the front door swings open and a fresh faced Cooper walks in. His hair is wet, looking darker than usual and falling around his eyes. He’s wearing a white crop top and navy blue jeans with white Vans. Leaping from the sofa, I pull him into my arms and kiss him deeply, the hours since I last saw him far too long for my liking.

“Missed you, baby,” I whisper against his lips, before looking over his shoulder. All my earlier thoughts about whether or not I should tell him about Sage’s phone call go out the window when I see Caiden. Whatever happened to him the night before is written all over his body.

His eyes are dim, dark circles sit heavily beneath them and the red mark on his neck peeks out from behind his black polo. He’s much thinner than Cooper and his usually black painted nails are chipped as he picks at them. He looks at me expectantly, his head tipped to the side and a deep line between his brows. It’s clear from the set of his lips that he’s daring me to say something. He’s not stupid, he knows that Sage will have told me.

Stepping away from Cooper, I reach out a hand to Caiden. “Happy Birthday.” His eyes widen briefly before he schools his features and places his hand in mine. I want to say that I don’t feelsomethingwhen his skin brushes mine, but the little buzz of electricity in my blood can’t be ignored. I tell myself it’s because I’m glad he didn’t push me away, that maybe he's finally warming up to me.

“Thank you,” his voice is soft and tentative. The space he takes up in the room is so much smaller, so much darker than that of his brother, who is currently bouncing on the soles of his feet.

“Boys! You’re here,” my mum says as she sweeps Cooper into a hug. “Happy Birthday! Did you two have fun today?” She drops her arm from around Cooper then takes a step towards Caiden.His shoulders tense, but she hugs him anyway and I watch as he visibly softens as she whispers in his ear and he nods.

“What happened to your neck?” Concern laces my mum’s voice as she levels Caiden with that stern mum look of hers. The one that always has me spilling my secrets. Duncan joins us and suddenly, all eyes are on Caiden. He shifts his feet, and chews on his bottom lip. Like an animal cornered, he hunches his shoulders, folding in on himself as he looks around for an escape.

“Paintball,” Cooper offers up. “He got hit, bloody hurts too.” Cooper lifts his top showing us a bruise blossoming near his underarm. “See, those bullets leave a mark when they hit.” It’s a bad lie, and I’m certain no one believes him, but there’s no chance to say anything more because the front door flies open again and my best friend walks in, her fruity, jasmine scent filling the air as she gives everyone in the room a hug.

Caiden flinches when she hugs him, and when they share a look that is a plea from him and an understanding from her, he dips his head and leaves the room. Cooper watches him go.

“Everything okay?” I ask Cooper, twining our hands together then tucking his head against my shoulder so I can kiss the side of his head.

“I don’t think so. He won’t tell me how he got the bruises, just that he got drunk and Sage let him crash at hers. I’m going to ask him again later because, I’m not sure if you believed me or not, but that wasn’t from paintball.”

I kiss his sweet pink lips. “Baby, I don’t think anyone believed you.” He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes, so I pull him closer and hug him tighter.

Once the greetings are over, we find Caiden in the kitchen and Mum ushers us into the garden and tells us to ‘play’ like we’re five and this is a birthday party, while her and Duncan finish setting up the dining table. It’s fucking cold out, but we all havecoats on, and I grab a selection of beanies from the basket at the back door, handing them around before we filter outside.

Cooper immediately finds a ball and throws it at his brother, hitting Caiden in the leg.

“Ow, you little shit! What was that for?”

Cooper laughs loudly before grabbing a second ball from the garden storage container and lobs it at Sage, catching her on the hip. “Dodgeball,” he shouts, then shrieks and turns and runs down the garden as Caiden chases him, ball in hand.

“I don’t think this is how you play dodgeball,” Sage says as she stands next to me. “There’s rules and safety measures, and teams. This is -” she continues rambling on so doesn’t notice when I step back, pick up the other discarded ball and throw it, hitting her right in the ass.

“You did not just hit me with a ball, Jamie Durand!” Her words are firm but her eyes shine with excitement and mischief as she bends down and then takes aim at me. I turn on my heel and sprint towards where the twins are now wrestling on the cold floor. The ball narrowly misses my right leg and I spin around to mock her poor aim when another ball comes flying out of her hand and hits me square in the jaw.

“Oh shit, I am so sorry,” Sage cries, rushing over to me as I hold my hand against my smarting cheek. “Sorry, sorry, sorry,” she says again, moving my hand to inspect the damage. “I told you this game needed rules.”

“You are the worst best friend ever,” I say playfully, grabbing her in a headlock and pulling her down with me. The four of us, acting like the children my mother thinks we are, roll around on the ground until we’re out of breath.

It’s dark now and the night sky is clear. A deep navy filled with a million shattered diamonds.

Cooper reaches for my hand and I take it, lacing our fingers together then shuffling closer to him. Caiden is on his other side,and Sage is on mine. The four of us lie in silence for a while, watching the stars, cheering when we see a shooting star go by.

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