Falling Like Leaves (Bramble Falls, #1)

by Misty Wilson

I do not belong here.

i dont belong to anyoneee

“Oh, yes, Ellis,” Mom says, stepping beside me. “You’re in for a treat. Nowhere else does autumn quite like Bramble Falls.” “I’ll take your word for it,” I say. I could not possibly care less about autumn in Bramble Falls. Or anything in Bramble Falls, for that matter.

“Sloane!” my mom chirps. “You didn’t need to bring that up. Ellis and I would have taken care of it!” I let out an annoyed huff. Bringing it was her idea. There was no way I was hauling that thing up two flights of stairs.

shes me

“When did he get so…” “Hot?”

WHEN DID YOU GET HOT ALL OF A SUDDEN I CAN LOOK YOU UP AND DOWN ALL DAYYY

“And long enough for Ellis to go to school with us. Isn’t that exciting, Coop?” What an instigator. I can’t read his expression—shock mixed with a pinch of dread, maybe?

“Success is all about perception. Put on a smile and fake it till you make it.”

Cooper squeezes my thighs, making my insides crackle and hiss like a blazing fire. “Yeah, yeah,” he chuckles. He shakes his head. “I hate you.”

“Sorry, Jakey.” “Aw, you have a little pet name now,” Slug says. “It sounds like a toddler name,” Jake grumbles. “Well, if the shoe fits…,” I say.

I lick the marshmallow off my finger. Cooper’s eyes track it, and a strange warmth floods my cheeks. I put my hands in my lap.

“The dress does look good on you,” he says quietly to my left.

“Unless you can give me a ride home?” Jake frowns. “I have football practice in five minutes. But I could skip.” “Won’t you be benched for your next game if you skip?” Cooper says. Jake shoots him a glare that clearly says, Shut the hell up, man, then turns to me. “It’ll be fine. I’ll take you.”

CHUZZ IS SO DESPERATE

I scroll back up to Jake’s contact. He might not cause the same heat in my stomach that a glance from Cooper does, but he’s been a great friend since I moved here. Me: I’m hungry. Pen Thief Jake: lol try eating? Me: Eat with me. Pen Thief Jake: yeah? name the time and place Me: How’s five minutes? The diner? Pen Thief Jake: oh shit ok might be closer to 15 but ill be there

WHERES MY HOT HB WHO I DONT ACTUALLY LIKE

“Listen, Taylor learned a thing or two about the sport, and now she loves it. So, don’t knock it till you try it.” I arch an eyebrow. “Taylor…?” “Swift. Obviously.”

Then I pause, considering the possibility that Jake might think we’re heading in a direction I have no interest in going with him. Just in case, I add, “Why do you seem so surprised? We’re just going as friends. People do that all the time, right?” “Sure. They do.” Jake reaches over and takes one of my fries. “I guess I sort of figured someone would have already asked you.” “Because I’m so popular here in Bramble Falls?” He shrugs. “Because you’re hot.” I laugh. “Well, I’ll let you know if I decide to trade you for some other, more appealing suitor who might ask me in the coming weeks.” “More appealing than me? Yeah, right,” he scoffs, and I toss a fry at him, which he catches in his mouth.

The sweet smells mix deliciously with the earthy scent of the changing leaves. I wish I could somehow roll it into a fall-scented candle.

Why do I love that sound so much? And why do I wish I were the one causing it?

“Did you just get off work or something?” The tips of Cooper’s ears turn pink. “Uh, yeah.”

“It means you’re a handful,” Chloe says. Her face turns bright red. “And I do not mean it the way you’re thinking.” Jake smirks. “Nah, then I’d be two handfuls. At least.” Chloe scoffs and Slug laughs.

I laugh, knowing he’s referencing Taylor from the first time he asked me to come to a game. Such a Swiftie. I let go of Cooper’s shoulders and hold my hands in a heart back to him. His grin grows wider before he’s running to the sidelines.

What could I have possibly done this time?

RIGHT LIKE HES PMO JS COMMUNICATE

His cheeks turn pink, and he lowers his voice. “He likes you. Don’t you get that? He’s a good guy, and he was so pumped about you saying you’d go with him. He blew up the group chat for days about it.”

awww stop omg wheres my jake

If only I could list messing up friendships under the skills section of my résumé.

shes quite literally me

My whole body is practically vibrating with anticipation as I wait at the bus station.

FAH!!!!!

My gaze finally slides to Cooper. I expect to find him glaring or snarling at me, but instead his lips are parted, his eyes traveling over my dress. I blush and turn back to Jake.

he's obsessedddd

His thumb makes slow, soft circles on my lower back, and I melt into him, resting my cheek on his shoulder and closing my eyes. Because it’s perfect here. I could live in this moment forever. We dance like that, beneath the starlit sky, with our hearts beating fast and untamed, and his touch raising the hairs on my neck and arms.

I really, really like Cooper Barnett. This is not good.

“All right, let’s see. ‘I’m the color of shit, and I fall from trees. What am I?’ ” Cooper says, grinning at me. “A stick?” I guess. “A twig? A branch? An acorn?” “A brown leaf, Ellis,” he says. “Wow. You actually really suck at this,” I tell him with a laugh.

Cooper’s sleeping in calculus. I try to be inconspicuous when I snap a photo and send it to him with a message that simply says, slacker. His phone must startle him because his eyes shoot open. He pulls it out of his pocket and holds it under his desk to check the message. His dimple makes an appearance as he reads it and types something. My phone lights up on my desk. Summer Cooper: well if someone hadn’t kept me up all night I glance back at him, his ears pink. Summer Cooper: shit I didn’t mean it like that. obviously. Summer Cooper: I’m too tired for this conversation. Please ignore me. I snort.

THEYRE SO CUTE

“Hang on,” I shout over the music. “I have to finish edgestitching this seam real quick.” “Bitch, I didn’t come all this way to watch you sew.” I turn around so fast, the chair almost topples over. “Fernie!” I scream. She laughs as I jump up and tackle her in a hug.

When my eyes snag on Cooper, he grins and winks at me, and I turn to absolute goo. Ugh, I am down bad.

I PROMISE WERE THE SAME PERSON

If Sloane can tell I like him, then everyone can tell. He can tell. And that’s not a topic I want to broach right now. Not with him and not with my cousin.

I GET THIS SO MUCH

“Are you going to help me, or do you think we can win by just sitting here looking pretty?” “Aw, you think I’m pretty?” “Oh my god,”

Suddenly, I’m tripping over a fallen branch that was hidden beneath the leaves—and taking Cooper down with me. We land on the ground in a heap of tangled and twisted limbs, Cooper grunting as he falls on top of me. His cheek is pressed to the side of my head when his whole body begins to shake with his contagious laughter. We lie there, chest to chest, cracking up until our stomachs hurt. Teams pass us by, and finally Cooper leans to the side and hovers over me. His eyes are watery but bright, crinkling at the corners as he looks down at me with a smile that nearly knocks the wind out of me. My fingers itch to reach up and push his hair out of his eyes, to trace along his jaw, to touch the divot in his cheek.

all I know is I’m not going to spend the rest of my life doing something I’m not passionate about.

ME TOO

“I remember all your details, Cooper Barnett,” I whisper. “They’re my favorite thing to memorize.”

I’m my dad’s daughter.

“Uh, what are you doing?” Sloane asks once I’m practically inside my locker. “Is he gone?” I whisper, sinking farther in. “Who—” “No, he’s not gone,” Cooper’s voice says. “He’s hoping you two can talk.”

LMAOOOOO

Taylor Swift would adore Jake Keller.

“Love, huh?” I whisper. He grins. “I was fourteen with a lot of feelings.” “And now?” His smile falters. He stares at me a moment. “Now I’m almost eighteen with a lot of feelings.”

I sincerely wish a coyote would jump out of the cornstalks and put me out of my misery.

“Because she wasn’t you,” he says. “Because I felt nothing when she broke up with me. Because I figured if she couldn’t destroy me the way you did, what was the point?”

My heart stops beating. Jake.

FAH!!!!!!

“Even though it makes no sense because I’m a catch.” I grin, a little weight lifting from my shoulders. “You know, you really are. If Cooper weren’t in the picture—” “Oh? ’Cause he’s one of my best friends, but I’ll murder him right now.” I laugh, and Jake smiles at me.

“Are you going to talk to him?” I ask. “Cooper? He’s only called and texted about six hundred times today. I guess I could hit him up.”

“Can I ask you a question?” I ask. “Anything.” My cheeks heat before the words are even out of my mouth. “Are you, um… are you my boyfriend?” He raises his eyebrows, then a slow, crooked grin forms. “Do you want me to be?” “Depends. Now that the thrill of the chase is over, are you going to stop showing up places with cookies for me?” “Um, the chase was not thrilling.

“I take it you told your mom?” I ask. He shrugs. “Yeah. My mom’s my first best friend. I tell her pretty much everything.” Oh my god. And I thought I couldn’t possibly like him more than I already did.

YESSSSSS

He smiles and leans in to kiss me. “God, I love you.” His smile falls as he rears back, like he surprised himself. “I mean—” “I love you too,” I tell him easily. His eyes widen. “You… do…?” “Always.” He grins just before his lips crash into mine.