I hope you enjoy this story. I was challenged by a friend to write a story about an event and characters and the point of view given to me by a friend instead of what came from my own imagination.

I was looking over the list of those who said they were coming to our twenty-year high school reunion in two months. A vast majority of graduates still lived in nearby areas. Coming from a small school in a rural part of Texas most people had never moved on. Even those of us who did go off to college came back home to work in their career field in nearby towns.

I, myself had returned from college and now worked at Wilson, Lamar, and Greene. It had taken me seven years to become a partner, working my ass off. I now had my name, Greene, on the financial planning company that I started working for fresh out of college.

Studying the list of those coming, I flipped through my ‘Class of 99’ yearbook remembering what we all looked like back then. I looked nothing like that skinny girl in the yearbook. Having glasses and braces was bad enough, my parents being strict making sure I wore a long skirt and blouses buttoned to the neck did not help either. I was the math and science nerd, and nerds were not cool.

I was still single, but it was of choice. Nowadays, I knew I turned a few heads of men. Being fairly tall, trim from doing aerobics, yoga, and running for many years. I knew if nothing else my boobs caught attention, but I was almost always complimented on my long dark hair I kept in a tight bun or pulled back. Contacts had replaced glasses and the braces were long gone. I felt I dated a normal amount for a single career woman, but something was always missing. I had even been engaged once to a really nice buy, but that missing something had made me call it off.

Turning a page I saw Josh ‘Coop’ Cooper. Coop, as he was known to us all during school had been a star athlete since we were in Junior High. Co-Captain of the football team, Captain of the baseball team, and the Boxing Champ for the school.

Coop was tall and muscular, with brown hair and brown eyes. He caught the eye of almost every girl in school it seemed. He was always the ‘girls talk’ back then. But who did he date, I could not remember? The things I remember were not pleasant.

While Coop was not the biggest douche in the school by far, nor was he exactly mean, he always popped my bra if he sat behind me in class or called me ‘tin gin’ about my braces. What made it worse was he had been such a dreamboat. It also seemed like I was the only one he picked on.

Reflecting, I realized that was the main reason I had grown to hate him. He was so adorable, but he picked on me. Other kids were far meaner to us ‘nerds’ in the class but most of the ones that had done the picking were losers themselves. Coop was dreamy and smart, so I had hated him when I did not really hate the others.

Scrolling back through the list of those who were coming I noticed he was not on the list, not that I figured he would be. None of us had known how to get in touch with Coop or even if he were alive. I had hoped with all of us reaching out, someone had got in touch with everyone, even him.

I remembered Coop’s parents were killed in a car accident just weeks before graduation leaving him alone. Coop had been eighteen so he could live by himself not needing an adult till graduation. Having no siblings, aunts, uncles, or even grandparents he had taken care of himself. I just now also realized I had never given a thought at the time what he had done alone at home and him having to bury his parents all by himself, yet he still had come to school. Having picked on me or not, I felt guilty thinking about it now.

Not one single person I knew had seen or heard from Coop since he had walked across the stage. Instead of going back to his seat like the rest of us, when he crossed the stage, he had walked out the gymnasium doors and had never been seen again.

Rumors were rampant for a year or two that he had probably found a quiet spot and killed himself. I remembered when Tammy Rhodes had told me that was the rumor, I had cried. Cried so hard for hating him. The bank had taken the land and house as far as any of us knew after he disappeared. Now I wondered now, why the police never looked for him. Maybe because there was no one to report him missing.

A tear made it down my cheek at the thought about Coop. My hatred for him was long gone, but even back then, I should have helped, should have reached out when his parents were killed.

Pulling out my phone I initiated a group text with all my fellow reunion planners to see if anyone had any idea about Coop.

Over the next week or so it appeared nearly the whole class had been asked and nobody remembered Coop past graduation. He had not even gone to the graduation party.

I picked up the phone and called Brandi Martin.

“Hey Jenna,” Brandi answered.

“Hey. Got a question for you.”

“Shoot it girl.”

“I have been trying to remember who Coop was dating when we were in high school.”

“Nobody.”

“You sure?”

Brandi had been head-cheerleader and extremely popular, being gorgeous even then, so she was in the “In” crowd back then. Brandi had lived next door to us and had always been nice. We were friends even with her being popular and me a nerd. Back then she tried to get me to come to parties and things. My overly protective dad had always put a stop to me going out. It worked I guess, I did not end up pregnant, went to college, and was a partner in the largest financial firm in our area.

“Yeah girl, he never dated anyone. Ever. You know a lot of people thought he was gay. Not that they would have said it to his face,” Brandi laughed. “He’d have kicked their ass.” “Why the sudden interest in Coop?”

“Looking at the yearbook I can’t help but wonder what happened to him. His parents died, he graduated and disappeared.”

“Yeah, I know Jenn. You know, I feel guilty that none of us really checked on him when they were killed. He was popular and none of us did. I mean he withdrew, even from Scotty, and well I guess we all just decided to leave him alone to grieve. Even Scotty doesn’t know what happened and they were best friends. He just said Coop was gone is all he knew.”

“Yeah I feel that way myself looking back,” I said.

“Jenn, you can’t say anything but...”

“But what?”

“Scotty told me a few years after we graduated that Coop’s mom abused him a lot.”

“Abused him how?” I was shocked that he had been abused. He seemed to always be smiling.

“She would get drunk would beat on him.”

“How? He was so big and strong?”

“Scotty said he would just let her, that he wouldn’t fight back because it was his mom.”

“Oh god, that’s crazy.”

“Yeah.”

I hung up with Brandi and sat wondering how you would even go about finding someone who had been missing twenty years. A client calling broke me from my thoughts, well it waited twenty years it would have to wait longer I thought.

Time drew on between work, friends, and family I had forgotten my mission to find Coop till I was sitting at the dressing table getting ready for the party. ‘Have to wait, I thought again as I sat brushing my hair.

Seeing car lights from my upstairs window, I looked out and saw headlights coming from the garage at the end of the cul de sac. Someone had moved in just over two weeks ago. I had not yet made it around to introducing myself as I usually did to neighbors.

I had only seen a man, and the house was so far away from mine, I had not been able to tell much about him, just that from about a hundred yards he seemed cute. I figured he was probably here getting things ready so he could move his wife and kids here. ‘Have to wait on that too,’ I thought sitting back down to finish getting ready.

Pulling up to the hotel banquet area I saw many were already here getting name tags. I took my seat at the table to hand out name tags with Brandi and Alley who had already started and were checking people off the list.

Looking down I saw a name tag that had “Coop” written on it. My heart leaped a bit, looking at Brandi.

“I don’t know ... After talking to you I figured I’d make one. Kind of as a remembrance you know?”

I nodded and moved it over to the side by me.

Scotty Jackson came in with his adorable wife and hugged all three of us, Karen his wife, hugged us too.

Noticing Coop’s name he looked at me, “too bad he isn’t here. He had the biggest crush on you, Jenn.”

Nothing in the world could have surprised me more than what Scotty had just said. “He what?”

Scotty laughed, “He swore me to secrecy back then, but yeah he was totally in love with you. Said he’d kick my ass and made me swear. I guess him being gone ... Well, he won’t know I told you.”

Both Brandi and Alley were staring at me and she could feel it. “Scotty that isn’t funny,” I told him.

“I’m not being funny, since we were in junior high, he had the biggest crush on you.”

“He picked on me,” I felt the flush in my cheeks due to a bit of anger and embarrassment.

“Yeah, I know. He was just so awkward about girls he had no idea how to get you to notice him. I mean most of the other girls tried to date him, didn’t you,” Scotty said looking and Alley and Brandi.

They both agreed they had asked him out and he had turned them down.

“Yeah, and everybody secretly thought he was gay. He only had eyes ... Well, he had a crush on you, Jenn.”

My mind was reeling. “What happened to him, Scotty?”

“I really do not know. I never saw him after he walked out during graduation. He did not even go home I checked.”

“Do you think he hurt himself,” Alley asked what was on my mind?

“No, I don’t think so. It’s like he just vanished.”

Our conversation was interrupted by Jacob Stevens. Jacob was in the Navy had been with the SEALs his mom had told us. He had left about two weeks after we graduated, headed to the Navy.

“Why the long faces,” he asked coming up?

“Wow,” I said, “don’t you look nifty in that uniform.”

Jacob smiled, “This is my wife Samantha.”

“Call me Sam,” she said shaking our hands.

“I swung a little leave time to come, seven more months and I can retire,” Jacob said. “It’s a party, so why the long faces,” he asked again?

“We were just talking about Coop,” I told him.

“Oh? Is he here?”

“No Jacob.”

“I figured he’d be here by now,” Jacob said looking at his watch.

The group of us looked at one another then back a Jacob.

“What do you mean you thought he would be here by now,” I asked?

“He said he was coming last night when I talked to him.”

“You talked to him,” I almost shouted. “Sorry, you talked to him?”

“Yeah last night,” Jacob said.

“How?”

“On the phone,” Jacob said looking confused. Jacob had pretty much been gone since graduation and nobody had asked him about Coop when he would come back to visit his mom now and then.

Scotty looked at Jacob, “Man this isn’t time to be funny.”

“I am not being funny,” Jacob stressed.

“He has been missing for twenty years,” Scotty added.

“Ah I see,” Jacob said. “None of you have talked to him at all?”

No we all agreed we had not.

“Well, he enlisted in the Army and left the night of graduation. I bumped into him about fifteen years ago on a joint exercise between Navy and Army Special Operations. He was a Delta guy with SOF. We keep in touch now and then both being in the community.”

Scotty looked at Jacob, “You’re serious.”