"Another Saturday, another slip from the jar," Cooper says, sprawling his arms out behind his head as he makes himself comfortable on his bed.

Ellie pushes herself up from the foot of his bed, holding back an eye-roll as he watches her walk across the room and retrieve the jar—something he'd been too lazy to do while he was up.

Taking a seat on the end of his bed once more, she wiggles around a bit before getting comfortable and leaning her back against his wall. She turns to Cooper, whose eyes never seemed to have left her, and holds the jar out to him.

His head shakes as he softly pushes the jar away. "It's your turn to pick."

"I'm okay," she says, pushing the jar back out to him. Admittedly, not really wanting the responsibility of having to pick the task for the day. "You're better at it."

A deep laugh sounds from him as he pulls his head back, allowing a slight double chin to form from his relaxed position on the bed. "How can I be better at grabbing a piece of paper from a jar? It's not exactly something you can be good at."

"Which is what makes your abilities that much more amazing."

"Just pick a piece of paper, El. Stop being weird."

"Fine," she huffs, reaching her hand into the jar and grabbing the first sharp edge that hits her fingertips. She pulls it out, unfolding it quickly before reading the task. "Roller skating."

"Roller skating?" Cooper asks, lifting his head from the pillow to get a better look at her. "You've never been roller skating?"

Attempting to mask her embarrassment, she confidently says, "Nope."

"What about all the roller skating parties in elementary school? Did you just not go?"

"I went. I usually played arcade games and watched from the side. I watched my old best friend fall and knock her two front teeth out and ever since then I've been too scared to try."

He holds back a smile as he regards her with a look of pity. "So, that's it? Just roller skating?"

Her bottom lip finds itself hostage to her front teeth as she bites down on it. "I've always wanted to go roller skating at Alki."

"Alki beach?"

"Is there another Alki in Seattle that you're aware of?"

"It's January. Alki is going to be freezing."

Shrugging her shoulders, she tosses the slip of paper in her hand aside and pushes herself up from the bed, but not before giving Cooper's leg a condescending tap. "Well then I guess we better bundle up."

"Remind me why I have to drive," Cooper says with a groan, adjusting his mirrors as his hands shake with fear.

"Because learning to drive isn't a task that can be done on one Saturday afternoon. If you really want to learn how to drive, you'll need to practice. That means that you'll be driving us from now on. Trust me, letting you control a metal contraption that could end our lives isn't exactly thrilling for me either."

He reaches for the rear-view mirror to adjust it for the third time. "You know I have to drive on a freeway, right?"

"Freeways aren't as scary as they seem."

He drops his hand from the mirror and turns to Ellie with a blank expression. "You're just throwing me out to the dogs."

"The wolves."

He tilts his head slightly as a frown pulls down on his lips. "What?"

"The correct phrase is 'throwing me out to the wolves.' I think that being thrown into a pile of dogs would be much more pleasant."

He stares back at her but doesn't say anything, his eyes staying trained on her neck as if he's considering what she's said. Finally, he blinks and turns away, putting the keys into the ignition and turning the car on.

"If we die, it's on you," he says, shooting her one last look before pulling the car onto the road.

She grabs onto the handle beside her, trying to be as discreet about it as possible. The last thing he needs is to be reminded of how fearful she is with him behind the wheel. The car jerks slightly as he makes his way down the road, his foot pressing on and off the gas more than necessary.

"This is better than last time," she mentions quietly, hoping to break the tense air in the car.

"This is illegal," Cooper remarks from beside her, his eyes trained brutally hard on the road ahead of him. "I don't even have a permit."

"You never even got a permit?" She asks in disbelief, staring at Cooper's profile and taking note of the way his eyes almost look strained as they stare ahead.

"No." He glances away from the road to look at her briefly before immediately looking out the window again, jerking his car to the left in a panic. He winces before clearing his throat. "I never had a use for one."

"Nineteen years old and no permit. Wow."

"Nineteen years old and never been roller-skating. Wow."

An offended laugh climbs up Ellie's throat. "You're lucky you're driving or you would've received a swift smack to the head for that comment."

"Ellie, Ellie, Ellie. When will you learn that turning to violence solves nothing," he replies, a smirk playing at his lips and only furthering her desire to smack it off his face. Though if she's honest with herself, she knows that she'd rather see him wearing a smirk than a frown.

She diverts her gaze from his lips and glances out the passenger side window, watching as the trees and houses blur together as they pass them. She considers turning the radio on for some background noise but knows that this will only stress him out further.

"You'll want to make a left at this light," she tells him, her words immediately being followed by her ringtone.

The car jerks to the right, causing her heart to jump. Cooper mumbles a curse word under his breath. "Your phone scared me."

"Sorry," she mutters, glancing down to see her mom's name illuminating the screen. She hits ignore and looks back up at the road, deciding that helping Cooper keep them safe is more important than her mother's call. "It's silenced now."

"Was it important?" He asks, smoothly taking a left-hand turn when the light goes green. She finds herself impressed by how much better he's doing than the last time they tried to go driving, wondering if perhaps he took some time to practice on his own.

"Just my mom."

"You can call her if you need to."

"It's okay. Just focus on the road."

After driving in relative silence for a few more minutes, they finally see the freeway in the distance. Ellie gulps as she glances ahead to the on-ramp, nervous for how Cooper is going to react to his first time merging onto a freeway.

"It's not that bad?" He asks quietly, his voice laced with concern.

"The first time is the worst. Soon you'll be merging like you came out of the womb a merging expert."

He laughs before panic sets in again. "And if we die?"

"Then we die."

"That's reassuring."

A sadistic smile tugs at the corners of her lips. "Any last words in case that is the outcome?"

He turns to face her with a playful smile as they wait in line at a red light before the freeway entrance. His smile fades away with his playful demeanor as he glances down at her lips. The look in his eyes nearly knocks the wind out of her and she has to remind her lungs to keep going. Now's not the time for them to give out.

He breaks his gaze, clearing his throat just as the light turns green. He shoots another easy smile in her direction, though this time a blush accompanies it. "Fuck you, cancer. You couldn't get to me in time."

She nods her head, though she's not sure why. Her words are almost squeaky as she says, "Those are good last words."

He speeds up the car, as Ellie instructed him to do, and looks over his shoulder to be sure there are no cars in his way. They get lucky and there's a clear opening. Ellie watches as his knuckles hold onto the steering wheel, turning white with how hard they're gripping it. He changes lanes so quickly it nearly gives her whiplash, but he's done it. He's on the freeway.

"I did it!" He shouts, a boy-like smile gracing his lips.

She smiles back at him, watching as his knuckles return to a normal color. "Good job. Now we're taking the exit for the West Seattle bridge."

They ride in silence along the freeway, Cooper making the occasional comment about how freeways aren't so bad. Ellie finds herself studying the lines he drives between and holding her breath every time he nearly crosses one. She decides now's a good time to look at her phone and give herself a break from the mini heart attacks she's been having. When she presses the home button, she sees six missed calls from her mom and a text message written in all caps.

CALL ME.

Wracking her brain for a reason as to why her mom would be so upset, she comes up blank. She did all her chores. She told her where she was going. There's no reason for her mom to be calling her six times and sending her messages in all capital letters. Unless maybe it has something to do with her dad.

Deciding that sitting here pondering the reason isn't going to get her anywhere, she hits 'call' on her mother's contact.

"Honey!" Her mom shouts into the phone, loud enough that she's sure Cooper can hear. "Where have you been?! I've been calling you for ages!"

"I told you, I'm teaching Cooper how to drive." Ellie pauses, glancing over at the boy she'd just mentioned. "Is everything all right?"

"Ellie—" she says, her voice sounding pained, as if even saying her daughter's name hurts her.

"What is it, Mom?"

"Ellie, your—" she trails off, a few soft sobs following her words and only worrying Ellie further.

"Mom. What happened?"

She notices then that Cooper has pulled over to the side of the freeway and is staring at her in concern, sensing the shift in her tone. Ellie stares back at him, shell-shocked at the words her mom speaks next.

"It's your grandmother."