Broken Silence (Silence, #2)(4)

His house wasn’t too far from ours, so I made it in just over five minutes. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on his door and waited.

“Oakley, hi,” Miles said, frowning a little and shaking his head in confusion. I knew where he lived but had never gone round before.

“Hi. Can I come in for a minute?” Miles stepped aside, making room for me to walk in. “Has she told you we’re going back to England?” I asked, deciding to get straight to the point. There had been a lot of miscommunication between them, so I wanted to be clear.

His face fell, and I wanted to slap my mum for being so blind to how much he cared about her. “No, she hasn’t. How long are you going for?”

“I’m not sure. However long the trial lasts I suppose.”

“Right. Of course. Sorry, I didn’t think.”

I waved my hand, making light of the situation. “It’s fine. I just thought you should know. Look, Miles, she likes you but you’re gonna have to make the first move. She’s scared and stubborn. She needs to see how much you care.”

He smiled and nodded, brushing his dark, greying hair with his hand. “How?”

I laughed at the thought of giving a forty-something-year-old man love life advice.

“She’s insisting on leaving her mobile here, so she can concentrate on me, apparently. I know she’s just scared though, so here,” I said, handing him a piece of paper. “That’s my mobile number. The trial’s going to be hard for her too, and as much as she will not admit it, she would really appreciate you calling. Don’t email, she can avoid that.”

“Right.” He smiled. “Thank you. I’ll call. I promise.” Miles took the paper, slipping it in his back pocket.

“I know you will, or I’ll get Jasper to kick your arse when we get back,” I joked.

He laughed quietly and shook his head. “I hope everything goes well. Oh, is that the right thing to say?” he asked and grimaced.

“I’m not sure, so yes, that’s okay. Thanks, Miles.”

He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “Okay, good. You’ll let me know how everything goes?”

I smiled, raising my eyebrows. “Mum will, when you call.”

“Alright,” he replied with a chuckle. “I’ll see you when you get back then?”

I nodded, walking back to the door. “See ya later.”

“Bye, Oakley.”

I really hoped he would call. As scared as Mum was, she deserved to be happy. Miles was a great guy. Nothing like my dad.

As always, Jasper was waiting for me when I got back. I had only been gone twenty minutes. “Everything’s fine,” I told him before he could ask.

“Oh good you’re back, honey. Jasper, have you got your passport?” Mum said and locked the front door. I got in the back of the car because I knew Jasper would probably moan like a child if he couldn’t sit in the front.

“Yeah,” he grunted and got in the seat in front of me. “Why didn’t you ask Oakley that too?” Mum shot him a sarcastic smile that made me laugh. “Whatever,” he mumbled under his breath.

“You emailed Jenna, right? They definitely know we’re coming back for a while?” I asked.

“Yes, I emailed.” Okay, that’s good. I didn’t want to run into them without them knowing it was a possibility.

Part of me was excited at the thought of seeing Cole again. I had missed everything about him for the last four years. I want to hear his voice again and see him smile. The other part of me was terrified. The thought of him hating me hurt so much. I was also scared that I might have to watch him be with someone else, and if I had to, I would I only have myself to blame.





Chapter Two


Cole




My so-called friend, Ben sighed. “It’s pathetic!”

“No, it’s romantic,” Kerry argued. At least one of them was on my side.

“Romantic? It’s been four years, and he still mopes around like a teenage girl that’s just found out Justin-what’s-his-face is off the market,” Ben countered and pointed his finger at me as if it wasn’t clear who he was talking about. “Back me up, Cole. It’s pathetic, right?”

“Thank you,” I muttered. I wasn’t completely pathetic. There had been a few dates since Oakley left but they never turned into anything. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t force myself to want a relationship with any other women, which fucked me over royally because she left. She rejected me and then left.

Ben held his hand up as Kerry opened her mouth to argue her side again. “I’m just sayin’, maybe it’s time to give Chelsea a chance. She’s a great girl, and she lives in England.”

I sighed and rubbed my jaw. Chelsea was a great girl. She was pretty, had a good sense of humour, and was intelligent, but she wasn’t Oakley. I met Chelsea on the first day of university, and we had been friends ever since. She had hinted a few times that she wanted more, but I didn’t want to lead her on just on the off chance that I could grow to like her romantically.

Kerry slapped Ben across the chest with the back of her hand. The sound made a solid thud. “Don’t tell him that, Ben! Oakley is clearly his soul mate.”

“Who ditched him to move half way across the world.”