Broken Silence (Silence, #2)(44)

Following the receptionist’s directions, we quickly made our way down the hallway to another waiting room. Sarah was pacing back and forth, waving her shaking hands.

“Sarah,” I called. “What’s going on? Where is she?”

“She came round in the ambulance and was talking but they still have to check her over,” she explained. “They couldn’t tell me much but with everything that’s going on it’s not surprising. There’s too much pressure on her. It’s just too much for her. Too much.” She started crying and leaned against Jasper.

I sat down as Jasper comforted his mum. Mia had texted to say they were on their way, and Oakley’s grandparents arrived shortly after we had. The waiting room didn’t smell like the hospital. It smelt of a mixture of perfumes and the vanilla air freshener on the windowsill.

The clock ticked by slowly. We hadn’t been sitting long, but it felt like hours. My chest was tight. Sarah had spoken to her, and she was just being checked over, but until I saw her and saw that she was okay I wouldn’t be able to relax.

A doctor walked in and before he could even call Sarah’s name we were all up out of our seats. “How is she?” I asked, getting in there just before everyone asked the same thing.

“She’s doing just fine now,” he replied with a thick Scottish accent. “She had a panic attack. She’s also dehydrated. When she collapsed she hit her head and has a mild concussion so we’ll keep her in overnight and see how she’s doing tomorrow.”

“But she’s okay, and I can see her?” Sarah questioned.

“We’re monitoring her, but she’s fine and awake so you can see her… Not all of you though.” My heart dropped. No way was I staying in this room. “Just family for now, please. Oakley needs rest.”

Sarah looked between me and Jasper. “The three of us. Please?”



I waited outside while Sarah and Jasper went in first, giving them a few minutes with her alone. I paced back and forth, checking the discoloured clock on the wall. When five minutes had ticked by, I went inside.

Oakley was sitting up, talking to her mum. She looked up smiled sheepishly as her eyes landed on me.

“We’ll go and get a drink, give you two some time alone,” Sarah said. “Do either of you want anything from the canteen?”

“No thanks,” I replied, and Oakley shook her head.

Jasper followed Sarah out, looking back with a tight jaw at his little sister in a hospital bed. “Get Cole to call if you need us sooner,” he said and let go of the door, letting it close behind him.

Perching on the edge of the bed, I pressed my lips to hers and kissed her as I stroked down her jaw. It was pure relief to see that she was okay and back with us.

“Don’t ever do that again,” I told her. “You scared me to death.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink and she diverted her eyes. She did look a little dazed and pale but apart from that she was the same perfect girl as always.

I sighed and lifted her chin so she was facing me again. “It wasn’t your fault. I need to take better care of you.”

“What? This certainly wasn’t your fault.” She frowned and pursed her lips slightly, the way she did when she was annoyed.

“Oakley, the doctor said you were dehydrated.”

“That’s not your fault though! I should be taking care of myself. It’s just with everything going on I’ve not really thought about eating and drinking properly. I’m fine now, apart from felling like a complete idiot and being beyond embarrassed that is.”

“Don’t feel like that, you couldn’t help it. Everything’s gonna be fine now.” Oakley nodded but I knew she didn’t believe it would be fine – but I had to try and make her feel better. “Do you want to continue with the trial? You know you don’t have to, right? We don’t have to talk about that now actually. Forget I said anything.” Stupid!

She shook her head gently and winced. “I want to. I just need to learn how to deal with seeing him again. I didn’t cover that in therapy. I didn’t think I’d ever be facing him again.”

“Okay,” I said, stroking her hair. “Whatever you want. Do you think speaking to someone will help?”

“I honestly don’t know.” She shook her head again, winced, and rubbed it.

“Careful. Are you okay?”

She smiled. “I’m fine.”

“You have a concussion! You’re not fine, fine.”

“Fine, fine,” she repeated, grinning in amusement. “And it’s a minor concussion. I can’t remember doing it. My head hurts a bit, but it’s just like a little headache, so stop worrying.”

“It’s the boyfriend’s job to worry.”

“Wrong. It’s the boyfriend’s job to do the kissing.” Her voice was light and flirty. My Oakley was back, but for how long? She couldn’t just push this to the back of her mind anymore.

Sarah and Jasper let us have ten minutes alone before they came back into the room. “How are you feeling now, sweetheart?” Sarah asked.

Oakley smiled. “Better.”

“I’ve just got off the phone with Linda and the trial has been put on hold for three days.”