Broken Silence (Silence, #2)(45)

Oakley bowed her head, cringing at how her collapse had delayed proceedings.

“It’s okay,” Sarah said, soothingly. “After what’s just happened they had to. We need to get you well before you return.”

“It’s a good thing, Oakley.” I squeezed her hand. “It means you have a few more days to prepare.” She reluctantly nodded in agreement. I knew she felt embarrassed and just wanted it over, but she had to put her health first.



We met up with my family, Ali, and Oakley’s grandparents in the café and filled them in on how she was. Oakley asked for an hour alone to ‘rest’. Everything was going at a hundred miles an hour, she needed a few minutes to stop and think.

I sat opposite Sarah and Jasper, absentmindedly running my finger around the rim of the coffee mug. Leaving her alone felt wrong. Sarah was going to pop back up when she’d finished her drink and if Oakley wanted company she would text and tell us to come back.

“I still don’t think she should go back,” Jasper argued. “We should just book our flights back to Australia and get her the hell out of here.”

“You can’t spend your life running from things, Jasper. That’s the reason she decided to be here. Oakley wants to do this. It’s the only way she’ll get closure and be able to move on,” Sarah said. I almost applauded.

He narrowed her eyes. “We’ll let her decide.”

“She already has,” I cut in. “I asked her if she wanted to continue and she’s adamant that she does.”

Jasper shook his head angrily and mumbled something under his breath. I wasn’t even going to bother trying to pacify him.

When the time was up, we quickly made our way back to her room. She was in exactly the same position, staring down at the thin sheet covering her legs.

“Oakley?” I called quietly.

Without even looking up, she replied, “Mmm hmm.”

“Are you okay?” She nodded, still refusing to face us. Sitting back down on the bed, I brushed her hair behind her ear. “What’s going on? Has something happened?” I knew she needed time alone, but it seemed to have freaked her out.

“I’ve just made everything ten times worse, haven’t I?”

“What? No, darling, everything’s going to be fine,” Sarah replied, rubbing her arm.

“I have. They’ll say I did it for attention, to manipulate the jury, and anything else they can think of. Me freaking out and ending up in hospital is just going to back that up. Everyone is going to think I’m this dramatic little girl that makes stuff up, and Dad—”

“Enough, Oakley,” Jasper shouted, cutting her off. “They can say what they like, but the jury will believe you.”

“Yeah,” she responded with a fake smile. “Can you guys give me a minute with Cole, please?”

Sarah stood up immediately, but Jasper only left when I nodded towards the door. I knew he was only thinking about her, but I didn’t think he realised just how important this was for her.

She waited until she was happy they were gone and turned to me. “You’re the one that will tell me the truth. They’re too positive, I understand why and I love them for it but I need to hear it straight. Have I made this harder?” I shuffled closer to her and wrapped my arms around her body. “Am I going to lose, Cole?”

I shook my head, gently pulling her closer, and she snuggled into me. “You’re not going to lose. The defence are going to make up all kinds of shit, but we know the truth. Oakley, they can’t make you slip up or pretend your silence was something else because you’re telling the truth.” She nodded against my chest.

“Just tell the truth. That’s all you can do. With everything they have against him there’s no way they won’t believe you. I’ve backed you up in my statement. That day you called me; there was never any doubt in my mind that you were being honest. No one can act that scared.”

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“You need to be strong, baby. We’ll do this. I promise.”

“Yes. It’s not impossible, right? Just harder.”

Nodding in confirmation, I replied, “Just a little harder.”

“I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“You’ll never have to find that out. I’m not going anywhere.” Lifting her chin, I gently kissed her lips. “I love you so much.”

I heard her sigh happily before she whispered, “I love you too.”





Chapter Fifteen


Oakley




I left hospital after spending just one night there. It took them all day to release me as they wanted to keep an eye on me for a little while longer. I returned home at five in the afternoon with a bunch of leaflets and breathing techniques in case it happened again. Breathing deeply wouldn’t help though. I couldn’t breathe at all when I saw him.

The whole thing was humiliating. Collapsing in court in front of everyone. What was worse was that it backed up the defence’s argument. Surely now people would believe him when he said I was just a selfish little girl just looking for attention.

Whatever anyone said to make me feel better, I knew it would now be harder to prove that I was telling the truth. Mum seemed to think the jury would feel sympathetic rather than suspicious. I couldn’t allow myself to think that though. What if she was wrong?