Broken Silence (Silence, #2)(8)

I knew she didn’t mean to make me feel guilty, but that was exactly what she had done. It was my fault that she missed them. My fault that she hadn’t seen her best friend for four years. Gulping, I tried to push my fears away.

“No, it’s fine. I miss them too.” I could suck it up and let her see her friend again. Cole’s probably not even in. “Jenna wouldn’t be happy if we were in the area and didn’t call in, anyway.”

Mum smiled at me in the mirror as she stopped outside their house. “Thank you.”

Jasper knocked on their door, enthusiastically. He was obviously as excited as Mum to see them all again. I was terrified and felt like running as I heard someone on the other side of the door.

Thankfully, it was Jenna. She gasped in surprise and threw the door wide open. “Oh my God!” she shouted. Mum stepped forward and they hugged, laughing like teenage girls. It was nice to hear Mum laugh like that again.

“When did you get back? How long are you here for?” Jenna asked, ushering us inside. She hugged me and then Jasper with as much enthusiasm as she had Mum. Why was she asking that? They knew. My heart dropped as I realised she hadn’t received Mum’s email.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mum frown.

“Didn’t you get my email?”

Jenna huffed. “No, our internet’s been down for a while now. I’ve told David to fix it, but you know what he’s like! It’s so good to see you again.” Oh God, this isn’t good. “You look great, Oakley. You’re so grown up,” she said, pulling me into another hug.

I smiled, trying to hide the panic rising inside. Cole couldn’t see me for the first time like this. A surprise visit was the last thing he needed.

Jasper laughed humourlessly. “She’s still just as immature.”

“Coming from you, Jasper? Really?” I replied. Jasper was a man-child and one of the most immature people I knew.

He narrowed his eyes and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. He shoved his hand in my hair, ruffling it up.

“Get off,” I shouted, batting his hand away with my own. Now really wasn’t the time to mess around. I needed to find out if Cole was around so I could figure out how to meet him again for the first time. There was no getting around the fact that we would meet, but I wanted to do it properly.

I shoved Jasper, and as I looked up, I froze. It was too late to leave. Cole stood in front of me, staring open-mouthed. No, no, no! My heart soared. Seeing him again was such an incredible feeling it took my breath away. He hadn’t changed much. His hair was the same style but an inch or two shorter. My memory hadn’t done him justice at all.

Beside him was a girl I didn’t know. I felt a chill, and my heart plummeted to my toes. His girlfriend? Of course. I knew he probably would have found someone else, but I sure as hell didn’t want to see it.

Jasper let go, and I almost fell to the floor. My legs were weak. I wanted to leave before this girl was confirmed as his, but I couldn’t move.

“This is awkward,” Jasper muttered under his breath. I wanted to hit him, but I still couldn’t move. The girl, who I unreasonably hated, clearly recognised me. She looked at me with wide eyes, surprised to see me too. Did Cole talk about me to her? Was I the bitch ex who left him and she the angel of a current girlfriend? That wouldn’t be far from the truth.

“Oh my freakin’ God! Oakley!” Kerry screamed, bursting into the room. She bounced over to me, and I was wrapped in her iron grip. Ben stood behind her, looking between me and Cole. “You’re really back! I can’t believe it. How long for? God, I missed you.”

I mumbled a breathless hello as she squeezed the air from my lungs.

“Ooh, you have a sexy husky voice!”

I didn’t really know what to say to that, so I said nothing. It must be so strange for her to hear me speak. I hadn’t seen her since everything had come out.

“Ben, say hello,” she ordered and before he could, she continued. “Oh, and this is Chelsea, our friend.”

I smiled at Kerry and her not so subtle way of telling me Chelsea wasn’t with Cole. Relief flooded my system. “Hi, Chelsea.”

“Hey,” she replied.

I looked back at Cole, who was still a statue. He hadn’t looked away from me this whole time, and I didn’t know if that was a good sign or not.

“I wonder if it’s possible for this to get any more awkward,” Jasper said.

I glared at my idiot brother.

“Beach party, Jasper,” I hissed. “Beach party.”

He shot me a dark look but backed down as I knew he would. It worked every single time I needed him to shut up.

“What happened at the beach party?” Kerry asked.

“Nothing happened at the beach party!” Jasper yelped. “Now, come on, let’s leave Cole and Oakley to talk.” And to think I had gone twenty years without having any real murderous thought about my brother!

“Sure. I wanna see your mum anyway,” Kerry said and ushered them all into the kitchen.

I chewed the inside of my cheek and desperately tried to think of something to say. Something that wasn’t, ‘I love you. Please forgive me.’ Giving myself a little pep talk in my head, I took one step forward. It was only right that I was the one to speak first.

“Hi,” I whispered.