Silence (Silence #1)(48)

Oakley’s body shook as she cried silently. Her feet were up on the seat and her head buried in her knees.

“I’m so sorry, baby,” I whispered, stroking her arm. What the hell had I done? “We’ll go to a hotel tonight, okay? We’ll sort all this out tomorrow. Everyone was upset and saying things they don’t mean.”

She didn’t look up or make any gesture to suggest she was even hearing what I was saying, but I didn’t stop. I had to make her feel better.

“What I said about your mum isn’t true. I shouldn’t have said that and I’m sorry, but they were talking about you not speaking, and I just kinda lost it. Oakley, it’s not true. Your parents love you the way you are.”

She sniffed and shook her head, placing her hands behind her neck, with her elbows drawn together in front of her chest.

“Sorry,” I said quietly, knowing she didn’t want to hear about it.



It was just after eleven in the morning when we arrived at a small B&B by the coast. We were allowed straight into our room, but since we had nothing with us, we decided to take a walk along the beach. My phone hadn’t stopped ringing since we left, so I turned it to silent after sending a text to Jasper.

She had barely looked at me, and I was starting to worry.

“Oakley, please,” I begged, stopping to turn her to face me. “Can you forgive me?”

I held my breath, absolutely terrified that she was going to shake her head. She looked at me confused and nodded.

I let out a sigh of relief and kissed her forehead.

“Thank you.”

She pressed her petite body against mine, and we held each other. The strong wind whipping up from the sea, stinging my skin. If I was cold, then she really would be.

“I really didn’t think they would react like that. I knew they would be angry about us keeping it from them, but I didn’t ever expect that. It’s gonna be okay though. They all just need a little time.” She nodded. Should I have said that? Was I just promising her more things that I didn’t know if I could deliver?

“Let’s forget it for now and get something to eat.” She pulled away and smiled weakly. I would never forgive myself for saying all that in front of her. It was true though, Sarah didn’t see the same girl, and she did want to fix her. Perhaps that was just a normal ‘parent’ reaction though.

We got some chips and sat on the bench that was facing the dull, fierce sea.

“Whatever happens with the parents, I love you, and we’ll be fine,” I said, kissing the top of her head. That much, I knew I could promise her.





Chapter Fifteen


Oakley




As we sat outside in the unusually cold August air, I tried to pretend what Mum said hadn’t bothered me, but I wasn’t doing a very good job. Cole kept giving me side-glances and sad smiles. I always knew she thought of me as almost a child still, but I didn’t know she felt like I was a stranger, a different person. You are a different person, an annoying voice inside my head reminded me. I wasn’t her perfect little girl any more; I was damaged. Could I convince Cole to stay at the B&B longer than one night?

“You wanna go back now? You look frozen!” Cole said, rubbing his hand up and down my arm to try to warm me up. I nodded and stood up at the same time his phone started to vibrate, again. With a deep, irritated sigh, he pulled it out of his pocket and answered. “Hey.”

I heard Jasper’s muffled voice on the other end.

“I’ll tell you as long as you keep it to yourself. Oakley needs some time.”

Cole’s eyes narrowed. What had Jasper said?

“Well they can fuck off, she’s sixteen now so can make up her own mind.”

Cole hung up and looked at me.

“Jasper’s telling them where we are, but not where we’re staying. He’s coming tonight and bringing pizza.”

I gave Cole my best ‘what the heck’ face.

“He wants to join the party” He grinned. “He’s also bringing Haribo and some girl he met at a party.” I was actually a little relieved. Thank God, he’s not getting back with Abby.

We walked back to the B&B hand-in-hand. The dull, moody weather made me in even more of a hurry to get inside. I wanted a hot chocolate and to wrap a quilt around myself to warm up. Cole opened the front door of the quaint mid-terrace town house and gestured for me to go in first. Sighing, I placed my hands over the radiator in the entrance hall. I wanted to kiss the owner for having the heating on in August.

All too soon, Cole walked up the stairs, and I had to leave the warmth behind. Where had summer gone? Thankfully, our room was hot, and I crawled into the old-fashioned bed. My feet were practically numb from the cold, so I wrapped the cover around myself and waited to warm up.

“It’s not that bad.” Maybe not for you! Why were men so much more immune to the cold? Or did they feel it the same but were too worried about not seeming macho to complain?

Cole flopped down on the bed beside me and rolled over, laying his head on my lap. Make yourself comfortable! “We have a couple hours before your annoying brother gets here. What do you wanna do?” he asked.

I shrugged, and he kissed me.



We collapsed on the bed and I snuggled closer to his side, laying my head on his chest. His breathing was slowly returning to normal, but his heart was flying in his chest. I smiled as I listened to it, loving knowing that I was the cause. His fingers gently pressed down on my bare back and he started tracing random shapes on my skin.