Silence (Silence #1)(50)

I climbed back on the bed and snuggled into Cole’s side, laying my head on his shoulder.

The rest of the evening passed in the same way. Jasper would be an idiot, and we would laugh at him. At ten o’clock Casey began yawning. Well done for sticking it out for that long! “I should get home,” she said, hiding another yawn behind her hand.

Jasper nodded and stood up. “Sure. I’ll see you guys tomorrow, right?”

“We’ll be back in the morning.”

“Look after her,” he demanded, nodding his head at me. Cole nodded and started gathering the empty pizza boxes up. We had managed to eat five of them, and the rest were going to be Jasper’s breakfast.

The second they closed the door; I peeled my clothes off and dived under the soft, puffy quilt. “You don’t have to be shy in front of me.” I can’t help it. “I’ll just take the boxes out, won’t be a minute.” I nodded, curling up underneath the cover and closing my eyes. I briefly woke up when I felt the bed dip. Cole’s arm flopped over my ribs, and he kissed the side of my head.

“Oakley, wake up, babe,” Cole whispered, and softly pressed his lips to my forehead. I frowned and shook my head. I didn’t want to get up. Whatever time it was it was too early. The events from yesterday came flooding back, and I didn’t have the energy to deal with it all again. He pulled the cover off me. I gasped and covered up my naked belly where my top had ridden up. Cole frowned.

“Don’t hide from me. You’re beautiful, and I’ve seen it all before.” He winked and walked off out of the room, probably to use the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, we had paid the room bill and were making our way to a café for breakfast. Cole’s phone rang. He had taken it off silent first thing, deciding we couldn’t ignore everyone forever. He pulled his phone out of his pocket as we sat down on a white, plastic looking table. He mouthed ‘your dad’ before answering.

“Hello. She’s fine,” he said, his voice short and snippy. “In an hour, we’re just having breakfast. Yep… Bye.”

His frown faded as he looked up at me.

“He just wanted to know when we’ll be home. I think they just want to sort it all out now.”

I looked at him carefully to see if he was just saying that to make me feel better. His face remained straight, and I knew he wasn’t lying to make it seem better.

“Pancakes?” he asked, looking up at me over the tatty menu. I nodded, feeling my empty stomach begging for food.

Throughout breakfast I couldn’t help thinking how this was probably the last time we would be properly alone for a while. Why couldn’t I be eighteen already?

Breakfast ended too soon and we got our things together and checked out. Cole opened the car door for me, with a little bow. I smiled at how stupidly cute he was.

“Oakley?” He paused and took a deep breath. I didn’t like where this was going already. He was all serious again.

“I don’t want to be the reason you’re fighting with your parents, I know you hate that. I will completely understand if it’s too much and you don’t think I’m worth the trouble.” The blood drained from my face. What the heck was he saying?

He reached over and took my hand.

“I don’t want to, believe me, but I don’t want you to fall out with them. If you wanted to just be friends again. If it’s too much, then we can. It would hurt like hell and suck so bad, but I just want you to be happy.”

I felt sick, actually sick. He really had no clue just how much he meant to me.

“So, do you still want to be together?” he asked quietly. He had never looked so vulnerable or scared before. I squeezed his hand and nodded my head, which made him relax.

“Okay, good. I was really scared you’d want to, and I’d have to pretend like it wasn’t killing me every time I saw you.” I tried to control the tears that were seriously threatening to spill over.

“Don’t cry! God, you’re such a girl,” he said teasingly, making me smile. “Oh, just so you know, that offer was forever. Since you said you don’t want to go back to being friends you no longer hold the right to.” He laughed. “And yeah, I’m aware of how much of a psycho I sounded just then!”

We pulled up outside my house, and I sagged into the seat. Going home always dampened my mood. The front door flew open before Cole had even turned the engine off. Mum ran towards us with Dad just behind her. Cole’s parents also saw us arrive as they both came out of his house. Mia and Jasper were nowhere to be seen, probably choosing to stay away from the drama.

Cole jumped out and walked around to my side. I got out of the car and stood beside him. I relaxed a little as I felt Cole’s his hand rest on the small of my back.

“I’m so sorry,” Mum mumbled and pulled me into a long hug. Her body shook with tears. After a few seconds, I hugged her back. She loves you. She just wants the best for you.

When she let me go, Dad wrapped his arms around me. I let him and hugged him back but forced up an emotional barrier in my mind. Having him touch me made me feel nauseous but I couldn’t not do it, or it would look odd.

“I’m sorry too, sweetheart. And to you, Cole.” He released me, and I backed up straight away. “Let’s go in. We all need to talk.”

Everyone followed behind Dad. They all seemed to do whatever he said without question.