Silence (Silence #1)(58)

Hard? Hard didn’t even begin to cover it. No word was big enough to describe what he had done. How badly he had let me down and betrayed me. I’d trusted him. He was my hero. I looked up to him and loved him so much. He ruined that. He ripped apart my faith in him and ended my childhood.

“Oakley, I want that relationship back. I want us to do things together, watch a movie, or go to for a bike ride. I want us to do normal father–daughter things. Most of all, I want my little girl back.”

I swallowed a sob and wrapped my arms around myself. Don’t trust him, a voice niggled in my head. But I wanted to. I wanted all those things. I wanted to be one of the girls I used to see dragging their dads around shops. I wanted him to be that dad too. I didn’t want my dad to just be a monster.

Could he change though? I wanted him to so bad it hurt. Give him a chance, another voice reasoned. Peering up into his eyes I saw how broken he looked. Real emotion or fake? I could usually tell, but I wasn’t sure this time. He looked genuine, but maybe I just wanted him to be so much that I was missing the trap.

“Oakley, my business isn’t doing well at the minute. I’m afraid it will fail. I don’t want to fail at another thing in my life. I don’t want to look at us as a failure anymore. Let me make it up to you. Let’s draw a line in the sand, put the past behind us, and be a proper family. You, me, your mother and Jasper. I want us to be a happy family again.”

I wanted that too.

“Please give this a chance. Let us get to know each other again.”

Searching his muddy green eyes for any hint of a lie, I sagged. My heart jumped in my chest and hope filled my system. A normal happy family.

Gulping, I nodded my head, and he smiled.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “Get some sleep, sweetheart, it’s late.”

As he walked out of my room and closed the door, I ducked under my covers. Confused by my own conflicting feelings for my dad, I fell into a restless sleep.





Chapter Nineteen


Cole




I reluctantly went back to my house. I hated that part of the night, the part where I had to leave her. Max and Sarah had said that I couldn’t stay with her until she was eighteen. I knew they would say that when they found out about us, but it didn’t make me hate the rules any less.

Mum and Dad had gone out, and Mia was probably with Chris-the-dick, so the house was dark and deserted when I got in. I liked the peace though and couldn’t wait for Uni when I could really have my own space.

I sent Oakley a text, telling her that I loved her, and I would pick her up for school in the morning. At least it was Friday tomorrow so we could spend a little more time together in the evening. The weekend was going to suck though; she was going fishing with her dad again. Jasper went with them a few times but lost interest quickly and almost drowned once. Max should have never let him go in the first place. Jasper was a nightmare.

I had been a couple times too, and I wanted to go this weekend, but I think they need time alone. She was going out with her mum, so it was only fair that Max got to spend time with her too. At least it was only for one night though.

Mia strolled into my room without knocking.

“Do just walk in,” I said sarcastically. When did she get home anyway? Was I too out of it thinking about Oakley to have noticed.

“I need to talk to you, and you can’t get mad, and you have to let me finish, okay?” Mia rambled, waving her hands around in the air. Well, this sounds good! “Promise me, Cole.”

“Alright, I promise!”

She sat down and blew out a huge breath. “Me and Chris broke up.

“Well hal-le-fucking-lu-jah,” I called out, throwing my arms up in celebration.

“And I’m pregnant,” she added quickly.

My heart stopped. Did she just say…?

“I’m sorry, you’re what?”

“Pregnant. With child. Knocked up. Have a bun in the oven.”

I jumped up, feeling mad as hell. Chris-the-dick knocked her up and left her!

“What? That bastard got you pregnant and ditched you?” I was going to kill him, plain and simple. I knew he was a useless waste of space, but I didn’t think he would go that low. This was his child for God sake!

“Wait,” she shouted, holding her hands up and frowning at me. “I told you to let me finish!”

“Shouldn’t have agreed to that,” I grumbled, sitting back on the bed. As soon as she was finished, I was going to his house.

She took a deep, calming breath and continued.

“I found out a couple days ago that I’m pregnant. It’s made me look at everything differently you know. My relationship with Chris is...well let’s face it, it’s crap. I don’t think we’ve ever gone a few days without arguing, and then there are the other women. I don’t want my baby growing up around all that.”

She touched her flat stomach tenderly.

“This baby is the most important thing now, and I know I have to be away from Chris to be the best mum I can be.”

A huge grin slowly crept across my face. I was so proud of her for finally ditching his cheating arse. Oh my God, I was going to be an uncle!

“That’s great, Mia. You and the baby deserve so much more than him. What did he say?”

“Said I’ll go back to him soon enough. He shouted a bit, said I’d tricked him into getting pregnant,” she explained. “I don’t care what he thinks though, I didn’t get pregnant on my own, and I certainly didn’t plan it! Not sure how much involvement he’ll want, but I won’t stop him seeing her if he wants.