Silence (Silence #1)(6)

“Wanna watch a film until dinner?” he asked as he picked up the remote and flicked through the movie channels. I nodded against his shoulder. I didn’t really care what we did. I just wanted to be around him.

We stayed in Cole’s room, watching TV until we heard Jenna call us down for dinner. I could have quite happily stayed in his room for the rest of the night, but I knew our parents would want us with them. I gulped as we walked downstairs and prepared myself to act normal.

“Finally. I’m starving,” Cole exclaimed.

I allowed myself to smile as he practically ran for the door. I followed him at my own pace. The second I got downstairs my mum greeted me. She pulled me into a hug and rubbed my back. She would often hug me like this when she knew I’d had a rubbish day. It was her way of trying to make everything better. A hug from Mum fixed things when I was really little, but I hadn’t felt safe like that in almost eleven years.

“Are you okay, honey? Jenna said you both came home early,” Mum whispered, stroking my hair. I pulled back to nod my head and smile, to convince her that I was all right. “Are you sure? Did someone do or say something to you?” she pressed further, her fingers squeezing my arm slightly. I shook my head and rolled my eyes, making her smile.

“Okay. You know you can come to me though, for anything.” Again, I smiled to convince her.

“Good. Now, let’s eat, eh?” I was pulled through Cole’s house by Mum tugging on my hand. Sometimes I thought she still saw me as a little girl. Like she thought I stopped aging when I had stopped talking.

I was ushered down into the seat next to Cole. Cole’s dad, David was standing at the barbecue for a change. My brother, Jasper, was talking to Mia, Cole’s older sister. Well, he was bickering with her as usual. No doubt it would be something really stupid like ‘Which tastes better, bacon or sausages?’ He could make an argument out of anything.

Where was Dad?

I glanced over my shoulder, looking around the perfectly manicured back garden. He was nowhere to be seen.

Cole waved his hand in front of my face, snapping me back to reality.

“Hello! You okay?”

I nodded and grabbed a can of coke from the table to have something to do, some distraction.

“About school,” my dad’s voice cut through everyone else’s. I spun my head around, to find him walking over to my side. “You can’t just walk out like that. If someone’s bullying you then you need to let me know, and I will contact the school.” I cracked open the can and nodded, looking down at the table. “I mean it, Oakley,” he added sternly. His tone was harsh, but no one even looked up. To them it was just a concerned father telling his daughter off because he was worried about her.

So I didn’t cause a scene or prolong the discussion, I nodded.

“Good girl. Now grab a plate, I think the food’s ready.” He kissed my forehead and went to take his seat next to Mum.

Thankfully, Cole started talking to me about a class trip the sixth-form students were taking to a theme park, and how he wished I were going too. I threw myself into listening to him and not dwelling on Dad being angry, but I didn’t feel hungry any more. I knew I should eat though: all I’d had today was ice cream, and Mum would start fussing if I didn’t have a proper meal.

David placed a plate of burgers and sausages on the table. I took one of each and grabbed bread rolls. I forced myself to take a bite of my ketchup-smothered, charred hot dog.

“It’s agreed then? Two weeks in Italy,” Jenna exclaimed, clapping her hands together. Italy? What had I missed?

“While you were off in Oakley land, we just planned the holiday,” he explained, reading my confused expression. Oh! That put a smile on my face. I felt my excitement build at the thought of going on holiday. Every year we went away with Cole’s family, and I loved every second of it.

“Italy,” Mum confirmed, her face lighting up. She seemed excited too. I knew she loved spending time in foreign shops with Jenna, or sitting by the pool gossiping.

Everybody else agreed, and I grinned. I couldn’t wait to get away, to relax and hopefully forget everything for a week. Cole winked at me, and I blushed. Oh, God, please say he didn’t see me blush. Quickly looking away, I fiddled with my fingers, feeling embarrassed. I did love the way he made me feel, but I didn’t want him to know. We couldn’t be together. I would never be good enough for him. He was perfect, and I was broken.

Once we finished dinner, Cole and I went back up to his room so I could watch Hollyoaks. We didn’t have Sky because Dad complained that it was a rip off them charging so much, so Cole recorded the latest episode for me every single day. I could have just watched them when they were on, but my gymnastics classes clashed sometimes.

I settled on his bed and laid my head on his chest. His heart was beating steadily. The sound was so calming – like my very own lullaby.

“Whoa, bad move,” Cole called out, shaking his head at the TV. He hated the programme so much that he made up a commentary on what was going on. I laughed at him, enjoying his stupid remarks.

“Oakley,” he warned, glancing down. I pressed my lips together; my mouth ached when I tried to keep a serious face.

I gasped in surprise as he suddenly rolled us over, and moved over me. Oh, wow. He was hovering above me, his legs either side of mine as he pinned my hands over my head. I wasn’t scared, not at all. There were no feelings of panic or dread. It felt… Right.