Page 2 of Broken Silence
Jasper shot me a warning look, his eyes narrowed, brows almost meeting. He wanted me to drop it because I think he struggled with a man in Mum’s life after the last one, our father, turned out to be a sick paedophile, but I wasn’t about to drop anything. Miles was a decent guy—I’d gotten quite good at telling who was— and I wanted Mum to be happy.
She met Miles at work three years ago, and they really liked each other, but she wouldn’t give him a chance. I understood why she found it hard to trust again, but anyone could see that she was as in love with him as he was with her.
She sighed. “No, I haven’t, Oakley.”
Her chippy tone was a warning not to push, but sometimes people needed a nudge. “Why don’t you invite him over for dinner tomorrow?”
“Please, honey. Nothing is going to happen between us. Give it up.”
I stared down at the steam rising from the hot chocolate, watching it dissipate into nothing, understanding how that felt. “Not every man is like Dad, you know,” I whispered.
“Don’t call him that!” Jasper snapped, speaking through gritted teeth. His knuckles turned white as his grip tightened around the handle of his mug.
Since knowing what had happened, on the rare occasion when Jasper did speak about Dad, he’d only ever refer to him asthe sick bastard.There was a lot of anger my brother kept bottled up inside. I saw it in his pained eyes every time he looked at me, though it was never directed my way.
“I know. Miles is a wonderful person, but I don’t want a relationship.”
Yes, you do.
She deserved happiness. I didn’t want Dad to affect the rest of her life, too—not to the point where she wouldn’t allow herself to be happy again.
Dropping it for now, I followed Mum and Jasper into the living room and sat down on sofas that practically swallowed you. I wouldn’t give up until she smiled properly again.
“You working tomorrow, Oakley?” Jasper asked, turning his nose up as if that was the most awful thing.
We both worked at a juice bar near the beach. It wasn’t exactly the career either of us had ever wanted, but Jasper refused to quit because so many bikini-clad women would come in, and I had no idea what I wanted to do.
I felt as if I were stuck in time, my life on hold until the trial was over. Even though I was thousands of miles away, I still needed Dad and Frank to be locked away so I could properly move on.
Well, I hoped that would do it.
Something had to, right?
“No. You are, though, right?”
“Yep. Want to work my shift for me?” he asked.
I gave him a flat look. “No.”
Mum cut in, asking, “Do you have plans, Oakley?”
When do I ever have plans?“No.”
“Why don’t you meet me for lunch at one? We can go to that sandwich place near my office. The one Jasper’s obsessed with.”
“Oh, lovely,” Jasper said sarcastically. “I’m working, and you’re planning on taking your favourite child tomyfavourite restaurant.”
“Are you sure he’s older than me?”
Mum smirked. “Mentally, no.”
Jasper scowled.
“Oh, we’ll get you a meatball sub!”
Jasper sat back and smiled proudly. “Good. Bring it to work, yeah?”
“I’ll drop it off on my way home.” I crossed my legs and sipped my hot chocolate.
