Page 6 of Broken Silence
Cole
My so-called friend Ben sighed, running a hand over his face. “It’s pathetic!”
“No, it’s romantic,” Kerry countered, slamming her fist on the table.
At least one of them was on my side, but I wished they wouldn’t have the ‘Is Cole pathetic?’conversation in front of me.
“Romantic? It’s beenfour years, and hestillmopes around like a teenage girl who just found out Justin what’s-his-face is off the market,” Ben countered, pointing his tanned finger at me as if it wasn’t crystal clear. “Back me up, Cole. It’s pathetic, right?”
“Really?” I muttered.
I was so glad I’d agreed to go out with them.
In my defence, I wasn’t completely pathetic. I’d been on a few dates since Oakley left, but they never turned into anything. No matter how hard I’d tried, I couldn’t force myself to want a relationship with any other woman, which fucked me over royally.
She’d rejected me and then left.
I told her I would move—I’d get on a plane and makeAustralia home—butshedidn’t want that. It still hurt like a bitch.
Ben held his hand up as Kerry opened her mouth to argue her side again. “I’m just saying, maybe it’s time to give Chelsea a chance. She’s a great girl, and she lives inEngland.”
I sighed and rubbed my jaw. Chelseawasa great girl, there was no denying that. She was pretty, had a good sense of humour, and was intelligent… but she wasn’t Oakley. That was the problem with every other woman. As hard as I’d tried, I couldn’t get past it.
I’d met Chelsea on the first day of university, and we’d been friends ever since. She had hinted a few times that she wanted to go on a date, but I didn’t want to lead her on just on the off chance that I could grow tolikeher.
Kerry slapped Ben across the chest with the back of her hand. “Don’t tell him that! Oakley is clearly his soul mate.”
“And she ditched him to move halfway across the world.”
Damn, that hurts.
“Because she thought she was doing the best thing for him.Heshould have gone after her. They could be sunning themselves on a gorgeous beach in paradise right now.”
I’d tried to go with her. She didn’t want me.
“Buthe didn’t, and it’s beenfour years. She’s probably with some other guy now, sunning herself with him on the beach!”
I closed my eyes and pushed away the thought of another man touching her.Would she even allow that?
She’d let me, but we’d been friends since we were babies first. She knew I would never hurt her. The fact that she’d felt comfortable and safe enough to become that intimate made me feel a thousand feet tall. Her trust had meant the world.
Half of me hoped she would never let another man near her, and the other half hoped she would. I wanted her to be happy and for those bastards to not have ruined her future.
Years on, though, and I still thought of her as mine.
“Either change the subject or I’m leaving,” I hissed.
The whole conversation was making me feel sick. Kerry was right about one thing: I should have followed her. Staying here was the biggest regret I’d ever have but, at the time, it had seemed like Oakley didn’t want me to go with her, and I was scared to fly out there and surprise her in case she told me to go back.
I understood that she couldn’t be here anymore. After what those fuckers had done to her, of course, she wouldn’t want constant reminders of her trauma, but she was wrong about my life being here. I hadn’t gotten enough time to convince her because of how they just took off. Now, it was too late.
“What are we talking about?” Chelsea asked, taking a seat next to me and grabbing the menu.
I hadn’t even seen her come in.
“How romantic Cole is,” Kerry said, and at the same time, Ben came out with, “How pathetic Cole is.”
Kerry and Ben were made for each other. Obviously, ‘change the subject’ meant something completely different to them than it did to me.
