Page 109 of Broken Silence
“Yeah. You want to go see the gym tomorrow? You loved it there.”
She nodded, her mind in the past. “I did. He didn’t ask me about the trial or anything.”
“He wouldn’t.”
“I know. I love that about him.”
“You ever think about getting back into the gym?”
“I tried not to think about it for the longest time.”
“You could teach.”
Arching a brow, she asked, “You think so?”
I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, nervous to be bringing this up, as we continued down the high street. “You’d be a great teacher.”
She didn’t have any other career plans yet, and this was perfect.
“Are there many… you know, where you live?” I asked.
“Yeah, but I don’t know.”
“You don’t know what?”
“Mum took me there, like, a year after we moved. I didn’t like it. Wasn’t the same.”
I nudged her arm. “I bet Marcus would give you a job tomorrow.”
She smiled awkwardly and pointed to an independent furniture store up ahead. “Yeah, maybe. Let’s go in here. Looks like they have some cool stuff.”
I’d dropped Oakley at Ali’s to have dinner with her Mum and Jasper. After that, Jasper was bringing her here on his way to Abby’s. I’d suspected that she was the friend he’d gone to meet a few times.
Dad was in the living room drinking a beer when I got in. A football match was on TV but he didn’t seem to be paying much attention.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Your mum’s getting ready to go out for dinner. An hour she’s been doing her hair for. Didn’t take her this long to get ready for a wedding. Grab a beer and join me. I have time.”
My phone dinged as I went to the kitchen.
Oakley: Jasper’s cooking so I’m just texting to say goodbye. X
Cole: What do you want on the headstone? X
Oakley: Loving Sister Killed by Gordon Ramsey Wannabe. X
I laughed and typed a reply, loving when she messaged random shit, just to talk to me.
Cole: I’ve got your back. Hurry up and eat so you can get over here. X
Oakley: Will eat, throw up, then be there. I miss you. X
Cole: Miss you, baby. Hurry! X
Oakley: <3
I pocketed my phone, grabbed a beer, and went back to Dad. “We ran into Oakley’s old gym coach today,” I said, sitting down.
