Page 105 of Broken Silence
Cole pushed the door open. “Hey,” he said. “Can I come in?”
“Sure.”
Crouching down between my knees, he pulled a little red velvet bag out of his pocket. “Open your hand.”
“Okay,” I replied, turning my palm over.
He tipped the bag over, and a small, egg-shaped, orange-red gemstone fell into my hand. A black lace was threaded through a hole cut into the top, creating a necklace. “Fire agate,” he said.
“Um… fire what?”
“Agate.” He smirked. “Energy, warmth, strength, and courage. You have so much already, but I know you struggle sometimes. Mia got into crystals.”
My heart swelled as I ran my thumb over the smooth stone. I definitely could do with a little more of all of those. “Thank you. It’s perfect.” I leant over and kissed him. “Did you choose this yourself?”
“Well, I wanted to get you something, but it was Mia who suggested a stone. Shall I?”
Nodding, I handed him the necklace and pulled my hair out of the way. With it hanging around my neck, I felt strength sink into my skin. I knew it was all in my head, but that didn’t matter.
“How’s it going down there?”
“Jasper’s drunk already, downed six shots back-to-back. Your mum and Miles are on the sofa. I think she’s… I don’t know, flitting between a lot of emotions.”
“I should go to her.”
“I think Miles is who she needs right now, babe,” he said softly.
“Because she needs to be strong when she’s with me?”
He nodded. “Everyone’s doing okay, don’t worry about them.”
“My brother is drunk thirty minutes after we get in and I shouldn’t worry.”
“Mia’s got it. Chris has Leona, he’s keeping her overnight, so Mia’s doing shots with Jasper. I think she’ll slow it down soon and get him on the coffee. Now,” he said, curling his armsaround my back, still on his knees in front of me. “Tell me whatyouneed.”
“I’m actually doing okay. Not so sure on the emotion thing, a bit like Mum, I guess. There’s a lot.”
“You want to talk about it?”
“Oh, now you want to talk,” I said, teasing and trying out keeping things light.
“Wow, you’re laying that on me now.”
“We could always just have sex.”
He tilted his head. “All right, talk to me, baby. Whatever you’re feeling is okay.”
“What if I’m feeling everything and it changes so fast, I can’t pick one out. Happy, sad, relieved, devastated, overwhelmed, angry. Over and over, ever changing, on repeat. Am I even making sense?”
“You are, and I think that’s pretty normal.”
“I hate him.”
“You’re not alone there.”
“He won’t ever get better. You can’t stop… liking that stuff.”
He frowns. “No, he won’t get better.”
