Page 12 of Broken Silence
Ben took a turn a bit too quickly, and I groaned, pressing my forehead to the cold window.Kill me now.
“Don’t puke!” Ben warned.
I groaned a response, a mumbled promise that I wouldn’t. A promise I was unsure I could keep.
We pulled up outside my house, and I managed to lift my head to see that the lights were still on.Great.
“Come on, Cole,” Ben said, lifting me out of the car and helping me to walk. The world tilted, and I groaned. “I’m calling you at six in the morning to see how that head is.”
He was enjoying this, the bastard.
“Tomorrow, I’m going to Australia,” I said, leaning against the wall while he unlocked the front door for me.
Why did I suddenly feel more drunk than I’d been when we left? I didn’t even get to enjoy my last drinks, either.
“Cole?” Dad said once Ben got me inside.
“He’s wasted. Enjoy.”
“Thanks, Ben,” Dad said and sighed.
I lifted my head to see Mum and Mia gaping at me like I was a freak show.
“I’m not going right now; don’t worry. I need to sleep first,” I mumbled, staggering towards the stairs. I shot my hand out, bracing myself against the wall as my legs took me sideways.
“Going where?” Mum asked. “You shouldn’t let yourself get in this state.”
“I’m going to Australia. I need her.”
Dad hooked my arm around his shoulders. “I’ll get him upstairs.”
The hallway stretched out, longer than ever, as Dad helped me towards my room.
Collapsing on my bed, I squeezed my eyes shut, effectively stopping the room from spinning. I felt something dip on the bed, and I groaned, not wanting the third degree.
“Good night?” Mia asked.
I cracked my eyes open. Dad had gone but my sister was standing by my bed.
“Australia’s really far away, isn’t it?”
My eyelids were too heavy and drifted shut again.
I felt her hand on my arm, then she sighed. “Yeah, Cole, it’s far away. I hate to see you like this.”
“She left me. She wouldn’t let me go with her. Ithurts,” I whispered, and I felt the cut of each word.
“I know, and I’m so sorry. You need to get some sleep. Things will be clearer in the morning.”
I heard her close my door, but I was already being pulled under, my mind stuck on the blonde who’d wrecked me worse than alcohol ever could.
Chapter 3
Oakley
England. It was home, and it was hell. We’d landed two hours ago and made it past border control and grabbed our bags effortlessly, no queues anywhere.
Mum had hired a car since she’d sold hers before we’d left. I looked out of the window at the fluffy white clouds and bright sky. It was a beautiful day, but I felt a weight pressing down on my shoulders.
