Page 65 of Broken Silence
Two long days later, Ben and I grabbed our paint guns and made our way into the forest. We had been there so many times, they didn’t bother us with the whole induction and rules thing now. Nigel, the owner, had made us sign our lives away and then we had been let loose to inflict pain on each other.
I’d not had the chance to be alone again with Oakley yet, and it was driving me nuts. We’d not even kissed since I stayed over.
Agonising over why not had become a much-hated pastime. I needed to shoot Ben to let off steam.
“So, what are you doing tonight? Actually, let me guess… you’re going to see Oakley?” he asked as we walked out to thebattlefield.
“I’m not sure what I’m doing.”
He chuckled. “Of course, you’re not.”
“We haven’t made plans, but I’ll check what she’s doing after this.”
“What’s going on between you two, anyway?”
“Not sure. It’s complicated.”
“How’s it complicated?”
I deadpanned, doing a double take. “You’re not that dumb, man. She lives on the other side of the world. We’ve spent the past four years apart, and she’s back for the trial of the men who abused her.”
“So? What’s your point?”
My jaw went slack. “Well… all of that.”
“I call BS. That’s what you’re letting come between you? You need to sort your shit out, Cole. If you love her, hold on, and all of that other stuff will work itself out.”
“Sortmyshit,” I muttered under my breath. It wasn’t a case of that. I knew exactly whatIwanted. “Thanks for the pep talk.”
“You’re scared of getting rejected again like when she left you before.”
I gritted my teeth, ready to punch a hole through his face. “Thank you for bringing that up.”
“You’re a fool, man.”
“Her plan is to return to Australia. What do I do with that?”
“Why start this up again if she’s leaving?”
“Because I can’t help myself! Because when my grandad died six years ago, I desperately wanted to have just one more conversation with him. Remember me saying that? Well, this feels like my one more with Oakley. She’ll leave and it’ll fucking suck, but she’s here now.”
It sounded so simple when I boiled it down to that.
“Man, just tell her that and she’ll soon fall at your feet,” he said, wide-eyed.
Laughing, I shoved his chest, wanting this conversation over. “Come on, I’ll give you a chance to get me this round.”
“Like hell. I’llannihilateyou.”
After thrashing Ben again, I dropped him off at home and called Oakley. Her number now the most called in my Recents list.
“Hey,” she said, picking up my call as if she’d been waiting for it.
I made a left at the lights. “Did it even ring?”
“What do you want?” she asked, a smile in her voice.
“What are you doing?”
