Chapter 7
Oakley
Now I remembered why I didn’t drink.
Cole held onto me tightly, keeping me safe in his arms. He was all that stopped me from shattering, I was sure. In his embrace, I felt stronger than I had in a long time.
Our table was out of the way, but I was still aware that we were in a public place, and I didn’t want to meltdown here. I took a deep breath and pulled up from his chest where I’d listened to his heart beating hard, pumping faster than the beat of the drums.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, dabbing a tear from under my eye.
Cole kept his arms around me while I sat on his lap, his fingers tracing patterns on my skin. I didn’t want to go anywhere, either, so I didn’t even attempt to get up.
“Don’t be sorry. Not ever. You okay now? What can I do?”
“I’m fine. You’re already doing everything.” I smoothed down my hair and dabbed under my eyes, hoping that was enough to make me look normal.
“Want to get out of here?” he asked. “There’s a crappy little all-night café down the road. We can go there.”
“Crappy café? That’s not very gentlemanly. If that’s what you say to the ladies, it’s no wonder you haven’t had any since—”
He shook his head, chuckling. “Yeah, all right. Very funny.”
I grinned, my heart lighter now that I’d pulled myself together… and, of course, because he was touching me.
“Come on. I’ll message Jasper and let him know we’ll catch up with them later,” he said, making us both stand up. He took my hand and weaved us through a crowd of people dancing and I think a couple arguing. I couldn’t see Kerry, Ben, or my brother, but I’d text Jasper when I was outside.
“Just how crappy is this café, then? I’m not going to get food poisoning, am I?
” I asked as we stepped into the cool air outside the bar.
It’d turned cold since we arrived. Warm days and freezing nights.
I’d forgotten just how much the temperature dropped in the spring.
Back in Australia, the warmth held out better than here.
“That depends.”
I raised a brow, slightly distracted as I sent Jasper a quick message. “On?”
“Whether you’re eating anything or not.”
“Okay, that will be a not.”
“Good choice. The chips are the safest thing if you do decide to.”
Cole held the chipped red door open, and I walked inside. He wasn’t joking; it was crappy. Wow. The patchy magnolia paint had started peeling off the walls, and the white blinds were turning a light yellow.
The smell of grease and burnt meat curled inside my nostrils.
Four rows of dated metal tables and chairs stretched from one side of the room to the other. I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to sit down.
But as run down as it looked, it did appear clean. No dust on the random framed prints of boats and meadows.
“Want a hot chocolate?” Cole asked, leading me to a table in the corner.
Most tables were empty. Only a few people were dotted around, sipping tea and coffee from chipped mugs. A few drunks slumped over tables, shovelling cheesy chips into their mouths, desperately trying to soak up some of the alcohol.
Try crying on your ex in a bar because you’re about to face your dad in court. That really sobered you. My buzz was long gone.
“Should my mouth touch anything in here?” I asked him. I had no problem with going somewhere cheap and cheerful, but I at least wanted to drink from a clean cup.
“I’ve been here before, and it’s not done me any harm.”
Sceptically, I arched my brow. “Are you certain?”
Cole shook his head, smirking, and pointed to the chair. “Sit down and behave.”
I did as he said and watched him walk to the counter to order from a man with a terribly stained apron that must’ve been white once.
A minute later, he returned to the table and sat opposite me. His face turned serious, and I knew the messing around and teasing had stopped for now. He tapped his fingertips on the metal table, over a pair of initials scratched into it. JF hearted TK.
“So… talk to me. How are you really feeling about it all?” he asked, clearing his throat.
“I’m honestly unsure. Everything’s a little hazy. One minute, I really want to give evidence in person, and the next, I just want to run away. I’ve gone back and forth so much, I’m dizzy.”
“You don’t have to, you know? I’m sure they’ll let you do it by video or whatever here.”
“They probably would, but then I wouldn’t face them.”
“You really want to?” he asked.
“Yes. I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted them to see that I’m not scared.” Though I was. “I don’t expect anyone to understand, but I want to watch as they’re taken away to prison—hopefully, for the rest of their lives.”
Cole looked on, wordless. Seconds stretched out, and I wasn’t sure how long they were going to be met with silence.
“What?” I whispered, unable to stand it any longer.
“You’re amazing, Oakley.”
“See? That’s what you should say to the ladies,” I joked, hoping it would lighten the mood.
“Yeah, but I would get a slap for calling them the wrong name.”
I laughed for a second—until his serious expression returned.
“I mean it, though. Your bravery… how you worry more about your mum and Jasper, despite being the one who was… you know. I don’t know how you do it.”
“I don’t have any other choice. I want my life back. They took so much away from me—my childhood, my innocence, and even my voice. There’s no way I’m letting them have my future, too.”
The burning in my soul to take back control of my life had grown into wildfire.
Our drinks were slammed down on the table. I jumped in surprise, having not even seen the bored teen waitress approaching. She looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here.
“Thanks,” Cole sarcastically mumbled under his breath as she walked off without a word. “Do you think you’ll be okay seeing them again?”
“Not really. The thought of seeing them, especially seeing Frank’s empty, beady eyes, makes me sick.”
Cole balled his hands into fists, his knuckles turning white, and his jaw tensed. Maybe saying this to him wasn’t a good idea.
“Do you want to talk about something else?” I asked, staring down at my steaming mug of hot chocolate, splashes of it on the table.
Making him feel ill was the last thing I wanted.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his hand reach across the table before it covered mine. I curled my fingers around this thumb, unsure if I was drawing strength from him or if it was the other way around.
“We can talk about this whenever you want. Never censor anything for me, okay? I’ll always be here for you, no exceptions.”
My heart sank to my toes at his words. Always couldn’t happen. Soon enough, we’d have an ocean between us again.
I reached across the table and took his other hand, the one that was bunched. His fist loosened at my touch.
“Thank you. Mum and Jasper are going to be there… in court. They’re going to watch me give evidence.”
“And you don’t want that?” He twisted his hand, so his palm was facing up against mine, releasing the other to pick up his drink.
“No. They don’t know everything—not all the details. I don’t want them to know all of that.”
The statements I had given the police revealed absolutely every disgusting last detail. It was torture, reliving those years and years of hell, and I was not looking forward to doing it all over again, especially in front of my family.
Cole sucked air in through his teeth and tension curled around his eyes. He looked like he was barely holding it together, ready to explode.
“Right. I didn’t think about that. Do you… do you want to talk about that with me?”
I shook my head slowly. “No.” There was no way I was going to talk about it with him. Even him knowing it’d happened was too much. “I just wish it was over already.”
“Me, too. I hate that you have to go through it all over again. It’s not fair.”
I took a sip of my drink with my free hand. “Well, the hot chocolate isn’t bad.”
He smirked. “Just don’t use the sugar.”
I looked down at the ashtray-looking pot of sugar on the table and turned my nose up. That couldn’t be anything close to hygienic. “No danger of that.”
“Do you think they’re scared about what you’re going to say? Max especially.”
The way he said my dad’s name… like he could cut him down with his tone. I wished that was possible.
“Probably, but I don’t care. His defence is going to go hard, but they can’t trip me up because I have the truth on my side.”
“What if they ask you what kind of person Max was? You know, in public.”
“They will. I’ll tell them that in public he was generous, charming, honest, loyal, and trustworthy.
Everything everyone believed. Cole, he played the perfect husband, father, and friend.
That was why he was able to get away with it for so long.
He was my hero until the age of five, and that’s exactly what I’ll say. ”
“How can you say nice things about him?”
“Because it’s the truth, and that’s what makes what he did so much worse.”
He nodded and picked up his drink again. “You don’t want to go back to the bar, right? I can take you home,” Cole said, reading me like a book.
“Thank you. Sorry I ruined your night.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Seeing you drunk was definitely worth it.”
I didn’t feel drunk at all anymore. The world was moving slightly slower than normal, but apart from that, I felt fine. That could’ve been due to all the physical contact we were having.
“Well, thanks. I can get a taxi back alone if you want to stay.”
“No,” he replied, frowning like I’d said something ridiculous.
“You’d rather drink hot chocolate and go home early?”
“With anyone else, no.”
“I’m privileged.”
“You should be,” he replied, grinning.
We finished our drinks and left café. Opposite was a row of taxis, ready to take drunk people home.
Cole gave the address to the driver and opened the back door for me. He slid in after. I snatched a few moments to really look at him as the drive raced down the road. He was even more attractive now, something I didn’t think could be possible.