Silence

Chapter Twenty-Three

Oakley

"Oakley?" I frowned and pressed my face into my pillow to ignore Mum calling me. Why couldn't she let me sleep? "Oakley," she repeated. I felt like I'd only had three hours. Sighing in defeat, I rolled over and waited for whatever she needed me for at...10:30am...

Alright, so it wasn't that early.

"Morning, honey. Sorry to wake you, but I wanted to let you know that Auntie Ali's going away for the night, so Lizzie's staying with us. She'll be here soon. You need to make some room in your wardrobe for her things, okay. Apparently, she's packed a lot and wants to hang a few things up."

No, this is not okay. Who unpacks clothes for one night? There was only so much she could physically wear in a day. I tried hard not to show the disappointment because Mum loved her niece, but I couldn't keep a frown from dominating my face.

"Oh, she's not that bad! Come on, you, up. Dad's making pancakes for breakfast."

Mum left me to get up. I flopped back in bed. Lizzie for a whole twenty-four hours. Groaning in frustration, I jumped up and stomped around in a mood.

This is not a good start to the day.

The second I got downstairs; she walked through the front door. I didn't even have time to drink a hot chocolate – or force down a coffee – to mentally prepare myself. Jesus, I'd literally just woken up.

"Oh, I can't wait for your birthday party, Oakley!" Lizzie gushed, pouting her lips and fluffing her hair. Well, hello, Lizzie. "Your mum's practically invited your whole year! She's so cool, you know."

No.

I was suddenly filled with dread. Did that mean Julian had an invite, too? I didn't want to have to face my classmates until I absolutely had to – on the first day back at school. Not a nanosecond sooner.

But it's not like I get a choice in what happens in my life. To my body.

"Pancakes, girls," Dad announced, poking his head around the kitchen door with a celebratory smile. Dad was the self-proclaimed pancake king. Everyone raved about them; they got stuck in my throat.

I followed Lizzie to the kitchen table and sat down.

Twenty-four hours. I can do that.

You've had worse for a lot longer.

This will be a walk in the park.

"Hey, look who I found," Mum said as she walked into the room. Cole trailed behind her smiling. It faded as his eyes landed on Lizzie.

"Hi, Cole," Lizzie purred.

I rolled my eyes. He frowned and sat beside me. With a nod of his head, he replied a quick, "Hey."

"Look what I have, sweetheart." Mum handed me a folder. An A4 piece of paper was taped to the front with typed letters: OAKLEY'S SWEET 16.

God. Please say this isn't happening. What the hell was she planning on having at this party? My skin prickled with unease.

I flipped the folder open and died a little inside. The first page was a list of guests. I slapped it shut, not wanting to know. It wouldn't change anything. This was Mum's desperate way of moulding me into a normal teenager, and I'd let her run with it.

"I was thinking we could get one of those chocolate fountains, what do you think?" Mum asked, and held up a magazine cut out of a giant white chocolate fountain. I'd been warned about that one. Honestly, I was fine with chocolate, though.