Silence

Chapter Thirty

Oakley

I sat awkwardly at the dinner table. Jasper sat beside me and glared at Mum's doctor friend, Sadie. The atmosphere around the table was tense. We all knew why she was really here, although no one said anything.

"So, Oakley, how are gymnastics going? Your mum told me your instructor thinks you could be Olympic material."

I sighed. Marcus had said that, but I would have to put in a lot more time, and to me, gymnastics wasn't about winning trophies. The escape and my love for it was all I was doing it for.

Mum put her wine glass down and smiled. "Don't be shy, sweetheart. You're so talented."

Shut up, Mum!

"Why is it called cottage pie anyway? I mean I get the shepherd's one for the lamb, but what's cottage and beef got in common?" Jasper mused, staring at the large oven dish in the middle of the table.

Grinning in amusement, I poked at my carrots. He was trying to take the heat off me. It only took one look from Mum to make Jasper sit back and eat quietly, though.

Sadie's casual questions kept coming. What classes did I like at school? Did I have a nice time on holiday? Who was my favourite football team? She never asked me anything directly, but I knew what she was doing.

It wouldn't work.

I'll never tell.

When the conversation turned to my childhood, I knew I didn't have long left before the really personal questions were asked. After we'd finished eating, Mum had gotten her photo albums from the bookshelf. She had a separate one for every year of our life.

"You remember this, Oakley?" Mum asked, pointing to a picture of me on my fifth birthday. I was wearing a hideous pink dress and eating chocolate cake. There was pink icing all over my face and hair from having a cake fight with Jasper, Cole, and Mia. Once we'd finished the food fight, they crammed us all into the same bath and sprayed us clean with the showerhead. The water was gross and pink, with little bits of wet cake floating around in it. It was fun.

That was one of the last times I was a carefree child.

I nodded and looked away, not wanting to dwell on it too much. That part of my life was over a long time ago.

"And what did you do for your sixth birthday?" Sadie asked me casually, flicking through the photos. I gave her a flat look and pushed the photo album labelled 'Oakley Six' towards her. She forced a smiled and started looking through it even though I could tell she had no interest in seeing them at all. I got the impression that she didn't like failing and wanted to be able to fix me.

Sadie sat up straight, flicked her straggly hair behind her shoulder and asked, "What do you want to do after school?"

I shrugged, and she pursed her lips. The night was going to be a constant battle with her. She wanted to be the magical one that gave my mum all the answers. I couldn't let her.

After Mum and Dad cleared the table, we moved into the lounge. Mum made it clear that I was to sit with them, too. Jasper was allowed to sneak off.

Sadie's questions kept coming. She switched back to asking mostly yes or no answer questions, but she occasionally threw one in that required a proper answer.

I could save us so much time if she just asks 'Are you going to tell me what happened?'

The whole time I could feel Dad's eyes burning into the side of my head, his silent demands booming in my head. He played along, following Mum's lead with questions to Sadie. Not even the highly paid specialist could see through him.