The Sound of Silence (Previously I Know What You Did Last Summer)

{Nineteen} I Used To Recognize Myself

"It takes a lot of courage to be through what you have, and to force yourself out of bed every morning, remember that."

Millie's warm breath brushed against my ear as she slowly pulled away, squeezing my shoulder in a comforting gesture as my grandmother had for years before she passed away late last year. I watched silently as she crossed the room, only stirred out of my thoughts when Bianca jerked suddenly behind me and caused the chair to squeal against the tile as she shoved the exercise given to us deep in her purse.

She smiled sheepishly when she caught my eye and rose to her feet. "I was thinking maybe we could go grab a cup of coffee."

It had been so long since I'd been out with anyone other than Colton and my brother that I forgot just how to respond for a fraction of a second.

"That sounds great." I eventually mustered up, offering up the best smile I could manage.

It really did sound great. It had been months since Isabelle had sat down and asked me what was really going on in my life. She would occasionally ask as a topic to delve deeper into the conversation, but when I would have no response, she would immediately start in on a different subject entirely. I didn't blame her, not in the least. She had no idea what happened and I knew, without any doubt, that if she did, she would be sticking right by me and helping me through it.

"Did you drive here?" Bianca questioned.

I shifted on my feet, my mind flickering back to Colton's offer a few days ago.

"I don't have a car." I answered. "Or a license for that matter."

She laughed quietly, digging her keys from her oversized designer purse that I knew my mom probably had an exact copy of sitting in the back of her closet somewhere.

"There's no need to fear." She winked playfully, "I've got you, sis."

*

Few words were spoken the first few minutes of the drive. Bianca blasted the heat for a few minutes, turning the radio down as warmth spread throughout the car. It was when we were finally out of the parking lot and on the road that she asked the question I'd been dreading answering for the last few days.

"So the boy that showed up the other day," she started quietly, "who exactly was he? You didn't look overly thrilled to see him."

"Colton's my brother's best friend. He was just keeping an eye on me for my brother."

A silence hung in the car between us for a few minutes before Bianca finally threw a quick glance in my direction.

"They don't know what happened." It wasn't a question. "Are you going to tell them?"

The words formed in my head and mouth but wouldn't break passed my chapped lips. I bowed my head a fraction and shrugged a shoulder. "Colton knows now."

"And your brother?"

"No." I wasn't a hundred percent sure if I was answering that he didn't know or that I wasn't going to tell him, but to my relief, she didn't push any further.

A comfortable silence filled the car until we reached the cafe. Bianca hummed quietly to herself until we reached the bar stool at the counter, handing me a menu as she spoke softly.

"So your attacker," she paused as a waiter passed, "does he go to your school?"

The question left me reeling in shock for a few minutes, not able to mutter a coherent word.