Broken Silence Read online

  I haven’t exactly told her yet, but she has been a great mother to me. Nobody could ever begin to replace my mom, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with having two moms. I think my mom would approve. I was even more surprised at my ability to openly think about my mom. I guess I was finally facing my past. The next big step would be to share it with my friends. I just don’t want them to pity me or see me any different. Something told me I needed to give them more credit than that.

  I pulled out my phone and opened the group text, turning my phone so Sophia could read. She read it over then looked thoughtful. “Do they have sleepovers often?” She asked, though she looked like she didn’t believe it. I pulled open the notes app and explained they had them every Saturday and how they all grew up together. It was something that Abby told me last week. She didn’t want me to feel left out, but figured most parents wouldn’t approve. “Can you get me the numbers of their parents? And yes, if their parents agree then I’m ok with a sleepover, but you stay in the living room.” She finished with a stern look. I grinned and jumped up to hug her. She looked startled, but laughed and hugged me back.

  I quickly made my way back inside and grabbed a bowl of cereal. I finally noticed the clock and realized it was almost noon. I was shocked at first, but then remembered how late it was when I finally got to bed. I sat at the table and texted my friends back.

  Charlie: Sophia wants your moms numbers. I guess she wants to double check on a sleepover. If your parents are cool with it she said we can have it here.

  Abby: YES! I’ll send her a text with our moms names and numbers for you.

  Adam: So what should be do before?

  Charlie: I haven’t been swimming in years! If I can find a store with a bathing suit, I vote that. Abby and Alice, want to come with? I’m sure Sophia wouldn’t mind and I hate picking out my own clothes.

  Alice: I hate shopping. I’m out.

  Abby: You know I’m in.

  Trent: Why aren’t we invited?

  Abby: Because you guys complain that I take too long.

  I wrote a quick note to Sophia and I was getting up to take it out when I heard the door. She walked into the kitchen to get another mug of coffee. I gave her the note before she walked out. She read it over and looked thoughtful.

  “I think the mall might have some on clearance from summer. We can always order you one later, as long as you find one for today. If I’m going to take a few days off, then I need to finish up a few things. You can go, but please have one of the guys with you. I don’t want you outside alone at all though.” I nodded so she knew I agreed then I went upstairs to get ready.

  Charlie: She said I can go shopping, but she has to wrap up some work. She also said I can’t go unless one of the guys goes with us.

  Cole: I’m watching the twins while mom runs to the store. Sorry, babe.

  Trent: I was jk before. I don’t have the patience for Abby. Haha

  Abby: HAHA, Trent. You jerk!

  Trent: You love it.

  Adam: I’ll pick you guys up in fifteen minutes.

  Charlie: Thanks, Adam!!

  I was showered, dressed and on the porch in ten minutes. I knew Adam well enough to know he would be here any second. Sure enough, he pulled up about a minute later. I hurried up to his truck and got in. Abby was already in, so she scooted to the middle.

  “Where to, ladies?” He asked as he pulled away from the curb.

  “Mall. It’s our only hope.” Abby declared dramatically. I couldn’t help but give Adam a playful smile. She was making it sound like we were going into battle and she was strategizing. He chuckled at her and she gave a playful pout.

  Adam was actually a better shopping buddy than I expected. The dude deserves a medal, he had more patience then I had ever witnessed. Abby on the other hand was a shopping machine. We haven’t even made it to the swimsuits and she dragged us into four different stores already.

  I spotted a department store and linked my arm through hers to keep her on task. She sighed dramatically, but allowed me to drag her to the store. I found a small section of swimsuits on clearance, but they were a bit more revealing then I liked to wear. Abby saw my hesitation and giggled.

  “You don’t like showing skin, do you?” I shook my head no and wrinkled my nose at the selection. The only thing leading me to try one was how much I wanted to go swimming. “Want me to pick?” Abby offered as she assessed the selection. I shook my head yes and pointed to the size chart to show her which one I needed.

  It wasn’t that I was unhappy with my body, it’s that I just didn’t prefer to show that much skin. Plus, I was always afraid that if I wore a bikini and jumped in the pool the top would come off. I’ve seen it happen in to many movies to trust it. Abby walked over and handed me a few of the bikinis she picked out. She gave me a gentle shove in the direction of the dressing room.

  I went in and tried the first one on. It was the one that had the most coverage on the top. One of them I wasn’t even going to try, the bikini top was two small triangles. Essentially, it was a disaster waiting to happen. The one I picked out was a retro style, that didn’t show a huge amount of cleavage. It actually looked pretty good on me. I opened the door a crack to see if Abby was there. She jumped up from the bench eagerly and rushed over.

  “You look amazing Charlie! Cole is going to love it.” She teased with a wink. I blushed immediately and escaped back into the dressing room. I changed quickly and hung the others on the return rack. “What gave you that scar?” She asked quietly. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” I knew she meant that and was just curious. I mimed a gunshot and her eyes went wide. She brushed it off, but wrapped her arm around mine.

  I hurried and paid for the bikini and turned to Adam. Once I had his attention I rubbed my stomach. He would be my only ally, Abby would never truly be done shopping.

  “Oh, thank you! I’m starving. Come on Abbs, shopping is over.” He said firmly and dragged her towards the mall cafeteria. She gave a half hearted pout but didn’t fight him. I definitely think she was secretly crushing on him. I made a mental note to text her later and ask. If she can tease me about Cole then I would ask about Adam.

  I texted the others that I was successful and we all planned on going in a few hours. It was just enough time to get back and wash the swimsuit. Even if I didn’t have time to dry it, I was too much of a germaphobe to wear it until it was properly clean.

  We made our way back to Adams truck and he dropped Abby off first. The ride back was quiet, Adam wasn’t exactly a chatty one. When he pulled up I gave him a smile. “See you in a little bit, I’m sure Trent will be texting to figure out rides.” I gave a little wave and went to the door. I smiled as I noticed Adam stayed until I was walking into the house.

  “Soooooooo.” Abby drew out the word dramatically and I playfully rolled my eyes. I knew what she was getting at. Alice, Abby and I were in the locker room of the local indoor pool. We had finished changing and I was putting on my sandals. “Are you and Cole dating? We noticed that he likes to call you babe now.” She asked. I shrugged in response. He said we were, but we haven’t really discussed it.

  “He really hasn’t seriously dated anyone. Cole is a picky person.” Alice stated, giving me a smile. I couldn’t help but be happy to hear that. I was to much of a nerd at my old school to date much, plus I was constantly taking care of Lizzy when we went out. It didn’t leave a ton of space for flirting with guys.

  I turned and found the door that exited into the pool area. I wasn’t going to give them any details, but I’m sure my blushing told them all they wanted to know.

  I walked into the main pool area and scanned the room for the guys. My mouth went dry as I took them in. All three of the guys were different builds, but a girl couldn’t help but appreciate them. Adam was tall and all muscle with a six pack to prove it. He was a sight to behold. Trent had more of a runners build, lean with a hint of muscles. Cole was more of a mix of the two. He wasn’t overly a
thletic, but still looked fit. He was taller than Trent, but more of a medium build. Cole was gorgeous.

  “Damn. What did we do to deserve such gorgeous friends.” Abby whispered jokingly, but I saw the way she spent extra time checking out Adam.

  “Seriously.” Alice replied as a blush flared across her face. I couldn’t help but smile. I didn’t feel so bad checking the guys out now that I knew they did too.

  We made our way around the pool and Trent spotted us. He waved us over and scooted a few more chairs up to the table they had claimed. Cole looked up and saw me. He looked at my face, checking to make sure I was ok. Then his eyes made their way slowly down my body. I guess he also appreciate my choice in swim wear. I blushed at the feel of being so on display. As if he realized what he was doing he snapped his eyes back up to mine. He gave a sheepish grin and blushed. I smiled back and gave him a wink to let him know I didn’t mind.

  Adam interrupted our moment by running past us and doing a cannonball into the pool. He was a big enough guy that the splash sprayed us all. Abby shrieked like she was going to melt. I internally chuckled before I launched myself after Adam. Cole laughed and he and Alice ran and jumped at the same time.

  “Come on Abby, you can’t exactly sunbathe indoors.” Alice joked. Apparently Abby was always the last in, with the way everyone joked. Trent slowly stepped closer until he grabbed her and launched himself into the pool with Abby securely in his arms. When they came back to the surface she squealed and splashed Trent in the face.

  “Who’s up for a diving contest?” Trent asked, swimming towards the diving board. I was on the swim team my freshman year, so I smiled to myself and swam after him. I only quit the team because I couldn’t stand the coach. She was a screamer, and I was too shy to handle the stress of it all.

  Abby and Adam got out and sat with their feet in to observe us. The rest of us lined up by the diving board. It wasn’t a high board like they used for competitions, but it was still high enough for a decent dive. Trent gave a few bounces and then did a painful looking belly flop. He came up for air and started laughing as our judges each held up two fingers.

  “Have you done this before, Charlie girl.” Cole whispered in my ear, making me break out in goosebumps. I gave him a nod, but didn’t give any indication that it was a big deal. Alice went next and did a decent dive. They gave her a six and a seven. I was up next. I took a deep breath and kept a blank expression on my face. I was light enough that I could get a decent enough height in my jump to do a small flip. I walked to the very edge and bounced as high as I could before doing a flip in the air and executing a great dive. I came up for air and looked at their shocked expressions. Adam and Abby recovered and each gave me a ten. I had a huge smile on my face as I looked at Cole. He shook his head and smiled.

  “Come on, how do I go after that?” He complained dramatically. I swam out of the way as he made his way to the diving board and decided to just do a cannonball. I laughed as he swam over to me. “You are just full of surprises aren’t you. I’m going to have so much fun getting to know them all.” He said as he kissed me on the cheek and swam away.

  We finally dragged ourselves out of the pool an hour later. Trent and Adam were already complaining they were hungry. We changed and made our way back to Sophia’s house, since everyone already had their bags. Sophia had informed me before we left that everyone’s parent’s were on board.

  “So, pizza or Chinese?” Sophia asked as we all piled into the house. “I know you guys are starving.” Half of my friends said Chinese, and the other half said pizza. “Well since this is the first sleepover here, how about both?” She laughed and went to the kitchen to order the food.

  Sophia apparently took this sleepover very seriously. Since she wanted us in the living room, she apparently went out and bought six air mattresses. I made sure to write her down a thank you for the food and sleepover supplies. She gave me a serious look, which startled me.

  “Stop thanking me so much, love. I do this, because I want to. I want to help you heal, I want to spoil you, I want to experience what it’s like to have a daughter. Plus, you guys will put those air mattresses to good use if these sleepovers are a normal occurrence.” She added the joke at the end to give her a chance to recover from the tears that started to form. My heart ached for Sophia, being alone and not wanting to date again. She was as broken and lonely as I was. We were a perfect match. I gave her a hug and held her for longer then I generally did. I wanted her to know how much I appreciated her actions.

  We were interrupted when the food was delivered. Once both orders were in the kitchen, she spread the food out on the kitchen island. I was astonished with how much she got, but then I understood as I watched the boys eat. If you’ve never watched a group of teenage boys eat, count yourself lucky. It resembled something I saw on a documentary about animal feeding habits. I’ve seen them without shirts on too, so I was shocked at the amount they put away within minutes.

  As it got closer to bedtime I started to freak out. Cole and Abby noticed my growing discomfort and eventual panic. Cole pulled me away from the movie and into the kitchen.

  “What’s wrong Charlie?” He waited for me to grab my notebook. ‘I don’t know what I was thinking, this is such a bad idea. I have nightmares. I wake up screaming. You guys are all going to freak out. This will be too much. This will be it for us.’ I was to panicky at this point to care if I was being too honest or over sharing.

  “We don’t care Charlie. It’s ok.” He was using a soothing voice and pulled me into a hug. “When are you going to stop pushing us away. You are one of us now. We can handle it. I promise. We aren’t just going to abandon you because your life before us was bad.” He said soothingly as he rubbed my back. I relaxed slightly, but I knew it was to late to back out. I took a deep breath and gave him a nod.

  I forced myself to stay awake, as one by one the others finally gave in to sleep. We pushed the couch out of the way, so the air mattresses were in a row through the living room. Cole made sure his bed was next to mine, and Abby was on my other side. I rolled over to my side, facing Cole. I studied his face before I slowly faded into sleep.

  I woke up, feeling confined. I tried to roll over, but something heavy was over my side. I blinked a few times to clear the sleep away and realized that Cole was holding me and Abby was snuggled right next to me with her hand loosely around mine. I slowly used one hand to remove Abby’s and picked up Cole’s arm and dropping it to his side. I sat up and went upstairs to use the bathroom.

  When I came back down and looked around I had to laugh at the way they were all sleeping. Adam had ended up on the floor and Alice was sideways, with her head by Abby. Trent was the only one who looked like he didn’t move in the night.

  I decided I would just stay up and started some waffles for the group. The waffle iron was one of the few kitchen appliances I knew how to use.

  “Morning Charlie.” Abby mumbled as she stumbled into the room. She sat up on one of the stools and rested her head on her arms. “Before you suggest I go back to bed, this is just how I wake up.” She mumbled. I pulled out a mug and made her a cup of coffee. I slid it towards her and she quickly added some cream and sugar that I also put in front of her. After she finished her mug she was a whole new person.

  “Ok, I’m Abby now.” She joked. I gave her a grin. “You ok, this morning?” She asked, sounding concerned. I gave her a questioning look. I didn’t know why she asked that. I didn’t even have a nightmare last night. Which I was already thanking God for.

  “You were whimpering in your sleep and thrashing around. I tried to reach for your hand to wake you up but you were moving to much. Cole just woke up and saw you and pulled you onto his bed. You stopped thrashing when he held you, but you still whimpered so I took your bed and held your hand. You finally went back to sleep after that.” I was a mixture of horrified and impressed. I was impressed they were able to stop the nightmare, but mortified they had to calm my crazy thrashing down.
<
br />   “Before you go and apologize. It’s ok. We didn’t mind a bit. Alice used to get night terrors. They started in the fifth grade. That’s why we started the weekend sleepovers. So we could give her one night of peace and her parent’s a break. It only lasted a few months, but we kept the tradition going.” Abby comforted.

  The others woke up slowly and joined us for waffles. Sophia walked in, talking to someone on the phone. “Charlie, it’s detective Flynn. He wanted to let you know that the papers we found helped point them in the right direction. They even got a warrant and dug into the email servers at his old job. They think they have it narrowed down. He just wanted to let you know they made some progress.” She said, before walking back out and finishing the problem. I looked around, waiting for the questioning glances, but they all pretended that they didn’t hear and started their conversations back up. That’s why I loved them, they weren’t going to push me to share. They knew I would when I could.

  We planned out the rest of our fall break, which looked like it was going to be pretty busy. I was grateful for my friends and their acceptance. I was even more grateful that the constant distraction kept me from dwelling on the case or the kidnappers.