“I bet he’d come to Australia if you asked him.”
“I didn’t ask him to do that four years ago, and I won’t now.”
“You could always move back here.”
“Trying to get rid of me?”
“Yeah, you’re a pain in the arse.” She laughed through a shaky breath. “It’s something you should consider… if you want it.”
“I don’t know if I could live here again.”
There was a lot here, years and years of memories, and although I was enjoying visiting home, I wasn’t sure I could deal with them permanently. But how was I going to say goodbye to Cole again?
“Don’t let those monsters ruin your future, Oakley. Find a way of being with Cole if that’s what you want. He’s one of the good ones, you know.”
“I know he is. I just don’t know if it could work. If he moved to Australia and left behind his family, friends, job, and now his house, he’d end up resenting me.”
“You’re wrong. That boy could never resent you.”
“He might, and I’m not willing to take that risk.”
Mum shook her head, and her smile told me how silly she thought I was being.
I didn’t think anyone truly understood my feelings for Cole. He would always come before me.
“Miles is one of the good ones, too.” I held my breath as I waited for her to respond.
She sighed and stroked the handle of the mug.
“Miles and I are friends. That is all either of us wants.”
I opened my mouth to argue with her blatant lie. They were both crazy about each other.
“Please,” she said. “Not tonight.”
“Okay. Another night, then.”
“Have you spoken to Cole much about the trial?” she asked, moving straight off the topic of Miles.
“A little, yeah.”
“You never speak to me about it.”
Why would she want me to talk about it with her? We only discussed the days we’d attend.
“I didn’t think you’d want to. I didn’t want you to feel guilty.”
“I’ll feel guilty whether you talk about it or not. Youshouldbe able to talk to me. I want you to. Will you tell me how it started?”
Instantly dropping my smile, I swallowed hard.
She wanted to talk aboutthat?
“W-What?” I whispered.
“If it’s too hard, I’ll understand, but I think we both need to do this before the trial.”
The details were between me, the police, and my therapist.
