Page 42 of Broken By Silence
Elijah stops dead. “Roman… no.”
“It’s happening,” Roman says, unlocking the car. “And there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
By the time we get back to the house, I’m limping like some tragic war hero. Roman’s still laughing. Elijah looks like he’s about to spontaneously combust from embarrassment.
The others are all in the living room. Archer’s sprawled on the couch, Lottie in his arms while Claire is curled up next to Will with a book. Oscar’s sitting on Lottie’s other side, one hand stroking her knee, the other holding his phone.
“You are never going to guess what just happened,” Roman announces with the kind of grin I want to slap off his face.
I swear to God, my soul leaves my body. “Roman, don’t?—”
But he’s already signing, grinning, and speaking for everyone else. His hands move fast, like he can’t wait to tell everyone my humiliation. “So, Crew here was out in the water, right? You know…” He waves his hand dramatically, thankfully not revealing my surprise. “He’s a sentimental idiot.”
Lottie’s head lifts. “What did you do?”
“Nothing,” I say quickly… too quickly.
Roman keeps going. “And then out of nowhere…. Bam! Jellyfish attacks him.” He mimes an explosion with his hands.
Lottie’s lips twitch. Claire leans forward, already smiling. “Oh no…”
“Yes!” Roman says gleefully. “So he’s hopping around, shouting about how it feels like fire, and Elijah. Our brave, brave medic tries to help.” He pauses for a dramatic reveal, and I consider punching him to make him stop. “By peeing on him.”
The room goes silent. Then, Claire slaps a hand over her mouth to hide her laugh. Archer chokes on his saliva. Will actuallysnorts, and Oscar watches Roman’s hands fly as he signs the story, and when he gets to the part of my most shameful moment, Oscar’s shoulders start shaking so hard he can barely breathe.
Lottie’s eyes go wide. “You didn’t.”
I groan, sinking into the nearest chair, burying my face in my hands. “I hate all of you.”
Elijah’s bright red, glaring at him. “I told you we were never to speak of this again.”
Roman wipes tears from his eyes. “I nearly died. I get to do whatever I want.”
“Was it at least effective?”Oscar signs.
“You think I checked? I feel like I need to bleach my skin.”
Claire grins over her mug. “Well, did you at least find what you were searching for?”
I glance at Lottie, still trying to decide if I should be mortified or proud that I found it for her. I hand her the box and watch as she opens it, a small gasp escaping her lips. “You did all that for me?” she asks quietly.
I shrug, suddenly very aware of everyone watching. “You said there might be room for more hope. I figured I’d try to earn my spot back in the collection.”
Her expression softens, and for a second, it’s just us. Everything else fades into the background as she smiles at me, and it feels like the world’s finally stopped spinning. “You’re an idiot,” she whispers as she comes over to me and kisses me on the cheek.
“Yeah, but I’myouridiot, baby.”
The caféI pick is near campus, small enough that we can sit by the window, and Archer can sit further back without interrupting us, but not close enough to feel like he’s part of this.
Since Lorenzo is still out there, probably looking for Lottie, herefuses to take any chances and let her out of his sight. It’s maddening when all I want is a moment alone with her that isn’t in a house full of people.
But I get it.
The cafe smells like cinnamon and old coffee, the kind of place where the mugs don’t match and the chairs wobble if you lean too far. Strings of fairy lights glow overhead, casting everything in a warm haze.
She curls her hands around a chipped blue mug of tea, sleeves still covering her wrists. I order black coffee because I don’t trust myself around anything stronger, even if they did serve it.
For a while, we just sit, letting the silence settle between us. I wait until her shoulders drop a fraction before I ask, “So… how are you?”
