Page 4 of Unspoken Hearts
I don’t miss the way my pulse thumps at the sound ofhername. Her name alone is like a beat in a song, one where you hear it and feel your muscles liquify with satisfaction. She’s that single beat for me. One that I will never get tired of hearing.
I fell for Macie Cambell the moment I laid eyes on her.
She’s undeniably pretty, both inside and out, and I haven’t so much as looked at other women because none of them even compare to her.
I don’t think anyone ever will.
“Oh, that’s so sweet of Macie. Are the rest of you invited?” Mum’s light eyes peer at me like I know the answer.
I glance at Grayson, who shrugs. “She didn’t say, but I think she just wants it to be small. You know how Macie doesn’t like to make a fuss of things.”
I hear the double meaning behind his words.Don’t come because she’s my friend, not yours.
Grayson made it clear back in high school that Macie is his friend, and expected the rest of us to treat her the same way, as much as it killed me. I’ve tried to for the past twelve years, but the older we get, the harder it’s becoming for me to deny what I feel for her.
Macie is magnetising, pulling me toward her with little effort.
“Okay, great. Make sure you have a good time, then.” Mum’s words force me back into the room.
Walking over with breakfast, she places everything in the middle of the table as we all take our seats. As I dig in, the familiar steady beat of my pulse slowly drifts away because I realise that I’m not going to be seeing Macie tonight, and I hate it.
Chapter two
Macie
“Seriously?Youneedtosteal my phone cord?” I groan.
Grinning, Axel snatches the cord from my hand and buries it deep in his bag beneath the pile of clothes and necessities he’s taking with him. “Well, I can’t afford another one, but you can. So yes, I will be taking it with me. Thank you, sis.”
He moves to hug me, but I playfully push him in the shoulder. “Oh no, there’s no buttering up to me anymore. You’re ditching me for Sydney.”
“I’mditchingyoufor a better life. One that will benefit both of us, might I add.” There is a chirpiness to his tone that hasn’t gone away since his acceptance email landed in his inbox.
To say that I was equally as happy and shocked makes me sound like a terrible sister—which I hope I’m not—but it definitely made me feel a little guilty because I wasn’t expecting it. It’s not that Axel isn’t a genius, because he is, but we have never had the best string of luck so far in our lives.
Our parents were never really around when I was a kid, and when I was twelve, they finally decided that their life of addiction was more rewardingthan their kids. That left me to look after my five-year-old brother on my own. Luckily, we weren’t split up into foster homes—I don’t think either of us would have dealt with being apart—but unluckily we were sent here to live with our Aunt Lucy.
We’d never visited Ashwood Creek before arriving at her worn house that was one whiff away from falling over. Somehow, the house is still standing, which is where we are currently shoving what few belongings my brother has into bags.
Aunt Lucy struggled with her own dependence on drugs and alcohol up until she left a few months ago to go who knows where. She was barely around to look after us to begin with, so Axel and I have grown up depending on each other and nobody else.
I don’t really know how I’m going to survive with him moving to the city, but I’m not going to hold him back. If I can give him the chance at a proper life and career, I won’t take it away from him just because I’ll be lonely.
Sighing, I grab the next pile of clothes and hand them over. Axel’s hazel eyes flick to mine for a second, gratitude coating his irises, before placing them on top and zipping the bag shut.
“I think that’s everything,” he huffs, glancing around at this bare room.
Nodding, I tuck my copper hair behind my ear, looking around to try to cover up the moisture stinging my eyes. Axel has been in my life since I was seven, and I don’t know how I’m going to cope without him.
“I guess we should get ready for tonight,” I murmur, avoiding his bothered gaze. Feeling his hand on shoulder, rough and warm, I let myself absorb the familiar touch.
“Hey,” he says lightly, drawing my attention back to him. He got our dad’s height of six feet, and a built frame after years of playing basketball. I’m a head shorter than him, taking after our mum in. But good things come in small packages—at least that’s what he always says, but his beaming grin makes it feel more like a tease than a compliment.
Small, slender and flat-chested… I was not given much. But one thing I did inherit was Mum’s bright copper hair and matching eyes, which I can’t bear looking at. Seeing myself in the mirror… it feels like I’m staring back at the woman who abandoned us, which makes my insides roil.
Nobody has ever liked my hair, mainly because redheads are picked on. But for me, I hate it because I look like the woman who left me behind without a goodbye.
“You okay?” My brother’s hand squeezes my shoulder harder, forcing me to stop thinking about our parents.
