Page 31 of (Un)Spoken

It was as if the temperature dropped twenty degrees as soon as those words left Cole’s mouth. I shook my head. “She doesn’t hate you. We both know that. She wouldn’t have come to your wedding if she did.”

He stared out ahead, nodding slightly. Looking over, I could see a couple of tears gathering in his eyes, but he wiped them away before they could fall. “I hate this. I already hate I missed so much of Tori growing up, but now…” He hissed out a curse. “I don’t even know her anymore.”

“Then get to know her,” I said, shifting to face him. “Look, I can’t imagine what you’re feeling right now, but we flew down here to talk to Victoria and figure out why she kept pulling away. I think we found our answer.” I shook my head. “This is your chance, Cole. Prove you’re not going to bail on her again. Get in there and show your sister you’ll be there for her…and for your niece.”

He chuckled dryly. “Shit, I have a niece.”

“Yeah, looks like you do.”

“I should have known,” Cole chuckled. “My first thought when she came to the door was that she looked just like Tori when she was little.”

“She’s got her eyes.”

Cole shook his head. “Look, if you want to head back to the hotel, I can get a cab or a ride later?—”

“Nah, I’ll stick around. I’m invested now. I want to see how this plays out.”

An hour later,Cole and Victoria were sitting at the dining room table, continuing to talk in hushed voices. When we first went back to the cabin, Marcus was reluctant to let us inside, but Victoria insisted she was okay. Even he seemed to realize they needed this conversation, because he offered to take Emilia up to the main house with him. But for some reason, I told him I’d take her and found myself hanging out with the most stubborn four-year-old on the planet.

After we went inside, I took in the place Victoria called home. It was tiny, barely bigger than the cabin back at the lake. The living room was filled with dated furniture and a couch that looked like it had more lumps than cushions. The walls were painted a yellowing gray and covered with nonsensical drawings. Glitter and purple seemed to reign supreme in this house. Almost everywhere you looked, there was something of Emilia’s. It was clear Victoria had taken a lot of time to make her daughter feel at home.

But as I looked around, I saw little traces of Victoria here. Outside of the garden out front, it was clear she’dnever personalized this space, only caring that Emilia had everything she needed.

Victoria shuffled on her feet, crossing her arms over her chest. “So this is it,” she said, flush filling her cheeks. “It’s not exactly my dream house, but you know, you take what you can get sometimes.”

Cole just nodded, walking through her home. Victoria watched each step, collapsing into herself with every passing breath. He turned back to her, and his eyes were red, lined with emotions. It was disconcerting to see Cole upset. While we all knew he felt a lot, he had a hard time showing his softer side to the world. He cleared his throat. “Can we talk?”

Victoria nodded, glancing down at Emilia, who was playing on the floor. I stepped forward. “I got her. You guys go ahead. Clear the air.”

She mouthed ‘thank you’ as she leaned down to kiss her daughter’s hair then followed Cole into the other room. I watched as they sat across from each other, looking like mirrors images. Eventually, they started to relax, speaking in hushed tones. I tried to give them privacy, but I couldn’t help looking over to check that they were okay. When a sob broke free from Victoria, it took everything to keep me in my spot, wanting nothing more than to go to her. But this conversation needed to happen between them, and I wasn’t about to intrude, even though it was killing me not to comfort Victoria.

“Why do you keep looking at my mom like that?”

I turned back to Emilia, giving her my biggest smile. She just stared blankly back at me, as if she could read all my thoughts. Even though we’d just met, I was already learning a lot about Emilia Campbell-Seda. Yes, that was how she introduced herself. The little thing had just turned fouranda halfand had enough sass to keep everyone in her life on her toes. She loved animals, the color purple, and all things sparkly. She’d tried to convince me to get out the glitter and help her make a picture, but before I could grab the container, Victoria called out, “Don’t even think about it.”

I could have sworn I heard a quiet curse escape Emilia’s lips, but that might have been my imagination.Maybe.On top of being way too wise for her age, Emilia was funny, making little comments every time I got distracted from our game. We were in the middle of an all-out tea party filled with authentic snacks and everything. She was a great host but had strict rules for how her guests were supposed to behave. Apparently, sneaking a cookie before tea was served was a major no-no.

Movement caught my eye at the front door, and a broad man walked inside, wearing what looked like workout gear. He tossed his hat on the rack with a casual ease, as if he’d done it a million times before. When Emilia turned her head and her face burst into a broad smile, I knew who he was before she even called out, “Daddy!”

This must be Cameron.

He scooped up Emilia in a tight hug, even when her nose wriggled in disgust. She pushed on his shoulder. “Daddy, you stink.”

“Sorry, darling. It was a long practice.” As he placed her back down on the floor, his eyes widened when they met mine. “What the…” He closed his eyes, shaking his head a few times, as if he couldn’t believe the sight in front of him. “Hey, Vic. Do you know Adam Rice is standing in your living room?”

She chuckled as she stood from the dining room table, softly placing her hand on Cole’s shoulder as she did. She walked over toward him, twinning her fingerstogether. “Umm, yeah. Remember how I mentioned he’s friends with Cole? Well,” she glanced back over her shoulder at her brother, “they came for a visit.”

“Really?” Cam said. My chest tightened at the look they shared, one that spoke of years together and silent understanding. She nodded, and that erased the concern from his brow. “I finally get to meet the infamous Cole, huh?” He walked over to my friend and held out his hand. “Cameron Seda, Emilia’s dad.”

To his credit, Cole handled it a lot better than I thought he would. I was internally bracing for a punch to ring out, for Cole to take out his frustrations on Cameron’s jaw. But luckily, he kept calm, shaking the man’s hand without a hint of anger. “Good to meet you. You have a beautiful little girl.”

“Aww, thanks,” Cameron chuckled. “But that’s all Vic. Prayed every night Emilia would get all of her genes.”

Victoria chuckled with nervous energy, her eyes darting between me and the other two men. She tucked her lip in between her teeth when she met my eyes.

“So, how long are y’all in town?”

“Only until tomorrow,” Cole answered. “Gotta get back to my wife and our business.”

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