EIGHTEEN: SHATTERED SILENCE.

BRITNEY ASTON

Silence immediately fell between us, giving me more than enough time to realize the words I’d just uttered.

Immediately, my hands flew to my mouth in a useless attempt to stop the words from coming out but the deed had been carried out already. I’d spilled the beans in the worst possible way ever.

With slow breaths, I moved my hands from my mouth, my eyes slowly meeting my mum’s to see her reaction. In contrast to me, she remained frozen in her spot, her blinking eyelids doing all the movements.

“What?” She finally spoke up, taking a staggered step backwards. “What did you just say?”

There was no point denying it so with renewed confidence, I spoke up again.

“Dad and I have been keeping in contact.”

“What?” The denial must have finally left her body as her expression now changed into one of complete confusion. “What do you mean by that? You’ve been talking to- what?”

“Yes mum,” I nodded. “He came over on my sixteenth birthday and said he wanted to talk. Then he ap