Silent Love (Published)

Chapter 3

"I would love to stay, but I can't," Kaleen answers. "I have to get home soon. I'm taking care of my brother and sister tonight. Mum is going out with some friends."

Gabe puts his arm around his girlfriend's waist. "Would you like me to come over and help you baby-sit?"

"You won't be going anywhere tonight, Gabe," Aylin says. "You have the English assignment I asked you to do yesterday, and you didn't do it. I know you didn't do it today so you're going to spend tonight doing it. Otherwise there will be no surfing tomorrow." She disappears into the kitchen. Her husband follows her.

The three of us stand there in silence for a moment. Making sure his parents couldn't hear him, Gabe complains to me about how his mother is his home schooled teacher. On her days off work, where she works three days a week, she teaches Gabe. She used to teach his brother as well, but he has finished school now. Gabe disliked school. He kept wishing that he could surf all day long rather than doing any kind of school work.

"So how have you been, Ruby?" Kaleen asks as she turns to me, giving me a friendly smile.

I return the smile and wrote, Okay, I guess. I'm just nervous about being here.

"Don't be, Ruby." Gabe smiles at me. "We will take good care of you."

All I could do was smile. I didn't know what to say to his comment, especially when I barely know the family so I had no idea how everything will turn out to be. I don't think Kaleen or Gabe knew what to say either, so the three of us stand there in silence.

Kaleen breaks the silence, saying she needed to go. She kisses Gabe goodbye, waves to me and walks out of the house.

I stood there in silence with Gabe. He stares at me rather than saying anything at all, which made me feel even more nervous than when I first arrived. I couldn't meet his eyes without feeling uncomfortable, so I glance around the living room, taking in my surroundings. A brown three-seated couch and matching arm chairs on either side was centre in the room, circling the wooden coffee table with a vase full of purple flowers in them. The furniture faces the Plasma TV that was mounted on the wall. To the left side of the room was a bookcase full of DVDs, and another one beside it filled with books. A computer desk was near the glass sliding door leading out onto the back deck. I can see the backyard outside, as well as the ocean. The computer was on, showing the desktop background which contains a picture of Gabe and his brother surfing. Around the room was full of photographs of the family.

"Well, I better go and start my assignment before my mother tells me off for not doing it," Gabe says after the long silence between us. "God, I hate English." He walks off in the direction of his room, leaving me alone.

I wasn't alone for long. Nick comes back into the room, taking me on a tour of the house. He shows me the room I was going to stay in. It is right across from Tyler's room. The room originally was used as a guest room. Nick said he had fixed it up for me to stay in. It feels nice and cosy in here. The walls were painted a cream white just like the rest of the house. I like the bedspread. It was a light blue with yellow and white frangipanis printed on them. There wasn't much in the room, just a dressing table, chest of drawers and a built in wardrobe with the double bed in the middle of the room.

Nick puts down my bag beside the door. "I don't know how long you will be staying with us, Ruby, but you can decorate the room anyway you want it to be."

I smile and sign 'thank you', which Aylin had taught me the other day.

We leave the room.

"Hey Ruby, do you want to meet Scales?" Gabe asks.