The Pain of Silence

By Shayla

Chapter 1

Joe decided not to intrude. He returned to the van and drove home. Frank is going to be very interested in this little bit of news!

Nearly two years ago…

"Thanks for the ride Dad! We'll see you in a couple hours," Frank Hardy said to his father as he opened the passenger car door.

Fenton looked at his son, who was a younger looking version of himself, with dark brown hair and brown eyes. Fenton pulled out his wallet and took out some money for his sons. "Boys, I want you to be careful! Call me if you go anywhere else. When you're done here, you're going to Mr. Pizza, right?" Fenton was very protective of his two boys. It came naturally to him; ever since he had become a detective, he was protective of his family and always made sure he knew where they were.

"Yes Dad," Joe said from the back seat as he took his seat belt off. Joe was a year younger than his brother, Frank. At fifteen years old with blonde hair and the brightest blue eyes anyone had ever seen, it was very clear he favored their mother, Laura, who was at home while Fenton was dropping the boys off at the local bowling alley. It was their friend Tony's seventeenth birthday and he wanted to go bowling with his friends.

"Do you have Tony's birthday gift?" Fenton asked them as Joe opened his door to get out.

The blond-haired boy held up a nicely wrapped box in one hand and a card in the other. "Yes sir," he said jokingly.

Fenton laughed. "All right boys. Here you go Frank," he said handing his oldest son the money. "This should cover bowling and dinner. Have fun you two! Keep out of trouble!"

Joe poked his head back in. "Trouble? Us? No way!" he said with a grin.

Fenton rolled his eyes. "Frank, keep an eye on your brother please!"

"Come on Joe," Frank said as he led the way to the entrance of the bowling alley. "Bye Dad!" he called out as his father pulled away.

"I can't believe Tony wanted to go bowling. Bowling! Of all things he could have chosen. Why not a movie? Or…" Joe was interrupted by his brother who playfully punched his shoulder.

"Hey! It's his birthday Joe! Not yours," Frank smirked as they walked inside looking for their friends. "Besides, you'll have a chance to show off your wonderful bowling skills."

"Bowling skills? What skills? I suck at it!" Joe frowned as he went up to the counter to get some bowling shoes.

"Oh that's right. What did you get last time? Sixty-seven? Yeah, you do suck at it," Frank laughed as an older man approached them.

"Hi boys, what size shoes?" he asked and they both told him the size shoes they needed. A moment later he handed them the shoes. "Are you with the group here for Tony Prito's birthday?"

"Yes, are they here yet?" Frank asked him.

"Tony and a friend of his just went to go use the rest room. You have the first lane over there," he said pointing to the lane farthest on the right. "What are your names so I can add them to the list?"

"Frank and Joe," Frank answered for them. "Thank you very much."

The boys made their way over to the lane that was reserved for them and their friends. They both sat down and took their sneakers off to put on their bowling shoes.

"Frank, Joe! How are you guys?" someone said from behind them.

The boys turned and saw their friends Chet and Tony coming over to join them.

"Hey Chet! Happy Birthday Tony!" Frank said and stood up. "Joe, do you have the gift?"

Joe stood up and handed Tony his birthday gift. "Thanks guys! You didn't have to do that," Tony said and placed the gift on top of his coat on his chair.

Tony was the oldest of the Hardys' friends, now having turned seventeen years old, with dark brown hair and deep brown eyes.

"Hey guys, my parents got me a dog for my birthday. They knew I've always wanted one so they got me a German shepherd! Isn't that cool?"

"Nice! I remember you said you wanted one. That was nice of them," Frank said, knowing that his friend had wanted a dog for a long time.

"I saw the dog this morning. Cutest dog you've ever seen. What did you name him again?" Chet asked. Chet had a stockier build to him than any of his friends and was slightly shorter than the Hardys, who were nearing six feet tall. Chet's eyes were a grayish blue and he had light brown hair and a freckled face.

"I named him Axel. You guys should come by after, if you have time, and we can bring him outside," Tony suggested as he slipped his own bowling shoes on.

"Sure, you bet. As long as our father doesn't mind. He is going to pick us up in a couple hours. I'll call him when we're done bowling and see if we can hang out with you longer," Frank told his friend.

Chet sat down and started changing into his bowling shoes.

"Hey Chet, where's your sister?" Joe asked.

"Iola stayed home today. She's still sick," Chet said sadly. "Her cold just won't go away. Why? You like her or something, Joe?" Chet smirked.

Joe almost blushed, "No way! I was just wondering 'cause you said…"

"Uh huh," Tony had to keep himself from laughing. He looked at Frank, and the two exchanged a glance that was caught by Joe.

"What? I was simply asking where my friend was!" Joe tried defending himself.

"Who's ready to bowl?"

Everyone turned and saw Phil Cohen walking in their direction. He was one of Frank's best friends, known for being an electronics genius. The two got along great, considering they both had the brains and similar interests in hobbies. Phil was about Frank's height and also had brown hair and eyes.

"Let me guess, you're gonna attempt to beat me this time?" Frank asked his friend.

"Of course! The day I beat you, Frank Hardy, will be a day I cherish!"

Joe playfully rolled his eyes. "Come on guys. Is this everyone? Is Biff coming?"

Phil turned to him. "Biff is running late. I'm not sure why, but he'll be meeting us for pizza after."

"So, are we waiting for anyone else or can we get started?" the impatient younger Hardy asked.

"Wow, are you that anxious to get your butt kicked Joe?" Tony joked knowing Joe disliked bowling because he was bad at it.

"Oh yeah. I'm looking forward to it!" Joe said sarcastically.

"Well, we're waiting for one more person anyway, so have some patience my friend," Tony said with a small smile.

"Who?" Joe asked and Chet grinned.

"He's waiting for Brooke," Chet informed them and Joe almost laughed.

"Boy Tony, I am beginning to think you have a crush on someone!" Joe nudged his friend in the shoulder playfully.

"Oh shut up!" Tony blushed.

Frank elbowed his younger brother. "Knock it off! If Iola were here I am sure you'd have the same problem. Be nice!" Frank was known for taking things more seriously, whereas Joe was more likely to make jokes.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Leave me alone. I'm not looking for a girlfriend!" Joe defended himself.

"Guys, it's okay. So what if I like her? She's a really nice girl," Tony said and Phil gave his friend a pat on the back.

"Don't listen to Joe. I agree with you. She's very nice. Don't let Mr. Insensitive here get to you," Phil said and Joe glared at him.

"Joe can say whatever he wants," Tony said and smiled. "I know he loves to bust my chops." Joe gave his friend a goofy smile and Tony laughed. "You're a strange one Joe."

Frank turned and saw who they were waiting for walk inside the front door. "Hey Tony, she's here!"

Tony turned around and saw Brooke walking in their direction. She gave him a small wave and he smiled.

Brooke was a slender girl of medium height with long brown hair just past her shoulders, and light brown eyes. As much as Tony was teased about her, he did like her, but he didn't want to start a relationship when he was too young. He sometimes considered her one of his best friends because they got along so well.

"Happy Birthday Tony!" Brooke said and gave her friend a hug.

Tony wrapped his arms around her. He looked over and saw Joe making kissing faces at him. "Thanks Brooke. You look very pretty," he said noticing her jeans and a long dark purple sweater.

"Thanks," she said and smiled. "Here's your present. I hope you like it! It reminded me of you when I saw it, so I had to get it."

"Can we bowl please!" Joe groaned from his seat and Tony looked down at his friend.

"Will it shut you up?" Tony asked and laughed.

"Yup!" Joe grinned and looked at Brooke, "Sorry. I just wanna get my butt kicked. Everyone's waiting to get it over with."

Brooke laughed. "It's okay Joe. Go ahead. Don't let me stop you," she said and sat down in the seat next to Tony's.

"Hey Joe! You're first on the list!" Frank said when he looked at the scoreboard.

Joe stood up and walked over to the lane and picked up a bowling ball. "Thanks whoever did that," he said and looked at Tony.

"What did I do?" Tony said with a grin.

"You know what you did!" Joe said and turned to bowl.

"Brooke, aren't you gonna get some shoes so you can bowl?" Tony asked her. It was one of their favorite things to do together, so he was surprised to see she didn't already have her shoes.

"Um, I actually hurt my arm yesterday. I don't think I can bowl today," she frowned.

"Oh, are you sure? What happened?" Tony asked her.

Brooke tucked a loose strand of hair nervously behind her ear. "Well, it's a long story, but I ended up tripping as I went down the stairs and hit my arm pretty hard on the railing. It's bruised pretty badly," she told him.

Frank who was watching his brother bowl was listening carefully to Brooke as she told her story. He was curious as to why she seemed nervous. He saw his brother hit two pins with the first ball and laughed.

"Oh! Sorry," Tony said. "Do you wanna show me? Did you go to see a doctor? How bad is it?"

Brooke smiled at his concern for her. Deep down she cared a lot about him. "No, don't worry about it. It was an accident. It'll be fine in a few days I think. I could try to bowl but it might hurt a little."

"It's up to you. I don't want to pressure you into bowling. I just know you love it," he said and gave her a smile.

"YES!" Everyone turned to look in Joe's direction"You see that! I got em all!"

Phil, Tony and Chet started laughing, "Jeez, I don't think he yelled that loud enough," Chet said with a grin.

Brooke smiled. "Nice job Joe."

"Why thank you," he said and sat down"Your turn birthday boy!"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Well, we may have a challenge," he said ironically.

Brooke laughed, "I'll go get my shoes. I'll try and play a string," she said and leaned over to kiss Tony's cheek. "Thanks Tony. I'll be right back," she said as she walked towards the counter to get herself some shoes.

Tony couldn't help but smile, and he started blushing when all of his friends stared at him.

"Aw, how cute!" Joe smirked at his friend.

"Shut up!" Tony said and stood up, "One day Joe, you'll like someone too. Then we'll see who's laughing." Tony walked over to the lane and grabbed a bowling ball. "Let me show you how a pro does it!" he said and seconds later he had a strike. "Like I said Joe. Beat that!"

At the counter, Brooke watched her friends tease one another and she laughed.

She got her shoes and made her way back to her friends. She wondered if and when she'd be able to tell them the truth about what really happened the day before. She wasn't sure if she'd even be able to bowl.

"Guys, I'll be right back. I have to use the rest room," she said and quickly made her way to the ladies room.

She decided to take one last glance at her arm to see how the bruises were doing. She had to make sure she wore a dark colored long sleeved shirt; for fear that someone might notice the bruises.

When she lifted her shirt she saw the bruises she had seen that morning. Large dark-colored bruises were in various spots on her arm, and they weren't from a fall.

A small tear slid down her face as she remembered her father grabbing her roughly by the arm and dragging her down the stairs. He had been mad at her, why, she couldn't even remember.

All she remembered was the pain as he grabbed her as she stared at the finger size bruises all over her arm.

Her dad had told her yesterday that the family was moving. How would she tell her friends that? Especially Tony.