The Pain of Silence
Chapter 2
Brooke made her way back to her friends and sat down to put on her bowling shoes. Tony had been standing and watching his friends bowl, and didn't notice her return.
She put her shoes on and waited patiently for her turn.
It was now Chet's turn and he managed to knock down nine of the ten pins. "Darn it!" he said and grinned. When he went to sit down he saw Brooke.
Tony saw Chet's glance and turned, "Phil's next, then you're up, Brooke." He went over and sat beside her again. "Are you sure you want to bowl? I didn't mean…"
"It's okay Tony. I'll give it a try. If it hurts then I'll stop," she said and watched Phil go up. "When are you gonna open your gifts?" she asked him.
"Oh, um, probably when we get pizza," he told her.
"Okay. I just want to know if you like what I got you," she said and blushed.
He wondered what she could have gotten him. "I'm sure I will."
"Nice one Phil!" Frank said to his friend when he also got a strike.
Joe frowned. "Has everyone been practicing or something?" he joked.
Frank laughed. "Joe, we're better at one sport. You kick our butts in football and soccer. We can beat you at bowling," he said.
Joe smiled, "True. I'm good at the more physical sports."
"Don't even go there Joe!" Phil said with a grin. "We know you're the king of sports. So is Biff. Back off!"
"Brooke, it's your turn," Frank told her and she stood up.
This isn't gonna be good, she thought to herself as she picked up a bowling ball. When she swung her arm back she felt her arm hurt and when she let the bowling ball go she watched it go down the lane and hit two of the ten pins. Darn it! I knew this wouldn't be good.
She picked the second ball up and got ready. She let the second one go and was able to knock down three more pins. She smiled even though it hurt her arm a lot to play. She didn't want her friends knowing what happened. Not yet anyway. Not until she figured out what to do, once she was able to somehow talk to her mother about it. She went back and sat down.
"Not too bad," Tony said.
"Thanks," she said. Her arm was starting to throb.
Frank, who was carefully watching Brooke, had a feeling her arm was bothering her more than she let on. Before he could say anything, Frank noticed a pretty blonde girl walk inside the bowling alley with two older people, who he guessed were her parents. He watched the older folks approach the counter and speak to the man, who handed them each a pair of shoes.
The lady requested another pair of shoes, then called to the girl, and said something to the man, who handed them to her. The blonde girl turned and noticed Frank looking at her.
Frank quickly looked away and a few seconds later he glanced back up to see where the girl had gone. She was a few lanes over, putting on her bowling shoes. Frank turned to Phil. "Who is that?" he asked his friend.
Phil turned and saw the girl getting up to bowl. "I have no idea. She must be new in town," he replied. "She's cute."
"Her name is Callie," Brooke said with a laugh. "She's gonna be coming to Bayport High. She's nice. Those are her folks with her. They just moved here from North Carolina. I met her in the office at school the other day when I was talking to my counselor."
Frank looked at the girl and then looked at her folks again. Her mom had wavy blonde hair and blue eyes, and her father had sandy blonde hair and brown eyes. He noticed Callie had her father's brown eyes. He watched her bowl and she got a strike on the first try.
Frank smiled and Callie looked over in his direction once more and waved.
Joe looked where Frank was staring. "Frank! It's your turn!"
Frank mumbled something to his brother and stood up and bowled. He got nine of the ten pins, "Darn it," he said, and was able to pick up the spare with his second ball. He saw the girl talking to her parents and saw her point to him and the others.
"What did you do Frank?" Chet joked as he saw the blonde girl walking towards them.
She stopped in front of Frank. "Hi, I'm Callie," she said and put her hand out.
"I'm Frank. It's nice to meet you," he said with a smile.
"Nice to meet you too," she said and looked at the others.
"I'm Joe, Frank's lovable younger brother," Joe joked and Callie laughed.
"Nice to meet you Joe," she said, "I just wanted to say hi. I recognized Brooke from the other day. I start at Bayport High on Monday," she informed them.
Frank grinned, thinking she looked gorgeous in her tan pants and pink sweater. "What classes are you taking?" he asked her.
"Nerd alert," Joe joked.
Chet playfully whacked him on the shoulder. "Be nice Joe."
Callie smiled, able to tell that this group was nice. "Well, it was nice meeting you all. I look forward to seeing you in school," she said and flashed Frank a smile.
"Bye," he said. When she left he sat down and saw Joe grinning at him. "Don't you dare!" Frank warned, knowing he was about to be teased.
"What? I didn't say anything!" Joe defended himself.
After a few more minutes of bickering Brooke stood up and bowled again, and this time Frank noticed something none of the others did; part of a bruise on her arm. Her sweater had slipped up her arm, just slightly, and he saw the bruise.
He was concerned her arm might be causing more pain than she let on. He hoped to pull Brooke aside and speak to her.
Joe suddenly stood up and walked over to where Callie and her parents were bowling, causing his friends to turn and watch. They saw Joe say something to Callie and she grinned and nodded. Shortly after, Joe returned to the group and sat down.
"What did you do?" Frank asked him.
"Oh nothing," he said with a smile.
Tony looked up at Brooke who was coming to sit next to him. Without thinking he placed his hand on her leg when she sat back down, waiting to hear what Joe had to say.
"Fine, I invited her to have pizza with us. I thought it'd be a nice gesture seeing how she's new," Joe announced and looked at his brother.
"Wow, Joe just invited a girl out to lunch with us?" Tony asked and Brooke giggled.
"Not for me! For Frank!" Joe crossed his arms.
"Thanks Joe," Frank said with a smile and the group continued to bowl.
After a couple more turns Frank could tell Brooke's arm was bothering her the more she bowled. "Brooke, can I talk to you?" he asked her as she walked by him.
She stopped and looked at him. "Sure, Frank."
Frank stood up and walked towards the restrooms, beckoning Brooke to follow him, and stopping just outside them. "I don't want to seem nosy, but are you sure you're all right to bowl?"
"Yeah. It's started to hurt more, so I think this'll be the only string I play," she informed him.
"I saw a small bruise on your arm, that's all. I just wanted to check," he informed her.
"Thanks, Frank. I appreciate it," she said, thankful for her friend's concern.
"No problem. I didn't want to put you on the spot over there. Let's go finish up."
Brooke and Frank rejoined their friends and continued the game.
Twenty minutes later the boys were in their second string of bowling and Brooke watched. Tony came back and sat beside her. She knew there was more than friendship between them and even though she was only sixteen and he was now seventeen, they'd been friends for several years and the two knew each other very well and were very close. She leaned towards him and they clasped hands, Tony holding hers in his lap.
Frank smiled at the two, and was about to say something, when someone came walking in the bowling alley and made his way right over to the group.
"Brooke! It's time to go home!" The deep, rough voice startled them.
Everyone turned and saw Brooke's father standing there in jeans and a heavy jacket. His brown hair was thrown around and messy.
"Dad! We're not done yet! I told you I wouldn't be back until later!" Brooke said, standing up, embarrassed that her father was there.
"We have to go! Now!" he said and reached over, taking her by the arm. "Say goodbye to your friends," he said angrily.
"Dad!" Brooke looked at her friends. "I'm sorry guys, I have to go," she said sadly, and yanked her arm away from her father.
Frank saw her cringe as her father grabbed her arm. It was in the same spot as the bruise he had noticed. He wondered if her father knew she was hurt.
"Brooke," Tony stood up. "Sir, can't we bring her home later? She hasn't even had dinner yet. That's not till after."
"Sorry kid, we are leaving now," her father said and Brooke looked at Tony tearfully.
"I'm sorry Tony," she said and quickly went over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "See you later. Happy Birthday!"
Her father escorted her from the bowling alley, leaving her friends stunned at what had just happened.
Tony sat down frowning. He wondered what was wrong with her father to make him act the way he did. He reached over and picked up the gift she had given him and held it close.
"Open it," Frank told his friend. "I'm sure you'll like it," he added with a smile.
Tony first opened the card and read what was written on the inside,
To the best friend I've ever had. This is something I thought would mean a lot in the near future. I hope you like it. Happy Birthday! With Love, Brooke.
After reading the card, Tony carefully tore the paper off to reveal a small wooden box with a boat carved on it, above the word 'Napoli.' 'Napoli' was the name of the boat that belonged to his family, which one day would be his. He opened the box and found a gift card and a key chain inside. It was a silver anchor inscribed with the name of his family's boat.
He smiled and picked it up. "I'll be right back," he said and ran towards the front door of the bowling alley in hopes of spotting Brooke, but she was already gone.