The Pain of Silence
Chapter 5
Frank, Joe and their dates entered Mr. Pizza about six o'clock and went over to a booth in the corner.
"There's Chet," Joe noticed his friend walking in.
"Hey guys. So, what are you ordering?" Chet slipped in next to Joe who was beside Vanessa.
"I was thinking three large pizzas. I'm in the mood for meat lovers," Joe grinned.
"Callie and I just want cheese," Frank announced.
"Has Tony been out yet?" Chet asked.
"We just got here. Oh, there he is." Callie pointed to the counter as the kitchen door opened and Tony emerged, carrying a pizza over to another booth. "That looks good," she said. "Frank, can we get ham and pineapple instead?"
Frank playfully rolled his eyes. "Sure, I guess so," he joked. "Of course, hon. Whatever you'd like."
"Anchovies?" Callie teased and Frank made a face.
"Thankfully I know you're kidding. Sorry, no little fishes on my pizza," he said as Tony approached the group.
"Hi guys. You're all early," he said.
"We were hungry and figured we were coming here anyway, so…" Joe grinned. "Well, you know Chet and me. Always in the mood for a good pizza!"
Tony eyed Joe. "Okay then. What did you want to order?"
Tony wrote down their order and went behind the counter to get their drinks. A moment later he returned to the table and passed out the various sodas they'd ordered.
"Hey Tony, I was wondering. Is your friend coming tonight?" Joe asked.
A big grin appeared on Tony's face. "I believe so. She said she'd be here early to get some dinner."
Callie's eyes lit with curiosity. "She? Who are you talking about?"
"Let's just wait and make sure she shows up first," Tony said and left to wait on other customers.
"Do any of you know who he's talking about?" Callie asked the boys.
Chet shook his head. "It's news to me. How about you guys?"
"Well, we sort of know what's going on," Joe said and looked [over at Tony who was at the other end of the room. "I saw Brooke Tyler earlier."
"Who's that?" Vanessa asked and Joe realized she had never met Brooke.
"Brooke Tyler is a friend from a couple years ago. During Tony's seventeenth birthday party her father barged in and made her go home. Then when Tony tried to see her a couple days later, she was gone. Her family moved without saying goodbye. No one's heard from or seen her till today," Joe informed her.
"Poor girl. I wonder why she never called after they moved," she thought out loud.
"That's what I always wondered," Frank announced. "You know, at the time it didn't really make sense. No one thought to ask questions or look for them, either. Dad thought it was inappropriate to look into it. He said it was probably a personal family matter of theirs and wasn't about to turn it into a case, unless something was wrong."
The group continued talking about Brooke until Tony returned with their pizzas. "Enjoy! I had the chef put extra pineapple on for you, Callie."
Callie grinned. "Thanks Tony! You're the best!"
Frank laughed. "We know how to take care of you, sweetie."
Callie kissed Frank's cheek and everyone dug into the pizza. "This is good!" Callie said in between mouthfuls.
Joe was on his third slice when he noticed Brooke walk in and sit at the counter. He pretended not to notice and continued eating. He didn't want to make a scene.
Under the table he tapped Frank's foot with his own. "What?" Frank mouthed, catching Joe's eye. Frank saw his brother's eyes dart across the room and Frank turned slightly to see what he was looking at, then turned back when he saw her.
Callie noticed her boyfriend acting strangely. "What is it?" she whispered.
"Brooke is here. We want to wait for Tony to say something before we head over there."
Callie glanced over and understood. "She seems nervous," she told him.
"Really? I wonder why." Frank wanted to go over and say hi to Brooke; they had been friends, after all. "Here comes Tony."
Tony hadn't noticed Brooke at the counter, until she called to him. He had delivered a pizza to another booth and was just about to go back into the kitchen when he saw her. He gave her a huge smile, and put up a finger, letting her know he'd be right back.
A minute later he came back out and immediately walked over to her. He stood on the opposite side of the counter to chat with her. "Want a drink?"
"Sure," she said with a smile. "Thanks so much, Tony."
"My pleasure," he said and got her a soda. "So, I know I mentioned earlier we're going to the movies with our friends right?"
She nodded.
"Are you up for that? I know you just got back, so I don't want to…"
"I'd love to Tony! I really want to go. I've been busy and could use a fun night out."
"Do you remember Frank and Joe?" Tony asked. He happened to glance in their direction and saw Joe looking at them. Joe quickly looked away but Tony knew Joe all too well; he gave a small laugh and pointed to the booth in the corner. "Well, I think you've been spotted."
Brooke turned around and saw Joe sitting next to a pretty girl; on his other side was Chet. She was beginning to realize how much she missed everyone and looked back at Tony with tears in her eyes.
"Brooke, if you don't want to go I understand..." Tony hadn't thought she'd get upset.
"I'm sorry. It's not sad tears; it's happy tears. I've missed you all so much."
Tony reached over and patted her arm. "So you still want to go?"
"Of course. Ouch!" She pulled her arm back when he touched a sore spot.
"Sorry! What did I do?" he asked.
She pulled her long sleeve as far down as it would go. "It's nothing, Tony. Come on, why don't I go say hi to everyone. Hey, could I order a couple slices of the barbeque chicken pizza?"
"You bet. Go on over. I'll see if Jack will cover my tables for a few minutes so I can take a break. I bet Frank and Joe will be asking you a bunch of questions. They're turning into their father," Tony said with a wink.
"That's great. I'm glad to hear they're taking after him. I'll see you in a bit," she said and walked over to her friends.
Chet, who hadn't been paying attention to Frank and Joe, glanced up and saw Brooke coming over in their direction. "Brooke!" He immediately stood up and hugged her.
"Easy! It's good to see you too!" She wrapped her arms around Chet gently.
"It's been a long time," Joe said with a smile, and also stood to give Brooke a hug. "We've missed you. This is my girlfriend, Vanessa Bender. Vanessa, this is Brooke Tyler."
"Nice to meet you, Vanessa!" Brooke turned to Frank and Callie. "Good to see you both again. Sorry I never really got the chance to get to know you," Brooke told Callie.
"It's all right. We're all glad you're back. Are you sticking around or visiting?"
"Well, that hasn't been decided yet. I want to stay here. I've missed Bayport so much."
"How're your mom and dad doing?" Frank asked – and saw Brooke's smile disappear.
"Mom's good. Dad…" Brooke paused, trying to think of what to say. "He could be better."
Frank was about to say something else when Tony came over to the group with Brooke's pizza. "You can all sit down, ya know!"
Brooke laughed. "They were all giving me hugs."
"Well, why don't we eat up? There's a lot to catch up on," Callie said, and they all agreed. Brooke slid in next to Frank, and Tony sat beside her. "I have a couple minutes," he told her.
"So, how long have you been in town?" Joe asked.
"Only two days. I happened to come in here for lunch and ran into Tony. I didn't expect to see him!" She smiled at the memory.
"I bet that made your day," Joe said to Tony, and Frank kicked him under the table.
Tony blushed. "Well, it did. I'll be honest, it definitely made my day."
Brooke also started to blush. "It did?"
Tony nodded. "I've missed you. We've all missed you. Trust me, you were the last person I expected to see today. Heck, I even made a fool out of myself."
She started to laugh. "Oh my gosh. I'm sorry about that. I didn't realize it was you!" She paused to contain her laughter. "You guys need to hear this story. Tell them!"
Tony knew he'd be teased for the remainder of the night for his story. "Fine," he said and told them what had happened:
The lunch rush was finally starting to die down and Tony went into the kitchen to put in two orders. He came back out and went over to the fountain to get some drinks for his customers. After dropping the drinks off he checked on a couple of his other tables and refilled their beverages.
He saw another family walk inside, but didn't notice the girl walking in behind them.
He took the family's order and placed it in the kitchen. He came back out to get the soda refills for the other tables when someone spoke up.
"Excuse me, could I have a coke please?" a soft voice asked politely.
His back was to her as he filled up other glasses. "Sure. One moment."
"Thank you! Take your time, I know you're busy."
Tony smiled at the girl's politeness. 'I wish more people were nice like that,' he thought to himself. He immediately poured the girl her soda and turned around to hand it to her. The moment he saw her face the soda slipped from his hands and fell to the floor.
He bent down to grab the glass, which thankfully didn't break. The girl leaned over the counter and accidentally bumped the napkin holder, sending it flying onto Tony's head!
"Ouch!"
"I am so sorry!" The girl got up and went around the side of the counter. "Let me help you! Can I come back there?"
Tony looked up and the girl gasped. "Tony?"
"Um...hi, Brooke." He rubbed his head and stood up.
Both were speechless for a brief moment until one of Tony's customers spoke up. "Kid, can we have our sodas please?"
Tony snapped back to reality. "Yeah, I'll be right there. Sorry."
"Um, take care of them. I'll mop up the soda for you." She smiled at him and went over to clean up the mess.
Tony quickly delivered all the soda refills and orders that had to be dropped off at the tables. Every time he passed Brooke he couldn't help but stare at her. She was more beautiful than he could have imagined. In just this short period of time he felt like he was falling for her all over again.
"You what?!" Joe burst into laughter. The rest of the group laughed along with him.
"Be nice! I felt so bad. I can't believe I hit you on the head!" She looked at Tony, who was turning a deep shade of red. "Don't be embarrassed."
"Hey Tony!" He turned around and saw Jack approaching. "Tony, your shift is almost up. You're all set. I know you had plans tonight, so you're free to go if you want."
"Thanks Jack! I appreciate it, man."
"No prob! Have a good night!"
Brooke reached over and clasped Tony's hand. "What are you doing after the movie?"
"Well, I had a small homework assignment I was going to work on, but it's not due for a couple of days. I can work on it in the morning."
"Homework? What are you studying?" she asked. She silently wished she was in college, but due to her current situation, she knew it had to wait.
"Actually, I am taking the basic courses right now to get them out of the way. English, Psychology, Oral Communication. All that good stuff. I haven't decided my major yet."
"Well, right now we're going to major in seeing a movie. So eat up!" Joe prodded. "The movie starts in twenty minutes!"
"Sorry!" Brooke quickly ate her pizza and within a few minutes she was ready to go. "Nothing comes between a hungry girl and her pizza!"
Vanessa laughed. "When you date one of these guys, you gotta be ready to eat your heart out!"
"What's…(chewing) that supposed…(chewing) to mean?" Joe asked as he finished up the last slice.
Vanessa playfully rolled her eyes. "See my point?" she said, and everyone laughed.
"So, who's driving with who to the movies?" Frank asked.
"How about you four go together and I'll bring Brooke and Chet?" Tony suggested, wanting to spend time with her.
"Sounds good. Shall we get going?"
Tony took out his car keys and Brooke noticed a familiar key chain.
"You kept it?" she asked and reached over to look at it. It was the one she'd given him the last day she saw him.
Frank's eye caught sight of something no one else noticed. Brooke's sleeve lifted up slightly and he noticed what looked like a scar on her arm. What concerned him was that it started close to her wrist and made its way up. He was unable to see how far. He wondered what could have caused it. It reminded him of the last time he saw her in the bowling alley, except this time it wasn't bruises.
Brooke quickly covered her arm. She saw Frank looking at her arm and forced a small smile to her face.
"Yeah, I love it. I tried to catch you but you were gone after your father came to get you," Tony explained.
She decided to continue the talk with Tony later. "Let's go guys."
She wanted to get out of there. She wasn't about to let what happened a few weeks ago ruin her night. At least not yet. She knew Frank had seen her arm, and the time would soon come when she'd have to tell her friends the truth.
At least I have my friends now. Hopefully things will be better this time. Maybe, just maybe, Mom and I can finally be free and not have to worry about him any more.