Never Again

Chapter 12: Stranger

From now on there will be two POVs sometimes, I hope you like it!  

Blue skies were slowly fading into deep purple ones, it meant that twilight was setting in. Keira was sitting on one of the larger rocks at the side of the lake, her eyes were closed and she tried to let the surroundings calm her down. This was her favourite moment of the day, seeing the sky change colours and covering everything in a bright orange glow. It was magical, she thought, it always made her realise how beautiful the world can be. She took a deep breath and the scent of night filled her nostrils. Some people had called her weird for saying a day smelled different at night than in the morning, but she was sure of it. The same went for the different seasons, with her favourite being winter. It just added to the beauty of nature and it also made you appreciate the different moments in life. She felt herself calming down little by little until she could see her hands had stopped shaking.

Life had been hard since Abby had left. Keira was constantly confused and felt a mixture between guilt and relief. How she felt could easily change several times a day and it felt like being on a never ending roller coaster. At some points she had enjoyable conversations with David, Abby or Tom, but she also frequently had moments of fear and then not being able to face anyone. Besides, David was still not leaving her alone at night, he was becoming even more aggressive to be precise. She felt herself becoming even more isolated and her parents now were also starting to worry. She had told them that she was just missing college and her friends there, but that they didn't have to worry because she just needed time to adapt to the new situation. Her parents were the last persons in the world she wanted to worry about her, she had tried so hard to become the perfect daughter. Now she was already failing in having a successful career, she didn't want to fail on any other level. They had worked so hard to get her sister and herself where they are now and they had sacrificed a lot to raise them. Keira felt tears welling up again and before she knew it her cheeks were wet. She felt a shiver down her spine and she sobbed quietly while looking at the lake, admiring the mirror like surface of the water.

The sudden noise of footsteps made her startle, she had been absorbed in her thoughts and hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings. She couldn't even remember ever seeing someone else here, so she hadn't thought it necessary. Her heart was racing and she was afraid to look up. To her horror se saw that the person sat down next to her.

'Hey,' a soft voice said.

Now Keira felt obliged to acknowledge the new arrival, so she lifted her head to see who it was. Her heart suddenly skipped a beat when she locked eyes with the stranger. She knew those eyes, because they had been in her thoughts a lot lately. She could recognise those penetrating blue eyes everywhere, because they were intriguing her since she first saw them. That spark in his eyes was still there and she found herself not being able to avert her gaze. He had a worried look on his face and she didn't know how to respond to his sudden appearance.

'What's wrong?' his voice sounded warm and soft again, but also some concern was now detectable.

Keira felt uneasy with that question and wrung her hands nervously. 'Nothing, I'm OK,' she couldn't think of anything else to say. She quickly tried to wipe her tears before he could see it, but she realised he had already noticed.

'You don't look like it,' he glanced sideways to meet her eyes again. He saw that she was looking down at her feet and was fiddling with her hands. 'I'm Sebastian, by the way,' he said trying to get her attention again.

Sebastian, Keira repeated in her head, his name was Sebastian. He looked like a Sebastian to her, so the name suited him. Especially when he pronounced his name with that slight German accent, she liked it. With a hesitant look on her face she replied, 'Keira.'