Hey guys, another update for you all. I'm sorry that I can't update more regularly, but I'm so busy lately and I barely get any writing in at all. Even keeping up with Formula 1 is hard. I've been to Spa last week though and that was pretty awesome, Seb was so close to a win, but just not close enough. Oh well, I hope you all like this chapter and I'm sorry for letting you all wait so long!
The sudden intake of breath had grabbed his attention and when Seb looked up he saw an expression of horror written on Keira's face. He could see tears glistening and especially the flicker of fear that suddenly was visible in her eyes frightened him. The colour had drained out of her face and when he followed the direction of her gaze, he witnessed the phone dropping out of her hands. Fear was crossing her face and she screwed her eyes shut, while it looked like she had difficulties breathing. He was alarmed by this, because he didn't know what was going on. When he looked across the table he saw that the other's hadn't noticed anything yet, as they were still engaged in their discussion about which driver was often the drunkest. That meant it was all down to him, he couldn't keep his distance and leave her like this.
He stood up from his chair and made his way around the table to kneel down next to Keira. He wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders and pulled her against his chest. She didn't resist and when he felt his shirt getting wet he noticed she was sobbing. The others had now also noticed something was going on and they looked alarmed at him, clearly demanding answers. He shook his head and pressed a finger against his lips to tell them they shouldn't say anything and that he wasn't going to explain right now. They seemed to understand, although all of them didn't exactly know what to do. Macy was poking her food without any enthusiasm, Minttu was looking at Keira with concern and Kimi was quietly eating his chicken.
He himself didn't know what to do, the only things he could come up with was to stroke her hair and whisper words of comfort to sooth her. It hurt his back to sit like this, as he was twisted in a weird way, but he didn't dare move. He also noticed other people looking, but if Keira needed him, he had promised himself he would be there for her. He pressed a kiss on the top of her head and tried not to let out a sound of pain when she dug her nails in his chest. She grabbed the fabric of his shirt with her other hand and it felt like she was afraid that he would let her go. He responded by pressing her even closer against his body and that's when he spotted the abandoned phone laying on the table. He hesitated for a moment, because he wasn't sure if it would be a breach of her privacy if he would look at it. He needed to know though what had upset her this much, if he could do anything else to calm her down. Although he was still indecisive, he reached out for the phone.
Unknown - I saw you on TV today, it looks like you have forgotten to tell me something. It would be a shame if something happened to that pretty little face of yours, right? Just remember you can't hide forever love, we both know we belong together.
He got a bad feeling when he read the message, this didn't sound good, it didn't sound good at all. He stared at the screen, trying to make out what it meant. It clearly was someone threatening her and according to her reaction is must be the same person who had hurt her before. His eyes lingered on the last few words 'we both know we belong together,' because it told him what he had always expected. She had never wanted to talk about it and he had never dared bringing it up, but clearly her ex-boyfriend had been responsible for all the bruises. It made him shiver, because he knew they had lived together and the idea that she didn't even had a safe home to escape to made him angry.
He looked down at the girl in his arms and tried to imagine what she had been through, but he also blamed himself for letting her go back to England when he could have kept her safe in Switzerland. He had somehow made himself believe that she would be strong enough to take care of herself and that it wasn't his place to interfere in her private life. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the pain in his back. He couldn't blame himself, that wasn't fair. They hadn't been close back then, they had only drank a coffee together. He couldn't have done anything, he had been a stranger to her. He kept wishing it had been different though, maybe he could have prevented at least some of her injuries, like that one in her face. His stomach tightened at the idea that someone had deliberately punched her in the face and he was sure that he hadn't even seen half of her injuries. The fear in her eyes when she had read the message made him feel sick, because that amount of fear is only caused by someone who doesn't have any limits to get what he wants.
The shaking of Keira's shoulders lessened and she let go of his shirt she was still holding tightly in her fists. She slowly sat back up again and looked at him with her red rimmed eyes, displaying hurt he had never experienced himself. He stretched out his arm and cupped her face, wanting to tell her that she didn't need to be afraid, that he was there for her. He himself tried not to be afraid, because he understood what it meant for Keira receiving that message, he was not letting her go. He was glad that at least they were in Korea at the other side of the world, but an uneasy feeling settled inside his stomach. He had a certain idea what this guy was capable of and he didn't like that at all, Keira wasn't safe. The horrible feeling that realisation brought with the combination of Keira looking at him with all the colour drained out of her face made him want to throw up. Panic started to spread through his body and the urge to pull her into an embrace again and never letting her go was getting bigger by the second.
Keira wiped her tears away quickly and averted her eyes when she noticed a lot of people staring at her. 'I'm sorry,' she almost whispered and she wrapped her arms around her own body, as a way of protecting herself from what was going on around her.
It broke his heart, she didn't need to be sorry for anything. She almost looked like a small and fragile bird who had fallen from its nest. He exchanged a few looks with the other occupants of the table and they all wisely kept quiet. 'Come on, let's go. Let's get you back to the hotel,' he said when Keira didn't respond to him trying to get her attention again. He stood up and held out his hand, waiting for her to come with him. A pair of frightful eyes looked back at him and it was almost like if she was in another world. Without saying anything she grabbed his hand and let him pull her out of her chair. She was just able to grab her bag and half-heartedly wave at the others, before he could lead her to the exit.
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They were almost back at the hotel, although Keira hadn't really noticed them going there. She had just walked, letting Seb guide her and had tried her hardest to get that message from David out of her head. She had blocked his number and that had been sufficient all those weeks. He hadn't contacted her at all and she was convinced that it had all been over, that he had finally seen some remorse and was letting her get on with her own life. Clearly that wasn't the case now, because if he had made the effort to get a new number, he meant business. She knew how persistent he could be, how he would go to any lengths to get what he wants and that was scaring her immensely. She had thought it all had been over, that she had escaped that part of her life. She had been feeling so much better, but receiving that text had brought back all these feelings she had been able to push aside. The feeling of fear was the worst of all, because it made her numb and she couldn't think straight anymore. Images of a laughing David popped up in her head, him laughing after he had punched her in the face and she felt herself getting dizzy again. She was so dizzy that she couldn't stand on her legs anymore, the world seemed to spin and she wasn't sure what was up and what was down.
A pair of strong arms were suddenly put around her shoulders and it prevented her from tumbling over her own feet after not being sure how to walk anymore. A voice was audible in the cool evening air, but she couldn't make out what was being said. She just let these arms hold her up and guide her to wherever they were going. It was only when she felt herself being pushed down on the cold wood of a bench, that she was able to get connected with the world again. She opened her eyes and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Seb kneeled down in front of her, with a concerned look on his face. She tried to smile at him, but it didn't go much further than a weak curve of her lips and she wasn't sure if Seb had noticed.
He put his hands on Keira's knees and searched out her eyes before he spoke. 'I'm not sure what to say,' he began with his soft voice and he bit on his bottom lip when he tried to think of what to say. 'I hope you won't be angry with me, but I've read the message on your phone,' he said sounding a tad unsure and it was clear that he was nervous what Keira's reaction would be. 'I know who it is now,' he added when he averted his eyes.
Keira's eyes widened and she could feel her heart starting to race. Fuck, so he had read it. She wanted to be angry with him, for reading personal stuff, but somehow she was also a bit relieved. It had been on her mind so many times to just tell Seb, to tell it was David who had done this to her, but she always had been too afraid to share. Too afraid of David finding out someone knew or him finding out about her new life. She shook her head and without realising a joyless laugh had escaped her lips. It was a little bit too late for that now, David already knew what she was up to and he had reacted so much worse than she had expected, or better said, hoped. She could see that Seb was still looking anxiously at her and she put her hand on one of his hands that were still resting on her knees. 'Don't worry about it, you were bound to find out at some point,' she said while trying to sound like she wasn't too bothered by the situation.
Seb blinked with his eyes, clearly not having expected this reaction. 'I know I shouldn't have done it, but it had shocked you so much and I just wanted to have an idea what was going on,' he explained while he looked at Keira's fingers now enclosing his own, 'I just wanted to help.'
This caused a genuine smile to appear on Keira's face, the look of innocence and concern on Seb's face showed her why she liked him so much. The way he was now stroking her hand with his thumb in a way to sooth her was exactly something David never would have done. Thinking about David shot another shiver down her spine, but the fact that Seb was sat down here with her prevented the fear that would normally be caused by that to get to her. Seb made her feel safe, like he always did and that was more than she could ask for really. She never wanted this comfort to end, but she knew that when Seb was gone, the suppressed feelings would come back again. That's why she wanted to enjoy this moment as long as it lasted, even if it meant sitting on this uncomfortable hard bench. When she looked up Seb's and her eyes crossed and she couldn't miss the warmth it caused to spread through her body. He might have been playing with her feelings, but she was certain that Seb was a good person deep within.
After a few minutes had past where they just looked at each other, Seb cleared his throat. 'I'm sure you don't want to think about this right now, but has something like this happened before? Has he been bothering you previously?' he asked and he squeezed Keira's hand as a way of comfort.
She knew this question was coming, but she still wasn't prepared to hear those words tumbling from Seb's lips. Her heart was pounding and different kind of memories were flying through her head. 'No,' she answered while she tried to ignore the freshly brought back memories. 'Yes,' she then sighed and she slumped back against the back of the bench. 'Not after we broke up, but he has been harassing me like this before,' she admitted and she might have squeezed Seb's hand a bit harder than she had intended to.
'When did this happen?' he asked and the concern was audible in his voice. His eyes were still focussed on Keira's and it seemed he didn't mind in the slightest that the blood in his hand had disappeared because of her tight grip.
She took a few seconds to remember exactly when while trying not to remember the feelings accompanied by that as well. 'In Switzerland,' she then answered, 'when I came to visit my parents there without him.'
Seb sighed and he hung his head. 'I should have protected you then,' he said and he looked angry with himself. He was still kneeled down, but he almost lost his balance when he started to curse in German under his breath.
This made Keira smile and she felt a bit of weighed lifted from her shoulders. Some things never change, Seb definitely didn't. It was still the cutest thing ever to hear Seb curse in German and forget he was speaking in English. 'There was no way you could have protected me then,' she said while the remains of the smile were still lingering on her lips. 'No one could prevented him getting drunk, I tried many times before, but he wouldn't listen,' she explained and her expression changed to grim again.
'He's a drunk?' Seb asked and he raised his eyebrows, clearly not having expected this bit of information.
Keira closed her eyes and then opened them again. 'I've denied that for a long time, but yes, he is. It only got worse with everyday that passed and without me keeping him in control, it was even worse,' she said and she tried not to think of all the empty liquor bottles she would find in the house, despite David's efforts to hide them.
It seemed Seb was thinking about something and his eyes were focussed on a bird that was picking up crumbs from the ground a few metres away from them. 'So, was he always like this, or just when he was drunk?' he asked, alluding to the text and the behaviour that was implied by it.
'Luckily only when drunk,' she said and she also focussed her attention on the bird looking for food. 'Although I'm not sure luck is the right word,' she continued, 'as the fact he was a good person while not being intoxicated made it very hard to get out.' She almost whispered that last sentence as she knew she had been nothing but a coward. Tears were welling up in her eyes and despite her best efforts it didn't take long before they were rolling down her cheeks.
Without saying anything Seb got up, with the necessary noises of pain because of sitting in an uncomfortable position for so long, and sat down next to Keira on the bench. 'Hey, it's not your fault,' he said softly while he put an arm around Keira's shoulder and pulled her close.
The feeling of being close to Seb again caused a twist in her stomach and she tried not to lose herself again in that feeling of comfort and bliss. 'It is my fault though,' she countered Seb.
'Feelings and emotions are very complicated things, sometimes you know what's best with your head, but your heart tells you something else. That's nothing to be ashamed about, everybody suffers from that. Also, being hurt by someone is never your fault, people should never hurt someone else on purpose,' Seb sounded determined, but sadness was also audible in his words. He drew circles on Keira's skin with his right hand and it seemed that he was talking about much more than only Keira's situation.
She knew he was only saying these things to make her feel better, but it did actually make her feel a bit more positive. She also had a feeling Seb was alluding to different things, as his voice had cracked a bit at the end, but she didn't dare ask more about it. She also thought she couldn't handle much more this night, so she just closed her eyes and focussed her attention on the regular heartbeat and breathing of Seb. It didn't take long before she felt her eyelids getting heavier and she stopped fighting the urge to stay awake. The only thing that was still on her mind were the arms wrapped around her, making her feel the safest person in the world, at this moment at least.