Hi guys, another update for you. I just noticed as well that it's a year ago that I've started this story. What a journey it has been, I never thought it would turn into the story it is right now! I intended it to be way shorter, but along the way it developed in something way bigger and there's so much still to come. Thank you so much for sticking with me, for your votes, for your wonderful comments, they mean a lot! I've got the best readers.
So let's see how things are between Keira and Seb after the drama with David. Will this have brought them closer or pulled them further apart? Let me know what you think :)
When Keira woke up the next morning she couldn't even remember how she got back to her hotel room. Her head felt uncomfortably heavy and when she rubbed her eyes they were feeling puffy. She didn't understand why she felt this bad, but when she closed her eyes again images of the night before started to flow back into her head. A feeling of panic was rising again and she was glad that there was nobody else in the room to see her. David. That was all she could think about, he had found her and she was sure he wasn't going to let her get away again that easily. She knew she had to tell her friends, as they could maybe also become a target now and deep down she knew that it was only fair to tell her friends as well. They had been such a great support and without them she surely would still be with David, they had done so much for her.
When she turned on her side to grab her phone, her eyes caught a piece of paper that was laying on her bedside table. Curiously she stretched out her arm and grabbed what turned out to be a note. She recognised that handwriting immediately and her heart started to beat faster. Her lips curved into a smile when her eyes followed the lines that were written down, her nerves were fading away slowly and when she was done reading, she kept staring at the piece of paper in her hands.
Hi, it's me, Seb,
I'm not really sure what to do, so that's why I'm writing this. At this moment you are sleeping, with your arms wrapped around the second pillow and that looks rather adorable. However, that's not what I wanted to say. I'm not even sure what I wanted to write to be honest, but I couldn't just leave without saying anything. You were in such a state this evening and even getting you back to here took some effort. When you fell asleep on me on that bench outside I didn't want to wake you, so we sat out there for quite some time. I froze my butt off, but that doesn't really matter of course. You said all kind of things in your sleep, but I couldn't make any sense of it, other than that it probably weren't very nice thoughts. I don't know if you remember anything from last night, or if you want to remember, but you don't have to worry about David. I'll be here to protect you and I won't let him get close to you, even if it's the last thing I have to do. Also, I'm sorry that I had to put you in bed with your clothes on, but I didn't want to wake you. I've carried you up the stairs and I was sure you were going to wake up then, but you slept through that amazingly. Finding your key in your bag took some time, why do women always have so much stuff in their bag? Anyway, I'm glad you're sleeping now. I could watch you sleep forever, you know? Wait, that sounded creepy, forget that. I just want to be sure you're ok, to be there if you need me. Oh well, I'm going to end this now as it's late and I don't make any sense. I hope you feel better when you wake up in the morning and I'll see you at the track.
Love,
Seb
He was such a dork and that's why she loved him. Even without knowing who had written the note, she would have known instantly, nobody else just wrote down what he was thinking like Seb. With a sigh she put down the note and turned her head to the window. It seemed like it was going to be a decent day today and she was glad that within in a short time she could focus her attention on work again. When she was working she barely had any time to think about something else and she could really use that right now. She picked up her phone to see what the time was and she was surprised that it was still very early. For some reason she had woken up before her alarm, but it was too late to go back to sleep now, she was already awake. She also saw she had received messages from Macy and Minttu, but she wasn't ready yet to deal with them. She would read them later and then deal with them when she saw them, she knew she owed them an explanation. Maybe it was time to come clean with her past, even thought she was afraid the girls would start to treat her differently. She ran her fingers through her hair and then stretched her back, while looking across the room. It being this early meant that back in the UK it wasn't even midnight yet, so it was worth a try to see if Abby and Tom were still up. They had all gotten a Skype premium account, so they could video call with each other, as that was the closest they could get to hanging out with each other nowadays.
'Keira!' was the first thing Abby yelled when she accepted the call. 'Why are you up this early?'
Another voice filled the room after that. 'Yeah, go back to sleep idiot,' Tom grinned and he waved at the camera as a way to say hi.
Keira shook her head and chuckled. 'It's nice to speak to you again as well,' she said. She picked up the laptop and walked back to her bed. She puffed up her pillows and sat down with the laptop on her lap. She had missed her friends.
Abby rubbed her eyes, clearly looking tired. 'How are you doing? Are they also trying to kill you by making you work too much?' she asked while trying to suppress a yawn.
'Luckily not, although the busy part of the weekend will start now of course. If we don't deliver today I have to work all night I guess to figure out where it went wrong,' Keira explained.
'Man, I wish my job was that exciting', Tom replied and he looked rather jealous. 'I mean, I like my job, but it doesn't feel like I'm doing something important. You know?'
'You can come help me build some airplanes,' Abby said jokingly. 'Airplanes are more interesting than cars anyway,' she added with a devilish smile.
This resulted in a lot of protest from Keira and Tom of course and Abby started laughing. This was something they often did. One of them would mention how cars were better than airplanes and vice versa, they never could settle who was right though. When they were done arguing Abby got the others up to date with her work at Boeing and what else she had been up to in life. Apparently she had gotten a new neighbour and if Keira had to believe her he looked a lot like Rupert Grind.
'You know that gingers don't have a soul, right?' Tom interrupted Abby explaining why exactly he had caught her eye.
'Excuse me?' Keira raised her eyebrows and looked at her friend who was now smiling.
'Oh Tom,' Abby began and shook her head, although it was clear that she was trying to stifle a laugh.
Keira looked at her screen and the corner of her mouth lifted when she noticed Abby rolling her eyes. 'You know this joke is really getting old,' she sighed.
'You're not a real ginger anyway, it's closer to brown,' Tom shrug his shoulders. 'And it keeps being funny if you still take the bait every time,' he said and the twinkle in his eyes showed he was enjoying teasing his friend very much.
'At least it wasn't a threat this time,' Abby said with a grin on her face while she cocked her head to one side. She took a sip of the tea she had been holding in her hands the entire time. She pulled a face when she noticed it had gone cold already.
A threat. Keira could feel her stomach drop. David. She had already forgotten why she had wanted to speak to her friends in the first place. She was painfully brought back to the present, she could forget all she wanted about it, but that wouldn't get rid off the problem.
'Keir, are you alright? It looks like you've seen a ghost,' Abby's eyes looked worried and a frown was visible on her forehead when she had spotted her friend's eyes widening.
'Yes,' Keira responded automatically. That's what she had gotten used to, so it had slipped out before she had really thought about it. With hesitation she looked down at her hands, her fingers nervously gripping the worn blanket. 'No,' she said and her voice barely filled the room.
'What? I couldn't hear you,' Abby's appeared closer to the camera, she clearly had tried getting closer to her computer to try and hear what Keira was going to say.
'I said no,' Keira responded and her eyes were fixed on the blanket she was still holding tightly. The faded red colour made it look more pinkish, it reminded her of her youth, when her parents always bought her pink things. The innocent kid she had been back then had disappeared a long time ago, she now knew that the world was one dark place.
From the screen two pairs of worried eyes were looking at their friend, both faces showing signs of concern. 'Keir, what's going on?' Tom broke the silence that had fallen. It almost looked like he was afraid of what was coming. It was clear that nobody who was taking part in this conversation had forgotten what had happened in these last few months.
Keira mulled over her words, trying to decide what the best way was to tell her friends. On one side she was dying to pour her heart out, but on the other side she was ashamed. Ashamed that she needed her friends so badly, that she wanted them to comfort her, that they would tell her everything would be ok. She was tugging so hard on the blanket that the old fabric finally started to give way. The tearing sound didn't even register in Keira's head, she had a hard time focussing her thoughts and facing her friends. Even though they knew about David, knew what he had done to her, she still felt anxious to explain what was going on.
When she accidentally ripped almost half the blanket in one tug, she was brought back to the present. She looked at the two halves in her hand and she saw it as a symbol. David was one side and she was the other side. She had ripped them apart and all that was left were two sides that would never fit together anymore. She studied the signs of violence that the pieces showed, just like she had done after she had been able to get away from David and the parts now just looked useless. She kept staring at the two halves in her hands and the more she looked at it, how stronger she felt the relief of having been able to break away.
She lifted her head and looked straight at her friends. 'David sent me a text last night,' she began. Her voice was fragile and she held her breath when she spoke. She could hear the gasps of her friends, but she wasn't able to respond. Not only the memories of David flooded back, also those of a certain blonde guy who was kneeled down in front of her, holding her hands and comforting her with his soothing blue eyes. Without realising it she bit her lip and she felt her heartbeat slowing down again while the tiniest glimpse of a smile made its way to her face.
'Please tell us what he said,' Abby broke the new formed silence and her face looked as white as a sheet. The signs of tiredness had disappeared and her knuckles were white from squeezing the tea mug so firmly. She made eye contact with Tom and the way they seemed to understand each other gave away that they had expected something like this to happen.
Keira swallowed and ignored her stomach tighten painfully. 'Just what you would expect really. He has found out where I work now and he said something along the lines of that we belong together,' she began and she felt tears welling up. The next part was more difficult than she had expected to admit. She lowered her voice and focussed her thoughts on a memory of a cheeky smile and blonde curls. 'He also said that it would be a shame if anything happened to my pretty face, or something like that,' she concluded.
Tom stood up from his chair and he looked as angry as being shocked. 'I'm going over, he clearly needs a talking to,' he said with his voice raised.
'No!' Keira and Abby yelled together. Keira knew Tom's impulsivity too well, it had gotten him into trouble more than once during their time at University. He could go from the funny and one of the calmest guys you know, to someone who's overcome by emotions the next. She didn't want Tom to be involved in this, especially because she knew what David was capable of.
Tom looked at them both and his eyes had gone dark. 'Why not? That piece of shit deserves to get the same shit in return,' he said through gritted teeth while he was struggling to keep his composure.
'It's not worth it,' Keira sighed. She appreciated that her friend wanted to do this for her, but like she said, it wasn't worth it. 'I'll deal with it, don't worry about me. Seb has said he will protect me,' she added with a weak smile.
This grabbed the interest of her friends. 'Oh?' Abby had raised an eyebrow and the worry had made place for curiosity. She knew what the deal was between Keira and Seb, so she seemed surprised to hear Keira had confided in Seb to share such personal information.
'I'm still angry with him,' Keira wanted to make that clear first, 'but on the other hand he's the most caring person you'll ever meet. When he's with me I feel safe, I feel seen and I feel cared for,' she said, while she hesitated to say the last few words. 'Everything is so fucked up,' she almost whispered and she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She noticed her fingers were trembling and a joyless smile played on her lips. She couldn't remember her life being a bigger mess than that it currently was. She didn't know what to feel, what to do and the longing to be back at University with her friends grew larger by the moment.
At that moment Keira's phone started to ring and her laptop almost fell off her lap when she leant over to her bedside table. When she checked the callers ID a wide smile spread across her face. She paused for a second but then answered the call. She repositioned the laptop and signed to her friends that she needed to take this call.
'Hey there, I wanted to check in on you,' sounded from the other side of phone.
A warm feeling spread through her body when she heard that voice. 'I'm fine, thanks for asking,' she responded. She leant back against the wall and looked at the window where the morning sun started to creep through.
'Did you read my note?' Seb asked.
Even though she couldn't see him, she could hear the slight uncertainty in his voice. She knew exactly how his face must look right now as he always furrowed his brows when he wasn't entirely sure about something and he would suck his bottom lip between his teeth. She chuckled, he looked absolutely adorable when he did that.
Seb had heard the slight chuckle. 'What's so funny?'
'You,' she replied straight away. 'I mean, nobody else would write a note like that. Also, my handbag isn't that bad at all! I can always find things right away.'
Now it was Seb's turn to laugh. 'Really? You think it's necessary to carry around a travel guide of Norway, tea bags, four mascaras, a woollen hat while it's not even winter and three pairs of socks?' He sounded amused. 'I mean, seriously?'
'Ok, maybe you've got a point,' she agreed reluctantly. She never really thought about what was in her bag, she just knew where everything was. However, now when Seb summed it all up, it indeed sounded a bit excessive. She made a mental note to clear it out when she was back in Switzerland. 'Although the socks in fact are very useful,' she added in an attempt to justify it to some point, 'and the tea bags.'
'You British people and their tea,' Seb sighed, 'if there's one thing that you would save from a fire, it's your tea.'
Keira's lips curved into a smile when she heard the lack of understanding in his voice. 'Careful boy, calling someone from Northern Ireland British is very risky,' she smirked.
Seb groaned in a way that could only mean he was rolling his eyes as well. 'I can't keep up with your identity,' he replied. 'What even are you?'
This time Keira couldn't suppress a laugh and she was sure Seb was running his fingers through his hair, like he normally would do when he was annoyed at something. 'Welcome to the confusion of my country. Let's just say I was born and raised in Ulster, but I don't particularly feel more connected to the British than the Irish.'
'Yeah, that clears up a lot,' Seb said sarcastically. 'Just apply for Swiss nationality, makes things a whole lot easier.'
'Don't you have better things to do?' Keira retorted as she looked at the clock. She was playing with her hair and enjoyed the sunlight that was now illuminating her face.
Some unclear noises escaped Seb's mouth. 'I have some torture sessions planned with Heikki,' he then said rather unenthusiastically, 'I was trying to escape them.'
'Ha, as if you ever can escape Heikki,' Keira chuckled. 'He would have been an excellent private detective.'
Seb clacked his tongue. 'If he had only chosen for that career,' he sighed. 'Oh well, I have to go now. I see you later at the track. Although, if I don't return, you know why,' he said jokingly.
'I'll remember to send Heikki a thank you note then,' she replied in her sweetest voice and she hung up before Seb could respond. With the biggest smile on her face she threw the phone on her bed.
Keira had totally forgotten about here two friends, until one of them spoke up. 'I didn't even have to ask who that was when you picked up the phone,' Abby smiled and she looked at Keira endearingly.
'Why?' Keira raised her eyebrows and picked up the glass of water that was standing on her night stand. While she took a few sips, her thoughts were already back at Seb.
Abby looked at Keira as if this was clear as day. 'They way your eyes lit up said enough. Pair that with that smile that hasn't left your face once since he called, it was pretty obvious.'
Blood flushed to Keira's cheeks and she suddenly felt a burning desire to pull the blanket over her head and be invisible. She had thought that it had been a very casual conversation, or hoped at least, but she should have known that her friends could read her like a book.
It was Tom who put everyone's thoughts into words. 'I've never seen someone more in love than you are right now.'