No Regrets

 The water gently splashing up onto her feet was cold, but Keely didn't mind. She sat there with her legs dangling over the dock side, her shoes sitting behind her. It was where she came to think, ti was the quietest place in town most nights. This night was no different. As she sat there she looked around at the lake, at the few cabins that lined the opposite side, the trees that seemed overgrown covering the other few that she could no longer see but knew were there. Including the old Prynn cabin, half burnt down, preserved like a grave, a reminder of that night so long ago.

The moon was the only light tonight, bright and full, shining down and reflecting choppily off the restless water of the lake. She stared at it, watching as the reflection changed with every tiny movement. It was relaxing just sitting there, peaceful.

Any other day she would have hoped for the crunch of leaves behind her, the gently rocking of the dock as she was greeted by Jason, with his long hair and deep laugh. But she wanted anything but that now, she wanted to be totally and utterly alone.

Her phone lit up next to her. Her twin brother Kyle's name appeared on the screen. She stared at it for a moment as it silently rang, before flipping the phone over and ignoring the call. She didn't want to talk, she didn't want to be bothered. She had to think, she couldn't do that with anyone else around.

She laud back on the dock, looking up at the star-filled sky. This was it, this was what it felt like to be at peace, even if that feeling didn't last long. It was replaced by the same dread that she had felt before. The same dread that had led her out here in the first place.

She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, she lost herself in the movement of the stars, of the clouds. The sound of the water running over the rocky shoreline filled her ears, the only sound in the night.

The leaves behind her crunched, making her jumps up from her laying position. She turned around, pulling her feet back onto the dock and tucking her knees to her chest. Standing at the back of the dock wasn't Kyle, it wasn't Jason. It was Nick, her best friend and her brothers boyfriend. He stood there, head cocked to the side, his usually unkempt hair pulled back into a small bun.

"Thought I'd find you out here." He smiled, stepping onto the dock and slowly walking over to her. He was in her baseball letter jacket, a black t-shirt, and gray school sweat pants. Just looking at him made Keely realize how cold it was out tonight and she shivered. He kicked off his sneakers when he got close to her before sitting down next to her and letting his sock covered feet dangle over the side of the dock to get wet from the sloshing water. "Kyle's worried about you." He said after a long beat of silence. He didn't look at her, he kept his eyes focused on the other side of the lake, as if looking at her would cause her to run away from yet another conversation.

"He shouldn't be." She shrugged, dropping her legs back over the edge of the dock and sliding closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. She had thought the she wanted to be alone but she just didn't want Kyle or Jason to fine her. Nick was different. He wasn't going to make her feel worse.

"You know he told me what Uncle Sasha gave you." He paused and finally looked over at her. "The letter." She didn't meet his eyes, she fidgeted with her fingers and shivered again. He slid back for a moment to pull off his jacket and wrap it around her shoulders. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, holding her tight. "Do you wanna tell me what it said?"

"It was from my dad." She said, her voice low. She tucked her head deeper into his chest and closed her eyes. "He left me something...something of my mom's." Her voice shook as she spoke.

"That's good isn't it?" He asked, tilting his head down to rest atop hers, gently kissing her hair as he did. "Something of hers."

"It's a house." She blurted out the words before she could think about them. She sat upright and turned to look at him, pulling her legs back onto the dock and crossing them in front of her. She faced him and wrapped the jacket tighter around herself. "A house in LA." She didn't meet his eyes as she spoke. He narrowed his at her. "He left this one to Kyle." She finally said.