ᴀ ꜱᴛʀɪɴɢ ᴏꜰ ꜱᴇᴄʀᴇᴛꜱ

chapter one.

POV: Nevaeh

・❥・

Dark gloomy rain clouds swirled around the sky above me, as I placed the delicate bouquet of white lilies down. He loved them so much. He loved white lilies so much that when he was six, he tried to eat one. The memories of him echoed in my head as I
kept telling myself that he was gone and never coming back. The pain of those thoughts made me feel like there was no point in life anymore.

As the memories came flooding in, my throat started to feel sore and lumpy. I couldn't hold in any of my thoughts anymore, pouring out all of my feelings was the only solution to my heartache. Just as the wind hit my cheek, my vision blurred and I fell to my knees with my hands buried in my face. I could feel the cold trail of tears streaming down from my eyes. Heavy sobs and sniffs escaped my mouth as I wailed, letting out all the agony I had hidden in the depths of my heart. The never ending tears kept cascading down my sunken face, forming a pool of tears on my lap. Never in my entire life did I ever think that I would have to live without Theo.

As I sat on the muddy ground and wept, grieving my best friend, buckets of rain started to fall. Raindrops trickled down my head and shoulders, eventually pooling around my feet, covering me like a soft spring shower. My hair started to become frizzy but I didn't care, I just wanted to spend my time with Theo. I had taken my best friend for granted and only realised when it was far too late. My head felt heavy and sore. It was throbbing painfully, nothing could stop it. The sound of the rain pouring onto the rough concrete path nearby hushed my wails to a weak whimper, calming my frenzied emotions.

The rain hid my tears and pain, but that didn't stop me from feeling it. However, that soon stopped when I couldn't feel the rain anymore.

'Wait, what?'

As I looked up at the gravestone, I realised that the rain was still pouring around me. Looking up with my smudged mascara and teary eyes, I could make out a figure in a hood, holding up a black umbrella with unique red embroidery on it, over me. Cheeks flushed red, the alcohol I had was not helping me comprehend this situation.

"How did it happen?" a deep but quiet voice politely asked, gesturing towards Theo's gravestone. I knew I was going to regret this later, but I couldn't keep my mouth shut, I just had to tell someone, anyone. After taking a deep breath, I began to release all of my pent up frustration and sadness.

"He was my best mate for a long time. Since childhood actually. All because of an accident that could have been avoided. He died so young...," my voice cracked as my words slurred out. The alcohol was really messing with me at this point.

"What was the accident? Only if you're comfortable with telling me," asked the hooded stranger.

"A motorbike accident."

"Oh."

"Apparently the driver was drunk driving after coming back from the club and just happened to crash into my best friend while he was crossing the road," I explained, cursing the driver. "I lost him 5 months ago exactly, but it only feels like yesterday. I hate whoever did this to him. If I ever find out I'll-" My strong emotions took control over me, as the tears began seeping out again.

I wasn't sure what else I had said. I couldn't quite remember as I was heavily drunk that night. One thing I was quite sure of though was that there probably would have been a storm dripping down my face. I tried to recall the guy's identity, but nothing seemed to click. It was a little embarrassing, I probably seemed pathetic from his point of view, but I was too heartbroken to care about his opinion.

He offered his hand to help me up. I foolishly grabbed his soft palm and stood up with his support. If I tried doing this myself I would have probably slipped into the mud as my vision was blurry. With one hand holding the umbrella and another hand around my waist, he spoke to me softly.
"How are you going to get home?"

"Bus." I spoke, deadpan.

With only a couple of words exchanged, we were off to the bus stop. When we got there, we didn't talk, we just sat in silence with the sound of the rain to fill our thoughts. I liked that, no judgement or need to explain myself. And for once, after a hectic few past months, I felt serene.

The bus slowed down as it saw us waiting.

"Thank you" I croaked.

Getting on the bus, I didn't bother looking back, forgetting most of the events that just occurred.