Recall

Astrea

The sky had bursted with colour. The sunset had turned the sky vibrant shades of orange, red and pink. Astrea checked her phone, sensing more time had passed than she thought. She turned to her two smiling friends and said, "My Dad will be off work soon, I'm going to walk up to the hospital to meet him for dinner."

Izzy's expression turned astonished as Haley opened her mouth to speak, "Are you not going to tell us what happened in there?" She said, motioning to the shop.

Astrea wasn't even sure she knew what happened inside, so to explain that to her friends felt like a daunting task. They hadn't been the best of friends at times, and Astrea wasn't sure she could trust them with believing her.

"I'm not sure, everything just turned dark and I couldn't see," Astrea explained. She watched the waves in the distance crash into the rocks with great force, it was high tide and anyone down on Short beach would be stuck there for a while. The only known entrance to it was through Lost Boy cave on Agate Beach. The cave tunnelled through the point and left you on the secluded beach on the other side. During high tides, the cave would be submerged and there would be no way back until the tides went down.

"That card looked like you Astrea, and she said you had past lives. There had to be more than that," Izzy exclaimed. Astrea shook her head, she didn't have room in her life for superstition. I probably just dozed off and dreamt him, she thought. Her friends stared wide-eyed at her in disbelief. Astrea almost admired how they believed in it so wholeheartedly. After Vera she didn't feel like anything was worth doing or believing.

"I don't think so Izzy, she was just telling you what she thought you wanted to hear," Astrea said.

"No, she's right Astrea. Is there really nothing else you remember?" Haley asked. She stood further back than Izzy, a focused look on her face. Astrea sighed, she wanted nothing more than to escape this discussion.

With the moon slightly visible in the sky, Astrea knew she had to leave or she would miss her father. "I really don't remember," Astrea assured her. "I've got to go now, if I don't get there soon my Dad will have left." The strained smiles on Izzy and Haley's faces were enough to tell her they were disappointed. Every month or so they would come to school with a new story about seeing the psychic, and all the fascinating fortunes she would tell. When Astrea refused to talk about what she saw, she was denying them that.

Izzy waved after her, "See you tomorrow," she called. With one last glance behind her, she took off down the darkened streets to the clinic. The shadows of the tall pines shifted back and forth in time with the calm wind. True, it seemed to whisper, but was disguised by the noises of the ocean. True, howled at her as she quickened her pace. It repeated over and over, getting louder with every second. Astrea shook her head, convinced she was hearing things caused by her lack of sleep from the night before. True, it felt like it was chasing her with its contradicting voice, telling her she was wrong. That perhaps her friends were right and what the psychic said was true. She shook her head again, No, she thought. It's just the wind, stop acting crazy.

The light glow of the clinic's open sign flashed ahead of her. Her father's old Volvo still sat in it's reserved parking space, and Astrea let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. It's cracked grey paint that she was usually ashamed of on the drive to school now felt like a huge relief. Now she was safe and she knew that nothing bad could happen. No weird visions of a boy calling her Ivey or friends who were convinced she was a lier.

The door opened with its usual chime, making the receptionist look up to see her enter. "Hey Astrea," she said, an elbow on the counter propping herself up. Astrea crossed the room to her desk, seeing that the waiting room only contained two other people.

"Will my father be out soon?" She asked. The woman looked down at the folder under her arms, flipping through a few pages.

"Only a few more minutes, you can take a seat if you'd like," She offered. Astrea looked around now seeing the two teenagers who looked only a few years younger than her. The girl smiled weakly through the brown hair that was matted around her face. The boy who Astrea assumed was her brother covered his face with a hand, quiet sobs escaping him every couple of seconds. Astrea wondered what happened, while she took a seat across from the girl.

"Are you okay?" Astrea whispered, noticing the girl's lingering stare.

She nodded, glancing over at her brother. "Yeah, we weren't the ones who got hurt," she said. The boy shifted his hand, pulling his glasses out from underneath and leaving them in his lap.

"It'll be okay one way or the other," Astrea said. "The doctors here are the best," she smiled. The girl pushed some of her thick hair out of her face revealing more of her eyes.

"Thanks," she said, still keeping an eye on her brother. "They said our brother, the one who got hurt, will be fine. He just feels guilty," she smiled, whispering the last part and tilting her head in the direction of her brother.

"I'm Astrea," she said, introducing herself to the girl.

The girl grinned in reply and held out a hand, "Alexis." Astrea shook her hand, and looked over her shoulder at the sound of the door opening.

"Hey, I didn't know you were coming, What a pleasant surprise," Astrea's father said, approaching his daughter. His black hair had turned grey with his age, yet he still refused to admit how old that was. He turned to Alexis and her brother and told them, "Rhys will be just fine, Doctor Santiago is just finishing up."

Alexis let out a sigh of relief and grabbed her brothers hand. He looked up and nodded in gratitude at Astrea's father. "Thank you," he mumbled.

"Well, I'm assuming you're here for a reason?" Astrea's father asked, turning to his daughter.

Astrea shrugged, "Dinner?"

"Am I good to go Denise?" He asked, leaning over the counter to speak to the receptionist. She looked up from her stacks of papers that seemed to have grown in size.

"Yes, we're all good here," she said. She looked exhausted with large purple bags under her eyes and red surrounding them. Astrea wished her father could send her home as well.

"Thanks, see you tomorrow Denise," her father said, walking towards the glass doors.

"Bye Alexis," Astrea called across the room to her newfound friend. She smiled in return and waved her goodbye. Astrea walked outside after her father to the car an odd thought in mind. "Hey Dad, did Alexis look familiar to you?" She asked.

Opening the car doors, he shook his head, "No, they actually just moved into town. How come?" He replied.

"I'm not sure, something about her..." Astrea trailed off. She sat down on the soft passenger seat, trying to figure out why she looked so familiar. Astrea though back to what she looked like, but nothing was clicking.

Her eyes, Astrea finally realized. She couldn't place what it was about them. All she knew is that she had seen those eyes before.

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Hope you liked the chapter! I'm actually really enjoying writing this story and taking a break from The Boy With The Fire In His Heart. What do you think of Astrea so far? Do you like her? Hate her?

Let me know what you thought in a comment! And if you liked it don't forget to vote because that's always helpful!