Never Again

Chapter 11: Secrets

Hey all, this chapter is a bit longer than usual and I included the music I listened to while writing this chapter: Ludovico Einaudi - Le Onde. I hope it will make you understand the chapter a bit better!

After the sudden downpour in the garden the sun came out again and it looked like the sky had been blue the whole day. Keira undid herself from her wet shoes and found a place for them to dry. Abby had already turned on the shower when Keira got upstairs. She chuckled, Abby must have been really cold then. She opened her cabinet to find some dry clothes and put them neatly on the bed, waiting for Abby to finish. The wet clothes were sticking to her body and trying to get them off proved to be rather difficult. She had already pulled of her shirt and her pants when she heard the door of her bedroom opening.

'Hey Keir, do you have a new bottle of-,' Abby abruptly stopped talking and her eyes were focused on Keira.

Shit, she thought. She felt Abby's eyes on her body and she quickly tried to cover herself up with her wet shirt, needless to say that it didn't help very much.

'My God, Keir, what happened to you?' Abby's eyes were fixated on Keira's body in astonishment.

'Nothing, fell during one of my walks, nothing serious,' Keira screwed her eyes shut.

'Oh Keir,' Abby's voice trembled and Keira saw tears forming in her eyes.

'Really, it's nothing. I'm fine,' Keira tried to force a smile, but failed. This was not really happening, this wasn't supposed to be happening. She felt embarrassed and she didn't have any excuses left to make. Tears were welling up in her eyes and she felt her body crumple. She sat down on the bed and tried to make herself as small as possible, not wanting Abby to see more and not daring to catch her eyes. She had became so skilled in hiding and covering up, that she thought it would pass by unnoticed. But now she had failed, failed to hide her mistakes. She felt the mattress dip and Abby reached out to take her hand. Keira tried to pull away, but Abby's grip was firm and she didn't let go.

'Keir,' Abby's voiced sounded small, 'talk to me please. What happened, who did this to you?'

'No one,' Keira felt her voice break.

'You couldn't have done this to yourself Keir, someone has been hurting you. By the looks of it for a long time already,' Abby was crying. 'Oh Keir, why didn't you tell me?'

'I was scared,' Keira focussed her attention on the floor.

'Of course you were scared, that's normal Keir,' Abby pulled Keira into a cautious hug.

'I feel so embarrassed, I didn't want you to know. I didn't want anyone to know,' Keira blinked furiously.

'But why? I could've helped you,' Abby said helplessly.

'Because it's my own fault, I didn't make it stop. I didn't want to be a burden to anyone.'

'This is not your fault, do you hear me?' Abby had grabbed Keira's face. 'Please believe me, this isn't your fault!'

Their eyes met, but Keira broke it off. She felt the tears dripping on her knees and shivered from the droplets touching the skin. She was cold, really cold. She wasn't wearing any clothes except from her underwear and she was still soaked from the rain. Abby must have noticed her shivering, because she grabbed the blanket that was laying on the bed and tucked it around her body.

'Oh Keir, I wish I had known. How could I've been so stupid and not notice something before,' Abby sounded dejected and her hands were trembling.

'It's not your fault, it's mine,' Keira said woefully. Her head was foggy and she felt guilt starting to rise.