Second Chances

Five

The hot anger I felt previously started to fade by the time I reached the town beach. I was quite surprised at myself that I still knew how to get here. The sound of my footsteps echoed quietly as I crossed the worn out dock that floated effortlessly on this quiet evening.

I sat down on the edge of the dock, making sure to slide off my shoes. I gripped the side as I dipped my toes in the refreshing cool water.

With nothing but the sun setting and a few stars decorating the evening sky, I felt at ease. The stress in my chest began to decrease. Earlier my body was thundering with different emotions at once, I almost felt like I had no oxygen to breath. Did I expect everything to go smoothly over dinner tonight? No. I knew from the second I left the safety of our house. Nothing will ever be okay here. That's a fact, a fact that I need to accept. I used to think that leaving for a long while would help smooth things over for me, but tonight made it clear that no matter what I do will not help anything at all.

The only thing I could do was put space between myself and everything here. Stay out of harms way and hang onto what little hope I had. I shut my eyes tightly as my mind drifted into a series of endless thoughts. . A face I knew to well popped into my mind. Clear tan skin, blue eyes that reminded me to much of a sunny cloudless sky, a smile that glinted happily, long wavy blond hair cascading past her shoulders.. Ava.

I think of the dark blue lake that is like a pool beneath us, a promise that it'll catch us. I swallow even though my throat is as dry as it could be. I watch her from below, her body descending gracefully from the side of the cliff, the way her arms fling in the air, like she's a human who could fly. I see a moment of freeness written over her face, the way her eyes hide underneath her eyelids as she splashes into the water. I smile.- I flash open my eyes again when I hear somebody approaching me from behind. I take in a deep breath before I turn my head.

An unfamilair face greets me. I'm taken by surprise that I forget to return the smile he's giving me. He suddenly joins me by sitting on the edge of the dock beside me, swinging his feet at a slow pace. "Nothing like watching the sun disappear on a warm evening huh," he says and grins as I watch him watch the distance.

I nod and turn to stare at the lapping water beneath us. "I'm Dylan," he offers his hand to me and for a second I freeze, wondering if he knows who I am. Everybody in this town knows of the tragedy that happened here all those years ago. It's not like much people move here, Perriton is usually the last on anybody's list on places to move too. But I take his hand and shake it anyways.

 "Alexandria," I introduce myself. He smiles at me before looking away.

"So you must be new here," Dylan says matter-of-factly. I smile a little, forcing myself to keep from laughing.

I shrug, "you can say that." I turned my attention towards the sky, taking a deep breath. A rush of cool air greets my face.

But when I look back at Dylan, a confused look is set on his face and I grin, amused by his confusion at my response.  I can see him trying to recall a time he might've seen me.

"I lived here five years ago."

Dylan's eyes soften as I answered his unsaid question.

"Ahhh, that explains it," he says while smirking. "Then in that case I'm the new one here." This time I actually laughed.  

There's a short moment of silence before it's filled with the sound of Dylan's masculine voice.

"I moved here about three years ago, long after you were gone. You see, my parents are chefs, they own a business and we've been moving around, expanding the chain of restaurants. So far, this place seems to stick." He tells me, I can feel his eyes on me as I continue dipping my feet in the water.