Life After Life

•C h a p t e r T w e n t y - F i v e•

I dragged myself out of the car along with Jackson and my dad, stepping into the crisp, cool night. The crescent moon was bright, illuminating the dark sky.

"Give me one second," my mom stayed seated in the passengers' seat, the mirror opened as she slapped on another layer of deep red lipstick.

I glanced down at my own outfit, from my tight black sweater to my plaid skirt and pumps.

My mom had specifically bought those shoes for me, insisting that I wear them for tonight. I didn't mind heels, just that most of them pinched my heel and toes uncomfortably. I'd also followed my dad's suggestion and curled my dark hair.

Both my dad and brother put in effort and put on a dress shirt and pants, while my mom was dressed in a plain black dress.

My family had been given the honour of being invited by their investor to watch a play — Macbeth. I had read it in high school, and I remembered it being quite ridiculous.

"Alright, I'm ready," my mom stepped out of the car, shutting the door behind her. "How's my hair?"

"You look great, honey," my dad said immediately and Jackson rolled his eyes. "Now come on, we don't want to be late."

Together, we headed into the theatre, stepping onto the carpeted floor. The walls were plastered with posters introducing the performances that would be going on.

Crowds of people gathered, just like my family and all dressed elegantly. They talked with one another, bright smiles adorning their faces. I knew those smiles were fake, probably just to suck up to another person. It was hard to find genuine people in life after all.

"The Riveras are here already too," my dad beamed, walking in ahead of my mom, Jackson and I.

I glanced in the direction of where my dad was heading, to see Liam with his parents. I should have known I'd see Liam here, after all, his parents and mine shared the same investor.

"You're so lucky," Jackson spoke up from next to me as we followed my dad to where Liam was.

"Why?" I rolled my eyes, raising an eyebrow.

"Cause your friend is always there wherever we go," he replied, straightening out the collar on his shirt. "At least you got someone to talk to during this stupid thing. I hate Macbeth."

"Liam is not my friend," I glared at Jackson for even thinking that. He only looked at me like I was insane.

We brushed past different groups of people as we walked, before finally stopping in front of the Riveras, where Susan and Robert immediately began chatting away with my parents. My ears automatically tuned their greetings out and instead, my eyes landed on Liam.

A grin spread over his face as he approached me, "Fancy seeing you here."

"You know, I've been wondering why it's always you," I gave him a blank stare to which he only let out a light chuckle. He had also dressed elegantly in a black suit, though he was missing a tie. My eyes trailed down to his hand, where he held onto a woman's purse.

His eyes followed mine to his hand, and for a split second, they widened, "It's my mom's, I'm just holding it for her."

"Calm down, I didn't think it was yours," I muffled my laugh. A moment of silence settled between us as I shuffled between my feet, gaining the courage to say what I needed. Finally, I swallowed hard, "Thanks for what you did at school, with Hunter."

"Don't worry about it, he's an ass anyways," Liam shrugged it off.

We turned our attention to our parents, where my mom was waving for me to come over. There was another man with them, one I'd never met before. He was much older than my dad, with his hair already greying, dressed in a brown suit.