Eden

Chapter 6: Formal Night

Noah's POV

"Can I get another glass please?" Mom holds out her empty wine glass. The waiter reluctantly pours her a third cup of wine and she guzzles it down discreetly. I don't bother intervening. Liam and I both know three glasses is not enough to put her under the table.

"This place is the shit," Liam mumbles as he shoves another piece of perfectly seasoned steak into his mouth.

"Liam, watch your mouth," mom quietly snaps at him. Liam rolls his eyes disobediently and she shakes her head in annoyance. Family dinners are my favorite. 

"This place is super nice." I attempt to ease the tension, observing the glistening chandelier hanging above me. On land, this would be the kind of restaurant that you'd need to book a month in advance. The large room is decorated in long embroidered curtains, white marble flooring, and large mullioned windows that allow you to see the waves rolling by. This place is high class, no doubt about it.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot a waiter leading some familiar faces to a seat a few tables away from us. I almost didn't recognize her for a moment.

Jade trails behind Kai and two adults, her stylish, flowy white dress swirls around her knees. It's definitely not the style she wore in the arcade this morning or when I first met her. On Bella, that dress would look like her usual classy outfit that came out of a fashion show. On Jade...it makes me miss the jeans with holes.

I quickly avert my stare and turn towards mom. "So we eat at this restaurant every formal night?"

"Yeah," mom responds, digging her fork into her salad. "There are four formal nights."

I sneak another peek at Jade. Guess this isn't the last I've seen of her. She hugs her arms to her body tightly as she sits across from a middle-aged couple. Why do I remember her telling me she was here with her grandparents?

That couple is definitely not old enough to be her grandparents, and it's easy to say that they look nothing like Kai or Jade.

Did she lie?

I shake it off and take a large bite out of my seared salmon. Her life is none of my business. She'd tell me the same thing if I confronted her.

I find myself looking around for Bella instead. I know she's not mine anymore, but it bothers me that we left things so up in the air this morning.

My search is interrupted as the lighting drastically dims. The entire room fills with curious and bemused whispers as a shadowy figure struts onto a large platform in the center of the room.

"Is everyone enjoying their vacation so far?" he shouts into a microphone as a spotlight falls onto him, highlighting his expensive blue tuxedo and glistening Rolex watch. Everything about his look just screams I'm loaded.

The crowd roars with excitement and he beams brightly. "Alright! I'm glad everyone's enjoying themselves! My name is Jason Cohen. For many years, my family and I have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to this very cruise line."

Did he just say his last name is Cohen? Like Bella Cohen? His golden blonde hair and crystal blue eyes shine brightly under the glare of the spotlight.

The pieces of the puzzle begin to fit together nicely in my head. Bella has told me before that her parents are big philanthropists. Could this be her dad?

Bella never spoke about her parents much. In the four months we dated, I've only met her mom once. The countless times I've been to her house, it seems like the only person who's ever been home has been her butler.

"As of this year, I'm officially on the Board of Directors for Eden Cruise Line." The man onstage readjusts the shiny gold watch on his wrist. "So tonight...we've invited a few of the members of the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra to play for all of you! And you're welcome to come dance on this stage!"

Exhilarated gasps and giggles flood the room. Mom looks so excited that she might fall out of her seat. Liam and I exchange unimpressed looks. I have no clue who that band is even though clearly everyone else here does.

A dozen people holding classical instruments surround the bottom of the platform and immediately begin to play music. As other couples begin to gather on the stage and sway slowly to the music, the excited smile on Mom's face begins to fade into a frown.

"Aren't you going to go dance?" Liam asks insistently.

Mom shifts uncomfortably in her seat, her hand slowly inching towards her glass of wine. "I'm tired."

Liam and I exchange quiet looks.

We both know it's because Dad's not here to dance with her.

I can't help but feel the need to do something. She's rough around the edges, but she's still my mom.

"Here." I stand up and extend my hand to her. She looks up in confusion, her pale green eyes blink weakly at me. I look over at Liam and he nods, urging me to go on.

"Come dance with me."

A hint of a smile hides behind her bold red lipstick as she hesitantly takes my hand.

I walk Mom to the stage, and we begin to slowly sway to the violins as she rests her head on my chest. My ears pick up the sound of her muttering something quietly. I can't quite figure out what she said, but it almost sounded like I'm sorry.

My heart aches as I cling to her words, telling myself that's what she actually said. I close my eyes and let myself drown into the delicate melody of the harp. Just for a minute, I want to believe those words were real. We sway side to side in sync to the music, and for the first time in a long time—she actually feels like my mom.

Suddenly, I feel her slowly backing away from me. There goes my fleeting moment of peace.

"I'm feeling a little sick. I'm gonna go back to my room." She smiles faintly. Her eyes appear glossy as she squints underneath the glare of the spotlight, almost as if she's trying to keep herself from crying.

I nod quietly.

As she stumbles off the stage, I stand alone awkwardly, unsure of what to do. Mom never used to be like this. Growing up, she was always the strongest person I knew. She'd come home from her law office each day and tell Liam and me about the bad people she'd put behind bars, and in my eyes, she was a hero. She was my hero. Now when I look at her, all I see a shell of the woman she once was.

Empty. Broken. Alone. 

And it's all my fault. 

Finally, I manage to fight back the heartache stabbing at my chest and get off the stage. Liam greets me as I get back to the table, concern flickering in his warm brown eyes. 

"What happened?"

I let out a sigh. "What always happens."

 Liam doesn't say anything, but he nods understandingly. We don't have to thoroughly discuss what happened for him to understand what I'm feeling right now. Mom has always blamed him more for what happened to Dad than she blames me. Even when she shouldn't.

"You know what?" Liam wraps his arm around me. "Let's go do something fun."

I chuckle. "I'm not in the mood to pick up girls right now,"

"Oh no, I have something even better in mind." A smile spreads across his face as he pulls me out of my chair.

"What is it?" I ask as he drags me towards the exit.

He completely ignores my question, but the sly grin remains on his face. As we get into an elevator, I can't help but wonder what I've just gotten myself into.

A/N: Where could Liam be taking Noah? Find out in the next chapter! Don't forget to vote if you liked this chapter :)