After the Sun Sets (18+)

CHAPTER 25a - Rapture pt.2

Owen was pacing around the living room, mumbling to himself like a madman, trying to calm down his frantic heart as he waited for her to get ready.

Little did he know that Lora too was going round in circles upstairs in her bedroom, stopping to stare at the woman in the mirror. She looked like a movie star in her brand-new, red dress. It wasn't like anything else in her wardrobe. It was beautiful, bold, figure-hugging but not too tight, and since she had put on a bit of weight recently, (too many pancakes), she filled it out nicely. The dress had a high neckline and a low back and went down to just below her knees. It was nothing like she was used to, but she went shopping with Cara a few days ago and she insisted she needed to start wearing colour again and this was just perfect for her.

Lora stared at her reflection for the hundredth time. For the first time, she saw her resemblance to Hannah, with her adult body and the tight dress and her long, brown hair with golden streaks. Only her eyes were different, wide and round and scared. Nothing like Hannah's soft, almond ones.

"What am I doing?" she asked herself.

No. Not herself. Hannah.

No. Not Hannah. Not Hannah.

She hurried out of the bedroom before she could hear the answer she knew would only come in his voice. Head lowered and walking fast, she slammed straight into a slight figure with a high bun, comfy pyjamas and a bag of crisps in her hand.

"Krista! I'm so sorry, I didn't see you," she apologised reaching out to stabilise herself on her heeled shoes.

Krista's jaw dropped at the sight of her. "You look amazing!"

Lora shuffled her feet and clenched her fists to stop her fingers from going to her mouth. "You don't think it's too much?" she asked in a tiny voice.

A sheepish smile appeared on Krista's round face. "Dad would have flipped, but you look great."

Lora smiled back warmly but as she opened her mouth to thank her, her voice got stuck in her throat. She suddenly felt, there was no other word for it, sad.

Something inside her chest constricted as she studied her niece, so mature for her age, just like her big sister, because she too had to grow up too soon, too fast. She too found herself in a life that was the complete opposite of what it should have been and it was funny how, while everyone was always so conscious of stubborn, rebellious Jess's struggles, nobody, including Lora, ever really gave that much thought about quiet, malleable, Krista.

"Are you okay with this, Krista? Owen and I? And him being around here so much? I'm sorry, I know I should have asked sooner but really, even now I don't know what to tell you. I mean, I can barely make sense of it myself."

Krista gave her another timid smile and she seemed to really consider her answer before speaking. "We want you to be happy, Aunt Lora. I can't say that I understand everything that's going on, but you deserve to be happy."

Lora nodded slowly at the young girl's answer, not sure what to make of it. "How come you're not going out with Karl tonight?" she asked.

Krista shrugged and then opened the packet of crisps she'd been holding. "Jess had a date so I told him I'm babysitting. And I know you won't like it if he comes over when you're not here, so-"

"Wait... What?" Lora interrupted. "Jess has a date? Please, don't tell me it's with James!"

"It's not James," Krista said casually munching on a crisp. "It's this guy from my Medico-Legal class. He's a year younger than her but he's super cool."

Lora thought her brain was going to explode. Thinking about it, she had noticed that Jess was a bit chipper these past few days but it hadn't crossed her mind that she had finally moved on from James enough to go on a date with someone else. Then again, her own husband died a mere month ago and yet here she was, a new person, in a new dress, ready to go out with a new guy.