In This Life (Sequel to 'In Another Life')

105 Colby's POV

"Bygones, I suppose. Come give Mother a hug." We walked up the stairs, hand in hand, until we reached the porch. Terra let go of my hand and embraced her mother stiffly. The lady embraced her just as stiffly. "Okay, let's not stay in this heat any longer than you've already had us out here. Come inside. Make sure you leave your shoes at the door," she said, releasing her daughter, and walking in front of us. Terra shot me an apologetic look. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, but she shook it off and took my hand. I didn't understand why, but okay. We followed her mom, excuse me, mother into the house, then she stopped and turned to face us. "Shoes please," she motioning towards our feet, with what I was beginning to think was just her resting bitch face. Terra didn't say a word, and started removing her shoes, so I did the same. When we had put our shoes neatly up against the hallway wall, her mother nodded her approval, and motioned for us to follow her. I couldn't help but admire the home. It was beautifully structured, but the decor was a little too stuffy for my taste. All of the walls were white, with black framed photos on the walls in basic designs. The closer we got, I realized that these were all professionally done family portraits. I stopped, needing to see the young girl that Terra use to be. I realized that I hadn't actually seen any pictures of her childhood. The baby in the first photo was adorable, as babies usually are, but her parents were stiff and formal, not even smiling. Her mother didn't even look comfortable holding Terra. I was shocked again with how much Terra looked like her, but there were big differences. There was no joy in this woman's eyes. Her appearance was always immaculate, leaving me to wonder if she had ever just ridden in a car with the windows down, allowing it to muss her hair. Probably not. Her father wasn't much better. Standing straight backed behind her mother, Mr. Brooks' face was stoic and stiff, one hand placed on her mother's shoulder while he stared directly into the camera. What got me the most was the clothes. Her father was wearing a suit that I could was heavily starched just from the photo. Her mother was wearing a dark navy blue dress, to match his suit, that dipped just below her knees. The other photos were the same. Same stoic expressions, same pose. Just a different little girl. At first, Terra's eyes were shining in the photos, her smile genuine, but with each photo, I could see the progression of this beautiful, care free little girl losing her joy. The light dimmed, and her smile faded, until she too, wore the same expression as her parents. This pissed me off so much so, that when Terra called my name, I snapped at her. "Colby, are you coming?" "What? Yea, I'm coming," I answered, my voice harder than I wanted it to be. She looked at me with a hurt, quizzical expression that tore at my heart. I could see her mother's disapproving look out of the corner of my eye, but I ignored her. When I reached Terra's side, I leaned wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to me. I kissed the top of her head, and murmured "I'm sorry." I didn't like the way she stiffened in my arms, but I knew it was because of her parents. This was going to be a hard visit. "Let's no dawdle anymore. We have plans tonight, and your impromptu visit has put us behind schedule." I was seriously starting to dislike this woman. "Mother, we can go and I'll just see you at the service," Terra said quietly. "Nonsense. You're already here. Might as well see your father. Come along," she said, sounding like she couldn't fathom why Terra would say such a thing. We entered another room, and I was taken aback by the size of it. I could probably fit my bedroom in this room three times over, it was so large. In the middle of the room sat an uncomfortable looking, pristine white couch, with black throw pillows on each corner. It was accompanied by two straight backed white chairs. I was beginning to feel like I was in a damn operating room with all of the white, but I swear an operating room has more color. The occasional drop of black was so stark in comparison that it just looked out of place. There was a fireplace in this room, black brick of course, and a white book shelf with black trim. The room was so blindingly  bright, it made me want to squeeze my eyes shut. The beautiful mahogany finished flooring looked severely out of place. "Please excuse the mess. We're having our tiling redone in this room," her mother said. That explained the floors but what mess? God forbid these people ever set foot in the Trap House. And why would you ever put tile over these floors? They were gorgeous. These people are crazy. Okay, that was rude. They're Terra's parents. Maybe I just needed to get to know them. I had my doubts but I tried to keep an open mind. "Have a seat. Your father will be in, in a moment," she said, motioning her hand towards the couch. Terra sat, and I took a seat next to her. "Mother,-" Terra started to say but her mother held her hand up, stopping her. "Whatever it is can wait until your father gets in here. You've waited this long to introduce me to your friend here, so even that can wait until he gets in here. Of course, it would've been nice to know this young mans name before he entered my home," she replied. I didn't like the tone she was using towards her daughter either.