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

114

"No. Jealousy would mean that I was worried about another guy's relationship with you. I'm not worried. I was simply making it known that you are mine and will always be mine," he replied, shrugging. "Simple as that." "So I'm your property now, am I?" I said, putting my arms back around his neck. "Nope. Not property. Just mine. Just like I'm yours." His blue eyes burned into mine, as I took in his words. "Well, you're right about that. You own my heart Colby Brock," I said, pressing my lips to his. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." We hung out outside for a little while longer, until I knew that we had no choice but to go inside. I prayed that my parents had left but no such luck. We entered the back door, where people were filling their plates with the food that Mrs. Gail had made. A few people stopped us, asking how I was doing, exclaimed how grown I had gotten, etc. Most of these people hadn't seen me since I was about sixteen, simply because when I started driving, I did my best to stay away from everyone. Except my friends of course. The trip inside was slow, with everyone wanting to talk, and me introducing Colby, but we finally made it inside. I saw my parents, with their backs to me, talking to the Preacher of our local church. Obviously, we had more than one church, but he was the one who ran ours, and he would be giving the sermon at Amber's service tomorrow. I pulled Colby along with me, rushing out of the living room as fast as I could to avoid people. We stopped at the end of the hall, outside of Amber's door. It was cracked open, and I could see a few people inside, one of them being her mother. I hadn't seen Amber's mom in years, not since we were little, before Amber and I became friends. "Are you ready for this?" Colby asked, squeezing my hand gently. I cleared my throat and nodded. "Yeah, I think so." I wasn't, but I felt like it would be rude not to go see her. I pushed open the door, and saw JJ and Levi standing to the back of the room. Both of their eyes were red and watery, which kind of surprised me. I didn't know that they really cared about her like that. They looked up when we walked in, so I tossed my hand up in recognition. Amber's mother was standing next to the open casket, tears streaming down her face. Her mother had never been the best, always choosing men over her daughter, not believing Amber when she told her that one of her boyfriends molested her, and mostly staying drunk all the time. I guess she was still her mother though. I honestly didn't even think my mother would care if I were the one in that casket. Maybe she would care that I made her look bad if I had passed the same way as Amber, but otherwise, all of the attention would be on her, so she would make sure to act and dress appropriately. I shook the morbid thoughts from my brain, and stepped up behind Amber's mother. I realized that I didn't even remember her name. She turned, and saw me standing there with Colby. She sniffed loudly, and wiped her eyes, and then her nose with a tissue that was in her clenched fingers. "Terra?" She asked, her watery hazel eyes widening. I nodded. "Yes ma'am. I'm sorry for your loss. She's going to be missed." I didn't know what else to say to the woman that should've raised her daughter. She nodded. "Yes, she will be. I don't know if I believe in an afterlife, but if there is a Heaven and Hell, I'm not sure where she will end up. I tried with her. I really did, but she was just always so wild." She stopped, and wiped her eyes again. All I could think of was how she was so full of shit, and that she was using the same tissue to wipe her eyes that she had just wiped her nose with. "I couldn't handle her, ya know? I tried. I swear," she said, her voice cracking. I didn't reply, since it sounded like she were talking to herself more than she was talking to me. Instead, I stepped up to the casket, pulling Colby with me. Her mother moved, and sat down in one of the chairs that was sitting behind us. I had been avoiding looking directly at the casket since I walked in the room, but I now I took it all in. The image that I had seen when they first brought her in was the same. Amber lie there, with her thick hair spread out around her on the pillow, her makeup on point, her hands folded across her stomach. Only, this time, she wasn't in there. It was just a shell. Maybe I was starting to accept it, even though it still made my chest ache. "I'll never forget you," I whispered, smoothing her hair down against the side of her face. I stood there another moment, Colby beside me for support, wondering when the tears would come. They were supposed to come. Maybe I was cried out. Maybe I just didn't want to face it right now. Either way, my eyes remained dry. I turned to Colby and wrapped my arms around his waist. "I'm ready to go," I said quietly. He nodded, and leaned down to kiss me. I waved at JJ and Levi, then walked out of the room, my hand in Colby's. "I need to find Mrs. Gail. To tell her that I'm leaving and see if she has anyone helping her clean up after all of this," I said, searching the crowd that was in the living room. She wasn't in there, so we went to the kitchen. "Oh God," I groaned, spotting Mrs. Gail over by the back door, speaking to my parents. "Do you want to just leave, and call her later?" Colby asked quietly. I shook my head. "No. That would be rude. Might as well get it over with." We pushed past people, saying excuse me multiple time to get to Mrs. Gail.