Life After Life

• C h a p t e r T e n•

I let out a nervous laugh, plastering a smile on my face, "Hi Mrs. Rivera, it's so nice to see you."

"Thalia, what brings you here?" she held an incredulous expression on her face, but she seemed happy to see me at least.

"Yeah Thalia, what does bring you here?" Liam smiled, feigning surprise. I eyed him, for once, speechless. I opened my mouth and shut it again.

Well, I was here to rip Liam a good one but not anymore I guess.

"Oh who cares, it's wonderful to see you," Susan said, shoving Liam slightly out of the way. He grunted, rolling his eyes. "Come on in."

"N-no, I'm good," I said quickly. "I'm just here to return Liam's pen that he lent me." Liam raised an eyebrow at my fib and I almost cringed. A pen. Why was that the only thing I could come up with?

"Oh, how sweet of you," Susan looked between Liam and I. "Well, it's no matter. We'll be seeing each other often in the future."

Often? The last thing I needed was to see Liam often. I'd had enough of him in class. He suppressed his laughter at his mom's comment.

I slapped a smile on my face, "Yeah, exactly."

Susan's face lit up, "Liam and I baked some cookies yesterday, I'm going to go fetch some for you to take home!"

"No, there's no need for that," I said quickly, but by then, she was already gone, leaving Liam and I at the door alone.

Liam shuffled from side to side on his feet, his eyes flitting to mine and then looking away quickly. We bathed in an awkward silence for a few moments.

"You bake?" I couldn't help but sound surprised, my voice cut through the silence like a knife.

"I'm a man of many talents," he replied with a crooked smile.

"Yes and driving isn't one of them," I raised an eyebrow at him and his smile turned sheepish.

Susan returned, with a paper bag in her hands, beaming, "Here it is. I'm sure you and your family will love it."

I couldn't help but smile. It was adorable how excited she was.

"Thank you, Mrs. Rivera," I took the bag from her hands, giving her my brightest smile. "I'll make sure to get my parents to try it. I guess I'll see you around, Liam."

Without waiting for Susan to say anything, I turned and hurried down the cement path back to the safety of my bike.

I'd clipped on my helmet fast, placing the cookies in the compartment below my seat and sped off on my bike. The last thing I needed was to have lunch with Liam and his mom. I could barely face Liam for a minute without getting annoyed.

Liam's house was not far from mine and I pulled up on my own driveway within a few minutes. There were no cars parked there besides mine, letting me know that I had the house to myself.

I walked up the stone steps to the front doors. Just as I walked in and kicked my shoes off — something my mom would kill me for — my phone vibrated from within my pocket.

As I made my way to the kitchen, I fished my phone out of my pocket, only to see an email from Liam. My eyebrows furrowed at the sight of it.

Rarely anyone sent emails unless it was for professional reasons. I was not in any way involved with Liam in a professional way — my parents and his parents were.

Nevertheless, I clicked into it to view.

Hey Thalia,

I got your email from the class list, I hope you appreciate the effort ;)