Life After Life

•C h a p t e r F o r t y - T h r e e•

Avery had stopped talking next to me and I glanced over at her to see her hand clasped tightly around her coffee, her eyes shooting a smoldering glare at Liam across the hall.

"Let's go, Avery," I said in an even tone, thankful that my voice hadn't given me away. I blinked again, clearing up my blurry eyes.

"That's Liam!" she exclaimed, her jaw clenching. "He's such a skank. You guys haven't even broken up for a week yet and he's already cozying up to another girl."

My lips pressed flat as the dull ache in my heart intensified into a sharp pinch.

"I'll show him," she muttered, taking a step towards him. I interrupted her mission, my hand grasping onto her arm as I tugged her back.

"Don't. He's allowed to talk to other girls, you'd just embarrass yourself, and me," I told her. My voice sounded dejected as I shook my head.

"Fine. He got lucky," she huffed, taking a monstrous gulp of her coffee.

"I'm gonna go to class, will you be okay?" she studied me with cautious eyes, forehead creased. She pitied me, and I didn't want to be pitied now, that was what the weekend had been for.

"Yes, go on. I need to go too," I said, giving her a light shove. She nodded and turned around, heading to her class. She disappeared from my vision, slipping between two different crowds standing idly in the hall.

My eyes trailed over to Liam again across the hall. The beautiful girl was nowhere to be seen now, and he stood alone, his phone in his hands. He seemed to be killing time.

We were both more than late for our lecture now, and Liam made no sign to be heading to class.

Slowly, he tore his eyes away from his phone and they locked with mine.

I swallowed hard. No matter how much my brain demanded that I look away, my body would not listen.

He watched me for a short moment, his eyes conflicted. My feet walked over towards him without my consent. Time slowed when his eyes flickered over to me, and then away and then back to me as he bit down hard on his lip.

His eyes looked just as red as mine were when I looked in the mirror this morning, dark circles were prominent underneath.

I wanted to run to him, and wrap my arms around him. But he didn't give me a chance to.

Liam ran a hand through his hair roughly as he broke his eye contact, walking off.

I blinked, taking a deep breath in attempt to alleviate the sinking feeling in my chest. It didn't work.

With a sigh, I began making my way to class. My body felt numb and reluctant, on autopilot, my brain anywhere but at school.

Our relationship must have really meant so little to Liam that he didn't even want to speak to me, or to work things out. So little that he didn't even bother to text. Tears prickled in the rim of my eyes again, and I swiped them away with the back of my hand.

Blood rushed to my cheeks as I gritted my teeth. I had loved him with all I had, it was clear who fell harder in this relationship.

I scoffed to myself, knowing that it couldn't be true. No one had ever cared about me like Liam had. I refused to believe he didn't like me as much as I did him.

When I reached the class, I was surprised to see Liam's usual desk empty. He was nowhere to be seen. Sam glanced up from his laptop, his eyes meeting mine. He gave me a small smile with heavy eyes, and that was enough to tell me that Liam had told him about what happened.