Free Heaven Sent by E. van Lowe Page A

pride.
    “Maid of honor? So, it’s true, you are getting married.” As much as Erin’s words stung, I tried to make my voice sound easy, but my heart was once again beating like a drum.
    “June twenty-second.”
    “That’s my birthday.” The words dribbled off my tongue. I was shocked it was happening so soon. Guess I’d been hoping for a long engagement.
    “It can’t always be about you, Megan Barnett,” Erin said in a nasty tone. “Sometimes other people matter, too. My wedding day is way more important than your birthday.”
    “Don’t do it.” The words tumbled out of me like rocks in a landslide. I didn’t know I was going to say them, but once they were out, I couldn’t stop myself. “You haven’t even finished high school yet. You have your whole life ahead of you. You’re smart. This doesn’t make any sense.” When the words finished coming, my legs felt wobbly, as though it had taken all of my strength to say what I had to say. I needed to lie down.
    “I’m not going back to school after this semester,” she said.
    “What?” Another shock.
    She narrowed her eyes. There was a mixture of pain and anger in them. “Everybody doesn’t love school like you do, Megan. Besides, I have my whole life ahead of me, right? Isn’t that what you said? I want to get it started.”
    This was crazy talk. The Erin I knew loved school as much as I did. We were AP students together who enjoyed competing for good grades.
    “Erin,” I said, my voice cracking. “I know why you’re doing this, and I’m sorry about Matt. I really am. But you’re overreacting.”
    “This has got nothing to do with Matt.” Her face twisted into an angry knot as she practically spat the words at me. “In fact, I’m glad you broke us up. I never would have met Danny if you hadn’t.”
    “But I didn’t…” My words trailed off. I was totally out of gas.
    “You still can’t handle the truth, can you? You’re pathetic. I can’t believe we were once friends.” She glanced at Millie and smiled. Millie smiled back.
    I wanted to scream out: We’re still friends. Best friends. But with everyone staring at me, I’d lost my nerve.
    “Where’s Danny?” I asked. I didn’t really care where he was, I just couldn’t think of anything else to say.
    “Why? You want to steal him from me, too? He told me about that little crush you had on him.”
    “That was a long time ago.”
    “Right. So were we. But we’re over now.” There was an air of finality about her, as if I was being dismissed.
    “Well… I hope you’ll be very happy.”
    “I already am.”
    The conversation was over. I staggered from the room like a drunken person. The entire encounter had disoriented me, leaving me feeling like a boat adrift at sea. Yet by the time I’d cleared the passageway and was back in the bar, my motor skills had returned. As I rushed through the bar and toward the front door, a man’s voice on the juke box was singing a song about forgetting his woman and losing his friends. I could relate.
    “Hey, where’re ya goin’? I found a good spot for your dollar bill,” I heard the woman who’d been seated by the door call.
    “Next time,” I called back over my shoulder, and pushed through the front door and out onto the street.
    *
    The sun was nearly set when I got back outside, and the wind had begun to blow. It was the kind of wind that gave me the feeling something big was coming.
    Am I causing this?
    I didn’t think I was. I wasn’t angry. I was worried about my friend. I didn’t have any of the feelings I’d had back at the pool. This wind was Mother Nature’s doing.
    I began walking toward the bus stop. As I walked, tiny dust devils spun up in front of me. It was like walking into clouds of smoke. My mind was a kaleidoscope of emotion. I couldn’t believe Erin was actually getting married. I knew I had a lot to do with it, and the guilt of it all was weighing on me, like Atlas shouldering the weight of the world. I