Only the Good Die Young

Chapter Nine

"I have my first ultrasound tomorrow," Michelle says via phone call.

"Thirteen weeks already?"

"I know. Time has practically flew."

"This'll be so exciting! Too bad only the three of us know."

"Right..." Michelle trails off, as if thinking about Peter. I grin. She still hasn't found out that Eric and I have met Peter. Eric doesn't even know about the past two times I've went to see Peter.

"Pretty soon, it'll be Christmas. A month and a half away, about."

"I can't believe it's already November. I'm starting to get a bump, Ryleigh. It's been three months. We should go shopping for big sweaters and maternity clothes soon."

"Totally. Anyway, I have a lot of homework to do," I say, leading the conversation to a close.

"Alright, see you tomorrow."

I hung up. I don't actually have much homework, I just decided to read a book for fun. After my shower and lunch, I went to the public library to get a book for pleasure reading. I haven't had much peaceful me-time lately. The cover of the book said "We Were Liars," by E. Lockhart. It looked new, and I know I haven't read it, but the summary makes it seem pretty cool.

Snuggling under a blanket on my butterfly chair, I begin to read.

•

I wiped a tear off of my cheek. Five hours later, I have two pages left. The ending is so depressing, exactly what I was trying to avoid.

In some way, I feel better. I kind of feel for Cady. Except that I don't plan on giving away my possessions or changing my hair or anything else that she did.

By now it's time for dinner. About a half hour ago, my mother called upstairs announcing that they ordered pizza and my dad went to get a movie. We're having a family night. We haven't had one in a few weeks, she says.

I hop down stairs and follow the aroma of pizza. We have a little pizzeria in town, run by the Wilson family. They make amazing pizza that the whole town is a fan of. On the counter sat the cardboard box, three plates, and a disk case claiming to hold Home, and cute movie I remember seeing a commercial for.

During dinner, we chat about work and school, including me remembering that so far, I have straight A's, which is very impressive for the beginning of November. Mom promises that she'll take me shopping soon as a reward. I tell her it's not necessary; I haven't grown since freshman year, so it's not like I need bigger clothes.

I offered to put away leftovers then do dishes. It was only three plates, so I finished quickly. Then we put the movie on. Towards the end, I cried for the second time today. It felt nice to cry about something fictitious. Almost therapeutic.

I slept well that night, so well that when I awoke, I decided to throw on leggings and a sweatshirt and go run. After all, I'm not in very good shape.

It was chilly out, maybe fifty degrees, but after stretching, I didn't mind. By the time I had done a lap around the block, my legs began to ache. It was only about five minutes, am I really that out of shape? I wondered how Eric could do this with no trouble.

Shaking my head, I gave up and went inside. I showered quickly, got dressed, and cut up a cucumber for breakfast. Mom picked some up from the store especially for me, I may as well eat them while I try to care about my physical being.

Michelle's appointment is after school, where she's getting her first ultrasound. Eric is driving us, but he plans on staying in the waiting room the whole time. I'm far too excited to see the baby to stay with him. Plus, Michelle wants me to be there, so I will. I promised to be there for her the entire time.