I had spent that entire night doing homework, studying until no other thoughts could fill my mind. Three assignments later, my legs were numb and I was starving. I opened the fridge, but I didn’t really feel like the leftover lasagne from the night before. I glanced at the clock and sighed. Nine o’clock. I should have eaten hours ago, but I didn’t really feel like dinner.
My phone vibrated on the couch and I reached down to grab it.
‘HEY BABE, GOT EXCITING NEWS. YOU BUSY? XX’
I sighed. She always had such crazy shit going on in her life. Harper was a weird one. She’d been my best friend since we were little, and she still is these days. But her life was always insane.
‘NOT BUSY AT ALL, WAS JUST MAKING SOME BROWNIES. COME OVER WHENEVER :D’ I replied, getting out the ingredients necessary for brownies. It didn’t take me long to prepare. After all, brownies are my speciality. They were in the oven within five minutes.
While I waited for them to cook, I made sure that my trackies looked okay, that my chocolate brown hair was still neat, and reapplied my eyeliner. I sighed, looking at my appearance in the mirror. I couldn’t be as obsessive as I normally was tonight. This would just have to do.
The doorbell rang just as I was taking the brownies out of the oven, and Harper walked in, a whirlwind as always.
‘So,’ she said, striking a pose, ‘What do you think?’
To be honest, at the time, I couldn’t think of anything that was different. Maybe the hair? ‘Nice haircut.’
She looked up, startled, ‘Well… Thank you, but that totally wasn’t what I was referring to.’
She brushed her peroxide blonde fringe from her eyes as she spoke. And that was when I noticed it. The ring. Five tiny diamonds encased in white gold. I stared.
‘Nice ring.’ I tried again.
‘About time you noticed. Guess what!’ She grabbed a brownie from the plate and flopped down on my couch, pushing my laptop up onto the windowsill.
I couldn’t even reply. I sat staring at her ring, realising that it was on her fourth finger, on her left hand.
‘I’m ENGAGED!’ she cried, clearly exasperated that I hadn’t asked yet.
‘Tyler proposed? But it’s so close to the end of the year. Shouldn’t you guys think about this more after your exams?’ My common sense had returned.
Harper just rolled eyes at me, ‘You aren’t happy.’
‘I am happy for you. It’s just that I think you shouldn’t be getting too distracted this time of year.’ I walked over to her and gave her the most enormous hug I could. ‘Of course I’m happy for you.’
‘I know you are,’ she said with a smile. ‘Anyway, there was another reason this couldn’t wait until tomorrow. I wanted to ask you if you would be my bridesmaid.’
An immediate, involuntary shudder went down my spine at the word. Bridesmaid. ‘Bridesmaid?’
Harper laughed, ‘Of course. Who else would I want?’
I hugged her again. ‘Of course I will. I’m so honoured you asked me.’
Long after she left I sat on the couch, staring out the window, into the darkness of that cold, stormy night. Bridesmaid?
***
The girl could have been no more than thirteen years old. She stood at the front of the old chapel, in a soft yellow dress that fell to her knees. In her hands she held a beautiful bouquet of white lilies and tiny white flowers. Her flowing chocolate coloured hair fell half way down her back, and was curled in neat ringlets. She was a pretty girl, quite short for her age but subtly beautiful. Her smile was emphasised by the subtle make up she wore, but it didn’t reach her pale grey eyes. Eyes that showed nothing but pain and fear. She smiled a little wider as the bride came down the aisle, blushing in her pure white wedding dress. The girl avoided looking at the rows of chairs, at the people gathered around for this ‘happy’ occasion. She avoided the eyes that she knew were watching her.
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