Only the Good Die Young

Chapter Eight

"I like the name Alex," Michelle suggests.

"For a boy or a girl?" I ask, drawing two circles on the board with an overlapping space.

"Either. According to Baby Names dot com, it means 'Defender of the People.'"

"Too cheesy," Eric interjects.

"Well, what do you have, hm?"

"I like the name Keegan. It means 'Descendant of the Fiery One,' perfect name for your kid."

"Ha, ha, ha."

I roll my eyes and write both names in their corresponding circles. This is going to take a while for them to come up with anything good. I grab my notebook off of my desk and flip to the most recent page.

"For a boy, I like the name Charlie," I try. Neither are listening. "It means 'Free Man,' so it fits perfectly."

"What, Ryleigh?" Michelle turns to me. 'Free Man' must've caught her attention.

"Charlie. It means 'Free Man.' I thought it fit pretty well."

"I like it. Write it."

Instead of trying to say all of my other ideas, I just handed Michelle my notebook. She reads it with Eric looking over her shoulder. Then she smiles.

"Looks like Ry did her homework."

"I always do," I reply, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear. Michelle reads off the other five names I had written so I can write them on the board.

"Alright, you can erase Alex. I like Theodore, Noah, Charlie, and Keegan for boys and Alice, Esme, and Abigail for girls."

"What do they mean? You were too shaky," Eric asks.

"Theodore means divine gift, Noah means rest or peace, Charlie means free man, Keegan means descendant of the fiery one, which is yours, then Alice means of a noble kin, Esme means loved, and Abigail means joy of the Father," I state from memory.

"I like Abigail and Charlie the most. They're so fitting," Eric says.

"Oh, and I looked up our names. Mine means descendant of Roghallach, which makes no sense. Yours means always ruled, Michelle's means Who is like God? and Simon's means to be heard. Which is actually very fitting also." I was half tempted to read Peter's name off, too. It means rock, anyway which doesn't make much sense.

"I guess someone actually did their homework," Michelle says, looking down.

"Nah, I haven't done AP Chem homework yet. Thanks for reminding me, though."

I reach for my backpack and pull out my binder and a pencil. Michelle and Eric continued discussing names while I finished. I couldn't help but smile. My two best friends.

•

"I change my mind, I don't like our costume idea," I say, covering my eyes. Michelle stood me in front of a floor length mirror after I got dressed.

"Ryleigh, this is my last chance to go all out before people would notice my baby bump. If you don't come, I'm getting an abortion."

"No! Sorry, just please keep the baby."

"That's what I thought. Eric, you can come in now."

Eric's been waiting behind the door for the last fifteen minutes, waiting for us to get dressed. Now he gets to speculate while Michelle does makeup.

He whistles as he walks in. Then Eric pecks my lips and eyes me up and down. I don't feel so bad about wearing a skirt and a crop top at the end of October anymore. He smiles as Michelle pushes my butt into the seat. We're at my house, since her dad is just on call tonight and is sitting in the living room with the landline in his lap. I had to chat with him while Michelle gathered her stuff.