Page 71 of Heathen

He's out the door in the next breath, and I fight the urge to chase him down the stairs and beg him to keep me.

Pride and my heartbreaking history keep me rooted in place, wondering exactly what the right choice is and knowing when I finally make that decision, I have to do the complete opposite, because Ialwaysmake the wrong choice.

Instead of sitting and stewing in my choices, I grab my phone and call Morgan. She doesn't answer, but no sooner do Iput my phone back down does it start ringing, her smiling face looking up at me from the bedside table.

The bravery I felt when I called her a second ago has already faded, but I know it would be weird to call her and then not answer when she calls right back, so I connect the call and place the phone to my ear.

"If you're calling to cancel your attendance at my party, you better think again," she says before I can even say hello.

I want to argue that there are many more important things going on in people's lives than a Halloween party, but I know it would only be a waste of breath. She has a one-track mind, and this party has been at the forefront of hers for the last several months.

"I'm not canceling," I assure her because, honestly, if I wasn't planning on attending, I'd just not go and then lie about something coming up.

Not that I'd hurt her feelings like that.

The difference between Morgan and me is that she has a ton of friends whereas she's my only one.

"Good," she says. "How's married life treating you?"

"Ugh," I groan, pressing my fingertips into the space between my eyebrows.

"Honeymoon over already?"

"What honeymoon?" I mutter.

"That's not a good sign," she says. "What's going on?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," I say rather than explaining the entire situation and asking for help.

I know what my friend would say. She'd urge me to see where it goes, to be open and honest, and tell Ellis exactly how I feel.

The difference is that Morgan is the heartbreaker rather than the one getting her heart broken. When I told her about Troy and what he did, she couldn't fathom not being able to seethrough his bullshit. It's one of the things that makes me mad at her sometimes. She doesn't really form connections with the men in her life. It's as if they're all playthings and she can discard them without repercussion extremely easily.

"Tell me your plans for the party," I say, hoping it's enough to distract her from what's going on in my life.

"As you know, Hensley, Inc. backed out last week."

"You did not tell me that," I mutter.

Hensley, Inc. was the party-planning company she hired last year after things went a little sideways when she planned this same party herself. She put on too many hats and had too many balls in the air. The party got very close to not happening at all because she struggled to handle it all herself.

"I was able to get their notes and plans," she says, relief in her tone. "So I can easily do all the things that need to be done."

"Morgan," I say, hearing the whine in my voice.

"With your help, of course."

"Of course," I mutter.

"If you could be here for setup that morning, it would be great."

"Why would Hensley, Inc. back out?"

Silence fills the line and I already know the answer.

Morgan is very set in her ways, and I can see her going all Bridezilla on the party planners. Despite it not being a wedding, I can see her treating it as something just as important as those onetime memories would be. Not everyone knows how to take her gruff nature, and I've found people much less forgiving of it than I seem to be.

"It's not that big of a deal," she says. "With your help, we can get it done."

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