When the Music Ends (The Winter Rose Chronicles) by Simone Beaudelaire Read Free Book Online

government classroom.
                "Does
everyone know?" Sheridan asked in a tiny, wavering voice.
                "Pretty
much. I’m sorry."
                "How
many are against me?"
                "Hard
to say. Jake’s really popular, you know? But I’m here. I’ve
got your back sweetie."
                "Thanks."
Sheridan looked more shaken than ever. As though everything that had happened
weren’t bad enough, for her classmates to turn on her was sort of the
final straw. Erin had known it would be.
                It
was no surprise that by lunchtime, Sheridan’s fragile composure was
destroyed. Erin walked her to the counselor’s office where she spent her
free period in tears. She stayed with her, rubbing her back, just trying to be
there for her friend.
                After
lunch was the hardest part. Erin had symphonic band and Sheridan had an
advanced English elective. Separating was terrible, and she gave her an extra
tight hug and whispered, "Be strong. I’ll see you in an
hour."
                Even
spending time on her oboe, her favorite thing to do, didn’t help at all.
She played as best she could, but the peace she normally found while doing so
evaded her.
                The
day was every bit as horrible as Erin had expected. Several people had made
ugly comments to Sheridan. Despite her well-earned reputation for shyness, Erin was fierce in defending her friend, but that hardly stopped the flow of abuse.  To
make matters worse, Erin had rehearsal after school and Sheridan would have to
go home alone. Her mother was there, which would help, but there was still the
whole unsupervised parking lot to navigate. Erin risked the wrath of the band
director to walk her friend to her car, which meant she was a couple of minutes
late. Mr. Abrams didn’t say a word. He must have been aware of the
situation. Erin was exhausted, but she put the last fragile remnants of her
stamina towards her music, and when the rehearsal finally ended, she hurried
home to call Sean.
                "You
sound terrible, baby," he told her bluntly.
                "I’m
not bothering you, am I?"
    "Of course not. How did it go?"
    "It’s worse than I imagined. I don’t know how
I’m going to cope, let alone Danny. I HATE being a teenager, Sean."
                "You
don’t have the temperament for it. You’ll feel better when
you’re done with high school. I think you must have been born an
adult."
                "That’s
what my mom always said. She said I was older than she was."
                "That
could very well be. Is she there now?"
                "Yes.
I wish she weren’t. I would love for you to hold me right now." Her
voice wavered.
                "I
would if I could. Can you practice? Would that help?"
                "I
have no emotions left to give, not even to my oboe. I’m all wrung
out."
                "Poor
Erin. This is too much for you, isn’t it?"
                "I’m
not the one going through it. I’m just trying to help. It’s what
any friend would do."
                "Not
any friend. Only a really special one." Sean’s kind words touched Erin deeply, and her feelings came spilling out of her unbidden.
                "I
love you, Sean. You should know that. You don’t have to say anything
back, but I do love you."
                "I
know you do, Erin," he replied tenderly, "you’re an amazing
girl, and that means a lot to me."
                "I
think I’m going to try and sleep for a while. Maybe the rest of the
night."
                "Dream
about me."
                "I
always do."
                Erin skipped dinner and just went to bed and cried herself to sleep. Her mother never even
noticed that anything was wrong.

***Chapter 6***