Feeling a hand on my arm, I turned to see Alton clutching onto the sleeve of my shirt. His head was tilted to the side.
I ruffled his messy blond hair. Alton laughed, but his smile faded, and he kept glancing my way the whole journey home. I found it ironic how my baby brother seemed to get how much pain I was in, way more than my parents did.
The drive felt like an eternity. When we pulled into the driveway, I practically dived out of the car and sprinted to the Litchfield house.
I knocked on the front door. Mrs. Litchfield answered after only a few seconds. The minute she took in my face, I saw her eyes fill with sympathy. She glanced across the yard at my mamma and pappa, who were unpacking the car. She gave them a small wave.
She knew too.
“Is Poppy here?” I managed to ask, pushing the words through my thick throat.
Mrs. Litchfield pulled me into a hug. “She’s in the blossom grove, sweetie. She’s been there all afternoon, reading.” Mrs. Litchfield kissed my head. “I’m so sorry, Rune. That daughter of mine will be heartbroken when you leave. You’re her whole life.”
She’s my whole life too, I wanted to add, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak a single word.
Mrs. Litchfield released me and I backed away, jumping off the porch, sprinting all the way to the grove.
I got there in minutes, immediately spotting Poppy under our favorite cherry blossom tree. I stopped, keeping well out of sight as I watched her reading her book, her purple headphones over her head. Branches filled with pink cherry blossom petals fell around her like a protective shield, sheltering her from the bright sun. She was wearing a short white sleeveless dress, a big white bow pinned at the side of her long brown hair. I felt like I’d walked into a dream.
My heart clenched. I’d seen Poppy every day since I was five. Slept beside her almost every night since I was twelve. Kissed her every day since I was eight, and loved her with everything I had for so many days I’d stopped keeping track.
I had no idea how to live a day without her next to me. How to breathe without her by my side.
As if she sensed I was there, she looked up from the page of her book. When I stepped out onto the grass, she flashed me her biggest smile. It was the smile she had only for me.
I tried to smile back, but I couldn’t.
I trudged over the fallen cherry blossoms, the path so littered with fallen petals that it looked like a stream of pink and white beneath my feet. I watched Poppy’s smile fade the closer I got. I couldn’t keep anything from her. She knew me as well as I knew myself. She could see that I was upset.
I’d told her before, there was no mystery with me. Not with her. She was the only person who knew me completely.
Poppy stilled, only moving to pull the headphones off her head. She placed her book beside her on the ground, wrapped her arms around her bent legs, and just waited.
Swallowing, I dropped to my knees before her, and my head fell forward in defeat. I fought against the tightness in my chest. Eventually I raised my head. Apprehension was clear in Poppy’s eyes, like she knew whatever was going to come from my mouth would change everything.
Change us.
Change our entire lives.
End our world.
“We’re leaving,” I finally managed to choke out.
I watched her face pale.
Glancing away, I managed to drag in another short breath, and add, “Tomorrow, Poppymin. Back to Oslo. Pappa is taking me away from you. He’s not even trying to stay.”
“No,” she whispered in response. She leaned forward. “There must be something we can do?” Poppy’s breathing sped up. “Maybe you could stay with us? Move in with us? We can work something out. We can—”
“No,” I interrupted. “You know my pappa wouldn’t allow it. They’ve known for weeks; they’ve already transferred my schools. They just didn’t tell me because they knew how I’d react. I have to go, Poppymin. I have no other choice. I have to go.”
I stared at a single blossom petal as it broke from a low-hanging branch. It drifted like a feather to the ground. I knew that, from now on, whenever I saw a cherry blossom I’d think of Poppy. She spent all of her time here in this grove, with me beside her. It was the place she loved the most.
I squeezed my eyes shut as I imagined her in this grove all alone after tomorrow—no one to go on adventures with her, no one to listen to her laugh … no one to give her heart-bursting boy-kisses for her jar.
Feeling a sharp pain strike my chest, I turned back to Poppy, and my heart tore in two. She was still frozen to her spot against the tree, but her pretty face was flooded with streams and streams of silent tears, her small hands balled into fists that were shaking at her knees.
“Poppymin,” I rasped, finally letting all my hurt free. I rushed to her side and cradled her in my arms. Poppy melted into me, crying into my chest. I closed my eyes, feeling every bit of her pain.