I couldn’t stand the pain in her voice. Or the fact that these tears were now sad ones. “I don’t want to go,” I replied, honestly.
We didn’t say anything else. Because there was nothing more to say. I combed Poppy’s hair through my fingers, while she ran her fingertips up and down my chest. It wasn’t long before Poppy’s breathing had evened out and her hand had stilled on my skin.
The rhythm of her steady breathing lulled my eyes to a close. I tried to stay awake as long as possible, to savor the time I had left. But before long, I drifted to sleep, a bittersweet mixture of happiness and sadness flowing through my veins.
It seemed like I had only just closed my eyes when I felt the rising sun’s warmth kissing my face. I blinked until I opened my eyes, seeing a new day breaking through Poppy’s window.
The day I was leaving.
My gut clenched when I saw the time. I was leaving in an hour.
When I glanced at Poppy, sleeping over my chest, I thought she’d never looked more beautiful. Her skin was flushed from the heat of our bodies, and I smiled on seeing our hands still joined on my stomach.
Suddenly nerves flooded through me when I thought of the night before.
She looked so contented as she slept. My biggest fear was that she would wake and regret what we’d done. I wanted her, so badly, to love what we had done as much as I did. I wanted the image of us together to be as ingrained in her memory as it would be in mine.
As if feeling my heavy stare, Poppy slowly opened her eyes. I watched as the recollection of the night before flashed across her face. Her eyes widened as she took in our bodies, our hands. My heart skipped a beat in trepidation, but then a beautiful slow smile spread across her face. Seeing this, I shifted closer to her. Poppy buried her head in my neck as I wrapped her in my arms. I held her close for as long as I possibly could.
When I finally lifted my head and checked the clock again, the anger from yesterday came crashing back.
“Poppymin,” I whispered, hearing the strained anger in my graveled voice. “I … I have to go.”
Poppy stiffened in my arms. When she shifted back, her cheeks were wet. “I know.”
I felt tears hitting my cheeks too. Poppy gently wiped them away. I caught her hand and laid a single kiss on the center of her palm. I stayed for a couple more minutes, drinking in every inch of Poppy’s face, before forcing myself to leave the bed and get dressed. Without looking back, I slid through the window and ran across the grass, feeling my heart tear with every single step.
I climbed through my window. My bedroom door had been unlocked from the outside. My pappa stood near the bed. For a brief moment my stomach turned at the fact that I’d been caught. But then the fury flared within me and I lifted my chin, daring to him to say something, anything.
I welcomed a fight.
I wouldn’t let him shame me for spending the night with the girl I loved. The one he was ripping me away from.
He turned and walked away without saying a word.
Thirty minutes passed in a flash. I cast a glance over my room, one last time. Lifting my backpack, I swung it over my shoulder and walked outside, my camera hanging around my neck.
Mr. and Mrs. Litchfield were already on our driveway, standing with Ida and Savannah, hugging my parents with their goodbyes. Seeing me walk out the door, they met me at the bottom of the steps and hugged me goodbye too.
Ida and Savannah ran to me and threw themselves around my waist. I ruffled the hair on their heads. When they stepped aside, I heard a door being opened. I lifted my eyes and saw Poppy running. She had wet hair, clearly having just showered, but she looked more beautiful than ever before as she sprinted to where we all stood, only me in her sights.
When she arrived on our driveway, she stopped briefly to hug my parents and kiss Alton goodbye. Then she turned to face me. My parents got into the car and Poppy’s parents and sisters moved back toward their house, giving us some space. I wasted no time holding out my arms, and Poppy ran into my chest. I squeezed her tight, inhaling the sweet scent from her hair.
I put my finger under her chin and tilted her head up, and then I kissed her for the final time. I kissed her with as much love as I could find inside my heart.
When I broke away, Poppy spoke through streaming tears. “Kiss number three hundred and fifty-six. With my Rune on his driveway … when he left me.”
I closed my eyes. I couldn’t stand the pain she was in—that I was in too.
“Son?” I looked over Poppy’s shoulder at my pappa. “We have to go,” he said apologetically.
Poppy’s hands tightened on my shirt. Her big green eyes were shining with tears, and it seemed like she was trying to memorize every part of my face. Finally releasing my hold on her, I raised my camera and pressed the button.