As my mama moved to leave the office, she laid her hand on my shoulder. “Maybe it was a good thing you broke all contact, baby. I’m not real sure he could have handled everything you went through, from what his mamma has said.”
Tears filled my eyes as I wondered what had made him this way. Into this boy I didn’t know. I had deliberately cut myself off from the world for the past couple of years to save him pain. So that he could live a good life. Because knowing that over in Norway was a boy whose heart was still filled with light made everything I was going through bearable.
But that fantasy was quashed as I studied this doppelg?nger of Rune.
This Rune’s light was dim, nothing glittered bright. It was obscured by shadow and mired in darkness. It was as though the boy I had loved had been cast aside in Norway.
Deacon’s car pulled into the driveway of Rune’s house. I saw Rune’s cell light up in his hand, and he slowly made his way from his room and sauntered off the porch. He walked with a careless swagger toward Deacon and Judson, who jumped out of the car. He slapped them both on the back in greeting.
Then my heart cracked in two. Avery slid out of the back seat and hugged Rune hard. She was wearing a short skirt and cropped top, showcasing her perfect figure. But Rune didn’t hug her back—though that did nothing to lessen my pain. Because Avery and Rune, standing side by side, looked so perfect. Both tall and blond. Both beautiful.
They all piled into the car. Rune got in last, taking shotgun, and then they rolled away from our street and out of sight.
I sighed as I watched the taillights fade into the night. When I looked back at the Kristiansen house, I saw Rune’s pappa standing at the edge of the porch, gripping the railing, staring in the direction in which his son had just departed. Then he lifted his face to the office window, and a sad smile spread on his lips.
He’d seen me.
Mr. Kristiansen lifted his hand and gave me a small wave. As I waved back, I saw a look of utter sadness etched on his face.
He looked tired.
He looked heartbroken.
He looked like he missed his son.
I returned to my room, lay back on my bed and pulled my favorite photo frame into my hands. As I stared down at the beautiful boy and the smitten girl staring back, both so in love, I wondered what had happened in the last two years to make Rune as troubled and rebellious as he appeared to be.
Then I cried.
I cried for the boy who was my sun.
I mourned the boy I once loved with everything I had.
I mourned Poppy and Rune—a couple of extreme beauty and even quicker death.
Poppy
“You sure you’re okay?” my mama asked as she stroked my arm. The car rolled to a stop.
I smiled and nodded my head. “Yeah, mama, I’m good.”
Her eyes were rimmed with red and tears were building in her eyes. “Poppy. Baby. You don’t have to go to school today if you don’t want to.”
“Mama, I love school. I want to be here.” I shrugged. “Plus, I have history fifth period and you know how much I love it. It’s my favorite class.”
A reluctant smile pulled on her mouth and she laughed, wiping her eyes. “You’re just like your mamaw. Stubborn as an ox and always seeing the sunshine behind every cloud. I see her personality shining through your eyes every single day.”
Warmth blossomed in my chest. “That makes me real happy, Mama. But I mean it, I’m truly okay,” I said sincerely.
When Mama’s eyes filled with water again, she shooed me from the car, pushing the doctor’s note into my hand. “Here, make sure to hand that in.”
I took the paper, but before I shut the car door, I ducked down to say, “I love you, Mama. With my whole heart.”
My mama paused and I saw the bittersweet happiness spread on her face. “I love you too, Pops. With my whole heart.”
I shut the door and turned to walk into school. I always thought it was strange, arriving at school late. The place was so quiet and still, kind of apocalyptic, the total opposite to the rowdiness of lunch period or the mad dash of students in between classes.
I made my way to the school office for Mrs. Greenway, the secretary, to process my doctor’s note. As she handed me my hall pass, she asked, “How you doing, darlin’? You keeping that pretty head of yours up?”
Smiling at her kind face, I replied, “Yes, ma’am.”
She winked at me, making me laugh. “That’s my girl.”
Checking my watch, I saw that my next class had only been in session fifteen minutes. Moving as quickly as I could to avoid missing anything else, I rushed through two sets of doors until I arrived at my locker. I yanked it open and pulled out the pile of English Lit books that I needed for my class.
I heard the door at the end of the short hallway opening, but paid it no mind. Once I had everything I needed, I shut my locker door with my elbow and headed for class, wrestling with my many books. When I looked up, I stopped dead.
I was sure my heart and my lungs stopped working. Standing about eight feet in front of me, seemingly as glued to the spot as I was, was Rune. A towering and fully grown Rune.