Chapter 47 Poppy
Poppy
Later that afternoon, Nick leaves to head to practice. I’m at my desk in my bedroom, checking the stats on my YouTube channel. My eyes go wide, and I gasp.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve hit half a million followers. The views for all my videos are through the roof, too. I’m making a lot more money off my channel too, because of this boost.
I let out a giddy squeal. This is so freaking awesome.
When I check the email account attached to my channel, I see that a couple of companies have messaged me, asking if I’d be interested in doing brand partnerships with them.
One is a study app for college students.
The other is a mega successful audiobook company that’s launching audiobook versions of textbooks to assist visually impaired people.
I gasp at the amount of money they’re offering me to mention their brands in my video. I fall back into my chair, and I stare at my laptop screen.
“This is insane,” I say to myself.
I quickly type a reply to the brand reps and tell them that I’d love to work with them. Then I sit there, smiling and shaking my head, in utter disbelief at how quickly my channel is taking off.
I pull up a new document on my laptop and start brainstorming ideas for new videos to record. I’m so focused that I don’t hear my phone buzzing.
When I see it’s my dad calling, I instantly tense. I don’t want to talk to him.
I let his call go to voicemail, but a minute later, he texts me.
Please call me, Poppy. I need to talk to you about what happened yesterday.
I feel myself start to soften. Maybe he wants to apologize for how he treated Nick. Maybe going off on him in front of all his friends was a wakeup call, and he wants to make things right.
A hopeful feeling sprouts inside of me as I call him.
When he answers, his voice is stern and serious, like it always is.
“You said you wanted to talk about yesterday. What would you like to say, Dad?”
“Yes. About yesterday.” He pauses. “Do you remember Frank Walsh? He was sitting at the end of the table.”
“Um, no…”
“I spoke with him after dinner. After your dramatic little exit.”
I grit my teeth, disappointment flashing through me. He’s not apologizing.
“Frank is a lawyer for Wentworth Industries. He’s one of the best corporate lawyers in the entire city of Denver. He graduated top of his law school class, too.”
“Okay…” What is he bringing this up for?
“He’s offered to be your private tutor for the LSAT,” my dad says. “He says he can start after the first of the new year.”
I’m stunned into silence.
“What?” I finally say.
“I’ve hired him as your private tutor for the LSAT,” my dad says. “He tutors undergraduate students in his spare time. Every single one of them has earned high scores and ended up at top ten law schools. I think this will be great for you.”
I close my eyes and let out a frustrated breath. “Dad. Are you kidding me?”
“I know, isn’t this great news? You’re going to have a massive leg up getting into law school with his guidance.”
“No. That’s not…” I stand up from my desk and start pacing my bedroom. I’m so pissed off and frustrated, I can’t sit still.
“This isn’t okay, Dad. What you’re doing is messed up.”
“Messed up? Poppy, what on earth are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about how you call me the day after you disrespected my boyfriend in front of all your friends, and instead of apologizing, you pretend like everything is fine between us.”
“Poppy, I’m not apologizing.”
I tense at the hard tone of his voice.
“I did what any good father would do. I was merely vetting the young man dating my daughter. And when I saw he wasn’t suitable for you, I made my feelings clear.”
My mouth hangs open at the harshness of his words. At how he doesn’t see anything wrong with what he did.
“You’re unbelievable,” I mutter.
He exhales sharply. “Poppy, I don’t have time to argue with you about this. I gave Frank your contact information. He’ll get in touch with you to set up your tutoring sessions soon.”
“I’m not going to meet with Frank, Dad.”
“Yes. You are.”
Before yesterday, I would have backed off after hearing my dad’s angry tone. I would have just gone along with whatever he said to keep things peaceful between us.
But not anymore. Not after seeing him treat Nick the way he did yesterday.
I’m not putting up with my dad’s entitled behavior anymore.
“No. I’m not,” I bite back. “I’m not going to see this tutor because I’m not taking the LSAT.”
My dad is quiet for several seconds. Blood rushes in my ears, and my heart pounds in my chest. It must be the adrenaline rush I’m feeling from finally standing up to him after all these years.
“Poppy, you can’t be serious.”
“I’m dead serious, Dad. I’m not taking the LSAT because I don’t want to go to law school right now. I have something else I want to focus on. Something more important.”
“W-what? What in the world could be more important than law school?”
His tone hitches. He sounds so upset and confused and panicked. I’ve never heard him like this before.
“I have a YouTube channel.”
“A what?” he barks.
“A YouTube channel. It’s educational. I cover academic topics and break them down so they’re easy to understand. It’s doing really well.”
“This is ridiculous,” he mutters. “You’re telling me that you’re giving up law school to be on YouTube? Poppy, you have to know how stupid and immature that sounds.”
Hurt radiates through me. And disappointment. I didn’t expect my dad to magically change his mind about going to law school. But he’s not even listening to me. He’s not hearing me out. He’s just dismissing me, no matter what I say.
“Is this because of your boyfriend? Is he telling you to do all this?”
“Of course not. Nick is supportive of me because he’s amazing, but I make my own decisions.”
“I don’t want you to see him anymore.”
My stomach drops to my feet. “What?”
“That young man is no good for you. You need to break up with him.”
Adrenaline pumps hot through my entire body. “I’m not breaking up with him, Dad. How dare you even ask me to.”
“If you don’t stop seeing him, Poppy, your mother and I will cut you off.”
I go still, the shock of his threat washing over me.
It’s a pretty empty threat. I have a full academic scholarship to Hollis, so they don’t pay for any of my schooling.
The only thing they pay for is my apartment rent, but I can take over those payments no problem with how much money I make from YouTube and the Writing Center.
I’m stunned at how mean and cruel my dad is being. That he’s threatening me to get me to do what he wants—to control me.
“Fine, Dad. Cut me off. I don’t need your money,” I say, my tone calm.
“Poppy, if you don’t listen to me right now—”
“I’m done listening to you. I’m done with you. Goodbye.”
I hang up and toss my phone aside. I sit down on my bed and pull my knees to my chest, hugging my arms around my legs, feeling numb and sad at how my relationship with my dad is over.
Never in a million years did I think I’d lose him like this.
But as awful as this feels, I know I did the right thing. I stood up for myself. I stood up for what I wanted—what’s important to me.
And I know, without a doubt, I’ll never, ever regret that.