35. Chapter 35
“?Buenos días, Se?orita Poppy!” Mark chirped.
He and Moore stood in the front hallway. I smiled as I padded down the stairs. I was very much in need of a cup of coffee. Sex and storms had me exhausted.
“You alright?” Mark asked.
Apparently, I didn’t wear my fatigue well. The corners of Moore’s mouth quirked up at the question. I rubbed my eyes and ignored the inference.
“Just tired. What are you guys up to?”
“Storm cleanup,” Moore sighed.
“Nothing too bad, I hope?”
“Nah, lots of branches and brush, though. Thankfully, the farm was mostly spared. I’ve got a team out there finishing up. Moore is going to help me start the main grounds,” Mark explained.
“Cool. Well, I’ll let you—”
The unmistakable sound of heels smacking the pavement echoed on the other side of the front door. My brows drew down. Summoner’s kids weren’t due for another day.
No. No. No. No.
Instantly, I knew who approached. My hands tremble at my sides. Mark’s and Moore’s faces went blank as the front door opened.
Kay stepped into the house, dragging two rolling suitcases behind her. Her heels unsurprisingly didn’t clash with her purple velour tracksuit. Her blond hair was freshly trimmed in a halo around her shoulders. Her makeup looked immaculate, not a lash askew or dot of concealer unblended.
“Could I get some help?!” she shouted.
Mark scrambled to grab her luggage as she cooed at him in smooth Spanish.
Sound became muffled, like someone held my head underwater.
A visibly tense Moore bit his lip as she gave him a hug.
I wanted to run, but my survival instincts were clearly shit, because I stood still, completely frozen.
Time slowed as she turned. Our eyes locked.
My toes curled, clawing desperately at the laminate flooring.
She was not expecting me. The screech out of Kay’s mouth pierced my eardrums. Like an army letting out a battle cry before charging their opponent.
And charge she did. My mouth dropped open as she lunged at me in a flurry of red, fiery rage.
I fell back onto my ass out of pure shock.
Moore swooped in and grabbed Kay around the waist, holding her back.
Her limbs thrashed around like sharpened talons out for blood, my blood.
My vision whitened around the edges as she called me every name imaginable.
“Slut!”
“Whore!”
“Tramp-ass bitch!”
“Why the fuck is she here?!”
The venom in her words was heavy, weighted in its directedness.
This 60-something-year-old woman was going to fucking murder me.
Visions of my blood splattered on the floor and walls filled my head.
Maybe I’d end up on a true crime documentary.
All of it seemed laughable if it wasn’t so damn hurtful.
My pulse pounded in my temples. I wasn’t about to get physical, but I was perfectly fine running my mouth.
“I love him, Kay! And guess what?! He loves me too! He tells me all the time! But he shouts it when I’m sucking his soul out through his dick!”
It wasn’t an elegant rebuttal, but it hit the fucking target.
Moore snorted and Mark’s neck reddened. Kay’s fury ramped up, and she lashed against Moore, desperate to reach me.
Desperate to eradicate the Poppy problem in her life.
Her anger had transformed into tears streaking down her once-immaculate face.
“What the fuck is going on here?!” Summoner’s voice cut through the madness.
He stepped into the hall wide-eyed. Moore loosened his grip and Kay slipped from his grasp. She rushed into his arms. She wept and questioned the motives in my presence.
Weaponized white woman tears.
I blinked away my smirk from my spot on the floor. Summoner caressed Kay’s back, assuring her with a quiet murmuring I couldn’t make out.
“Hey, kid.” Moore extended a hand and helped me off my ass.
On my feet, Summoner’s eyes met mine. The depths of green screamed sorry before he ducked his head against Kay’s shoulder.
My jaw tightened in the face of their tenderness together.
This woman was going to kill me, and now he held her as if nothing was wrong with that.
I felt sick. Bile rose in the back of my throat.
Definitely not getting that check now!
Moore grabbed my elbow and led me back upstairs. He closed the bedroom door behind us. I flopped down on the edge of the bed with a loud sigh. I had been jumped on, and I hadn’t even had my coffee yet. I ran my hands down my face.
“…I just wanted some coffee.” An overwhelming sob took hold of me, causing my shoulder to shake violently.
Moore brought me a cup of coffee, but it remained untouched on the nightstand. My confused thoughts bounced around my head in a flurry of sounds and lights. Reaching for everything and finding nothing, I curled into a ball and quietly wept.
My tears and I were alone most of the day.
The damned time difference meant I had no one to reach out to.
Locked away with no one to talk to, I did the sensible thing most people with depression do: I cried and slept.
It didn’t sort out my emotions, but I was dehydrated and well-rested by afternoon.
Perfect state of mind for a video call with Shay.
The moment she answered, I wasted no time spilling the latest. She listened with unblinking attention.
“…Girrrr! Was your ass out, Poppy? Please, don’t tell me your ass was out!”
I shook my head. “No, it wasn’t like that. We weren’t even together. But she tried to jump me, and he holds HER! I haven’t seen him all day, and I don’t know what to do!” I hiccupped.
“I’m so sorry.”
I blinked away the tears in my eyes.
“You worried he’d do something with her?”
“He…He loves me. He said so.” I swallowed.
Summoner always chose his words carefully. Dissecting each one no matter if it was an ordinary sentence or a lyric in a song. And those three words, those already-heavy words…When he said those words to me, they were filled with a sincerity that gripped my heart. “His word means something.”
It has to.
“Well, that’s good. You trust him, so don’t freak out.”
“I’m trying to! It’s clearly not working!”
“Clearly.” She rolled her eyes.
“Shay!” I whined.
She held up her hands. “Sorry, I’m trying to break up the sadness in the air. You love him. He loves you. That love is something you can trust in, and this ex sounds like a real bitch.”
“She is.”
“Blond?”
“Of course.”
Shay shuddered. “The vibes radiating off this situation make me want to burn a candle and start a protection spell.”
“You know I’m feeling out of sorts when that sounds like a reasonable idea to me.”
“Maybe you should come home, then. I mean, if this bitch is going to make your trip a nightmare, then don’t put up with it. Your sugar daddy can meet up with you when he’s back stateside.”
“You really think it’s that easy?”
She nodded. “It is that easy. You have to protect yourself, protect your heart.” She paused as thought over her words. “You never put yourself out there. Going to Spain for a sex-filled vacation with an older dude?! What the fuck have you done with Poppy?!”
My tear-stained cheeks widened with a small smile.
“You seem different in the best way. Protect that energy. Besides, I miss you.”
“You miss me?”
“I do! We need a girl’s night. You’ll tell me all about your old guy sex and I’ve got loads to fill you in on.”
“Ooooo! Don’t leave me hanging!”
“Nope! We’re focused on your love life now. One train wreck at a time!”
“BITCH!” I laughed.
“All aboard! CHOO CHOO!”
Shay was right. The bubble where Summoner and I’s love bloomed had burst. I had every right not to stay in a place where I wasn’t wanted.
I was stretched out in bed in the middle of a Forensic Files marathon when Summoner stepped into the bedroom.
My stomach flipped as he sat on the edge of the bed.
I focused on the TV, not wanting to look at him or even in his direction.
I needed to maintain my fragile grasp on my emotions.
But I was never good at keeping calm under pressure.
“Sweetheart. How are you holding up?”
My toes wiggled with barely-disguised emotion under the sheet.
I tried to keep my voice steady and level. “Why do you care? It’s been hours.”
“I care. You know I care about you.”
“How would I know that? You went after her. Not me.” I shrugged.
“She needed me more.”
His words were so matter-of-fact that they caught me off guard.
The mattress moved as Summoner settled beside me. His scent, so familiar and welcoming, filled my nose. Carefully, he wrapped me in his arms. The warmth. The safety. The security. The anger.
The last threads of my control snapped. My shoulders shook as sadness washed over me. My fists clenched his shirt, my body shaking as I wept against his chest. He caressed my back, a soothing anchor against overwhelming thoughts and the inevitable sadness.
“I’m sorry, Poppy. I know Kay and, in that moment, she needed me more.
I could keep you safe by going to her, so that’s what I did.
I’m sorry I hurt you, Poppy. I never meant to.
” He sighed. “Kay can be destructive, as you can tell. And now, out of some misplaced sense of protection over me, she still attaches herself to my side.”
“Why doesn’t she want you to move on? Doesn’t she?”
“She’s allowed to. She’s had relationships.
” He sneered. “But I think a part of her clings to the hope we’ll get back together.
One big happy family. This being the first time I’ve been to El Huerto del Sol in years, and with the kids coming, I think she thought of this as the first steps in that direction. ”
“…Do…Do you want that?” Forming the words felt wrong in my mouth.
“No. A long time ago, maybe. But now, no. Things are better this way.”
“Are they really?”
I lifted my head to get a look at his face. Dark circles were etched under his eyes. He looked weary, almost afraid of this entire conversation.
“Yes, they are.”
I was desperate to breathe. But Summoner’s gaze enraptured me. The pond of green in his eyes captured me with spilled secrets. Thoughts unspoken passed between us.
I love you.
I know. I love you too.
I’m sorry I hurt you.
Talk to me.
I’m trying.
Try harder.
I will.
I forgive you.
I love you.
I love you too.
“… Is she staying?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Summoner exhaled. “… Yes. She’s staying in one of the guest houses. This is her space, too. I can’t make her leave.”
“… Right…Well, I think I want to go home then.”
His jaw ticked as I speared him with my truth. He looked wounded, and I hated being the cause.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
He shook his head. “Don’t be. I get it…”
“But?” I pressed.
He cupped my cheek. “You always seemed a little impossible…But it was nice having you all to myself as long as I did.”
Impossible?
“Selfish?” I nuzzled against his palm.
“When it comes to you, Poppy, absolutely.”