Chapter Seventy-Three Poppy
| Seventy-Three |
Poppy
It pains me to see the look on my sister’s face when she realizes that it’s me.
I don’t understand why she hates me. All I’ve ever wanted was to be close to her.
When we were little, we were both scared of the dark.
Mom always refused to put a night light in our room.
She said it would mess with our beauty sleep.
Millie would crawl into my bed and we’d hold hands until we fell asleep.
We were each other’s best friend. Anytime either of us got scared or hurt, the other would say “BFSs forever.” Which was our code for best friend sisters forever.
But it all began to change when Mom started pitting us against each other.
Called me the golden child and cruelly joked that Millie was bronze.
I never wanted to participate in those stupid beauty pageants.
But it made Mom happy, and I wanted to make her happy.
So I went along with it. But I hated the way she would talk to Millie and make her cry.
In the beginning Millie accepted comfort from me, but over time, she started to resent me and push me away.
No matter what I said or did, it was never right.
I wonder now, did I bask in being the favorite?
Maybe I should have refused to win. Should have been mean to the judges.
Done something to take the spotlight off myself.
But I didn’t. After a while, Millie’s anger pushed me so far away that I didn’t try anymore. Her rejection hurt too much.
I thought after college with our parents gone, and us both living in New York, that maybe we could reconnect.
And we almost did. We met up at a restaurant and started talking, really talking.
About the trauma of those pageants, the dysfunctional dynamics of our family.
I actually believed we were ready to put it all behind us.
Then I showed her a picture of Bennett. Excited to tell her about my new boyfriend. Her face froze and her eyes grew cold.
“You did it on purpose, didn’t you.” She waved her hand around. “Lured me here so you could throw it in my face.”
I looked at her in shock. “What are you talking about?”
She scoffed. “Come on. Don’t tell me you don’t know he’s a superstar author. The one I’ve been following for years. He’s everything to me. What do you want with him? You’re not even a writer.”
“Millie! How would I know that? We haven’t spoken since Mom and Dad died. I mean, I knew you wanted to write, but…”
“Don’t give me that. It’s all I’ve ever wanted my whole life.”
“No, but I met Bennett when he came into the club. I didn’t have any idea who he was. I’m in love with him.”
She stood up and threw her napkin on the table. “I was so stupid coming here. Thinking you’d changed. That we can be sisters, friends. I never want to see you again.”
She stormed out of there, leaving me speechless. And now everything has come full circle.
“Aren’t you a little bit happy that I’m alive?” I ask, my voice cracking and tears springing to my eyes. Can she really hate me that much that she wishes I were dead?
She expels a breath and puts her hands on my shoulders, touching me as if to determine if I’m real.
“Of course I am. I’m just shocked, that’s all.”
But her face tells a different story. I don’t believe that she’s happy that I’m here. She’s still staring, in shock, and then finally she speaks again.
“I don’t understand. Everyone thought you were dead, drowned. Your body never found. What happened?”
“I’ll explain it all. Let’s get out of here. Go sit somewhere.”
She nods, still ashen, and we make our way out of the store as she mumbles a distracted goodbye to the manager.
The shock she’s feeling right now is nothing compared to what she’ll feel when she finds out the truth.