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“Wait for me,” Poppy says. “I’m not staying here without you, Zooey.”
“I’ll take you home,” Wes tells her politely. “I owe you that much.”
I don’t know what he means by that, since I didn’t realize they had ever really spoken before, but it warms my heart to see him making an effort with my best friend. She quickly gathers her things and then she’s ready to go too.
Poppy follows me and Wes out of the bedroom. People are still gathered in the corridor, whispering about what just happened, but there is no sign of my father, fortunately. Heads turn to look at us, like paparazzi observing celebrities leaving a building. I keep my head down, feeling embarrassed. I don’t want to be the center of attention. At least not for the reasons they have for staring at me. We head for the stairs, and I consider what this whole scandal will mean for my father. All of his valued customers have seen him going crazy now. They have exposed a part of his personal life. For some of them, I imagine it will put future business deals out of the question. I suddenly feel a pang of guilt, but then I remind myself that I’m not the problem here. If he had just been willing to accept that Wes and I are happy together, then this wouldn’t have happened. If he had respect for his daughter and his best friend, then he wouldn’t be at risk of losing his customers. If he’s not careful, it looks like he’s going to have nothing left at all.
“This is crazy,” Poppy whispers. “Everyone knows what’s going on.”
I can’t help blushing. If this situation is bad for me, how must it be for Wes? Dad has pretty much put him out of a job today. He’s lost everything for me. I can’t help feeling guilty about that, even more so than my guilt for my father. But when Wes squeezes my hand as he guides me down the stairs, I feel confident that this is what he would have chosen anyway. I’m not the only one to have seen my father’s true colors today.
Leaving the house now feels so strange. Over this weekend, we’ve all been stuck in this strange, unnatural bubble together. Now that we have popped it, it seems like the real world is so far out of reach that I’ll never get back to it. I never expected to leave here with a man, with my relationship with my father in tatters, with my chances of a future with his company destroyed. As the fresh November air hits my face, I feel as though reality has come at me way too fast.
Still, how can I complain? I have Wes now. What more do I need?
Chapter Sixteen
Wes
We drive straight to Poppy’s house to drop her off, as promised. She spent the whole way there chatting away to me and Zooey, asking us all sorts of personal questions about the whole situation and the argument we’ve just been a part of. Zooey handled it for the most part, appeasing her friend with some minimalistic details while I focused on the road ahead. To be honest, I’ve barely said a word since we left the house. I don’t have anything to say, and a lot to think about.
This whole morning took me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting to be walked in on. I thought Lawrence had enough respect for me to not burst into my bedroom unannounced. I guess he’s not the man I thought he was. I seem to be learning a lot about my so-called best friend today. I still have no idea why he came into my room and I guess I will never know now, but I can’t help wishing we could turn back the clock.
I thought that Zooey and I had time. I thought we would be able to explore our feelings first and explain them later. I thought that we would leave the party separately and come together in our own sweet time. But now, we’ve been hurried down the line, forced to put all our cards on the table for everyone to see. It’s left me without a job, without my best friend, and with a whole lot of personal issues to face.
I pull up outside Poppy’s house, where she lives with her parents. She seems reluctant to leave the party vibe behind and get out of the car and to be honest, I wish she would stay a little longer. I’ve been craving time alone with Zooey all weekend, but not in these circumstances. There’s nothing sexy and exciting about what we went through this morning with her father, and I’m really not prepared to talk about it. The second Poppy leaves, though, I guess we will have to face our demons.
