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“What’s wrong, Lake?” he asks.
She turns toward me, frowning. “You might want to check on Poppy. She seemed upset.”
Wordlessly, I walk toward the door.
“She’s not here. She left quickly.”
I twist to look at her. “Did she say why she left?”
She nods. “She said it has something to do with her sister, but I think there’s more to it. Her mood changed quickly.”
“How so?” I ask.
“Well… she was outside at the bar ten minutes ago and she left quickly after, but I have a feeling she was lying.”
I glance at Atlas and Trent, and they glance at each other. Did she hear our conversation about how I was going to break up with her? I didn’t hear or see her come outside. I hope the fuck not because she wasn’t supposed to hear that.
Fuck.
I grab my phone from my pocket and dial her number. When she doesn’t pick up, I call Michael.
“Sir,” he answers on the first ring.
“Where did Poppy go?” I ask.
“She’s not with you?” I hear the confusion in his tone.
I shake my head no as if he can see me. “No. She left earlier.”
“She didn’t call for me to pick her up.”
“Swing by and pick me up.” I press the End button and tuck my phone back into my pocket. “I’ll go by Sophia’s house.”
On my way there, crazy thoughts swim through my head. What if she had heard what we talked about? Fuck. I’m screwed. I didn’t want her to find out this way. Hell, I didn’t want her to find out at all. And yet the thought of losing her causes fear to strike my chest. I can’t lose her. Not after everything we have been through.
I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to her. I’ll explain to her what happened.
Michael pulls up at the side of the street, and I tell him to wait in the car. I walk up to the brick building and ring the doorbell. Sophia opens the door with a frown.
“Have you seen Poppy?”
She casts a curious glance at me. “No.” She closes the door behind her, stepping out onto the concrete ground, folding her arms across her chest. “When’s the last time you saw her?”
“Thirty minutes ago. She told Lake she was going to see you.”
“She’s probably upset about something. She tends to run away when she gets stressed out. I remember when she was sixteen years old and she ran away from home. My mother couldn’t find her for two weeks. If she doesn’t turn up by tomorrow morning, give me a call. She might be at her favorite place, the Brooklyn Bridge.”
I rush to my car and tell Michael to take me to the bridge. Once I get there, the streetlights brighten up the darkened sky. I walk for at least ten minutes before I spot her sitting on the grass, watching the city scenery with buds in her ears. I sit next to her and remove the earbuds one by one. She glances at me with anger in her eyes then snatches the buds from my hand.
“How did you find me?” she snaps.
“Why did you leave?” I counter.
She rolls her eyes and stands up, dusting her butt off. “Why does it matter? I heard you loud and clear when you were speaking to Trent and Atlas. You were going to leave me the minute you signed the contract.” I hear the bitterness in her tone.
I follow suit and stand next to her. “I was. But then I realized I want you more than anything in life.”
She kicks a rock and it rolls onto the concrete. “Yeah, I don’t believe that. You will have gone through with it, because you’re selfish. Just like most men.”
