AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Shewas already having a hard enough day.”Momwhisper-yelled. “Youhad no right to unload that on her.”
“ButIdo have the right.Sheis my daughter, too.”
Igritted my teeth, and my footsteps quickened to drown out the truthIhated.
* * *
ChapterFifteen
POPPY
IcarriedNeilto my sanctuary, breathing in the freedom it offered.Imight hate living in this house, but not my room.
Mompoured countless hours into transforming every inch of this room.Itwas unrecognizable from the original version.Theprevious eggshell walls were painted over with a beautiful shade of soul-sucking pitch black.Momstripped the old carpeting, replacing it with a large, worn-out, vintage rug that stretched across the floor, reaching all four corners.Drabcurtains hung from the ceiling, giving it aVictorianedge.Themodern furniture was discarded for the essentials needed to function.Thefour-poster bed had a mattress so firm only a human-machine would find comfort on it.Allin all, this room exceeded my wildest expectations.
Nosooner hadIchangedNeil’sdiaper and dressed him in pajamas when a knock sounded on the door.IlaidNeilin the crib and opened the door to find an unwelcome guest leaning against the frame, the pose suggesting it had been practiced to perfection.
“Paris?”
Leeringeyes greeted me, lacking the allure of a certain archnemesis from last night. "Hi,Poppy."
Iscanned the hallway behind him.EvenifPariscoasted past the guards at the gate,Momwouldn’t have allowed him upstairs. “Whatare you doing here?”
“Yourgrandma put me on the list of approved guests with your security, and they called one of the staff members to let me in the house.”
Iawkwardly skirted around the door. “Isee.Howare you?”
“Notgreat.Ifelt bad about how our conversation ended and wanted to stop by.Youran away so fastIdidn't have a chance to apologize,” he accused.
Withnarrowed eyes cast in doubt,Iacknowledged his words skeptically, “Hmm.”
Thiswas the part whereParisattempted to apologize for being a douchebag while simultaneously trying to wheedle his way into my room.Except, he never makes it to the apology part; rather, he pats himself on the back for attempting it.Iwasn't convinced this time would be any different.
"It'sa good thingIdon't let pride get in the way.”Pariswould have clapped for himself if he could. “Somemen never think to apologize."
Iwas positiveParisbelieved an apology lay somewhere between the lines of complimenting himself.Ididn’t care. "Ofcourse,”Ireplied dismissively.
"SinceI’malready here, why don't we start our date over?" he suggested.
Ourcommunity came together after my cousin’s accident, andParisessentially invited himself.Itwas far from a date.
Sensingmy hesitancy,Pariscontinued, “I’mjust asking to hang out.Noneed to be rude about it.Imean, you haven’t even asked me howI’mdoing.”
Itwas the third thingIasked, but arguing withPariswas pointless.Thethought of him tattling toNaniwas worse. “Howare you,Paris?”
“Devastated.”Hesighed dramatically. “Thiswhole thing withRosehappened before my bigNewYear’sparty.Itput a damper on everything.Shecould’ve at least been considerate enough to jump after the holidays so it wouldn’t bum everyone out.”
Scornwas displayed on my face, acting as armor to shieldRose. “Rosedidn’t get hurt on purpose.”
Parisbrushed off my remark. “Sheshould’ve known her actions would affect empaths like me.Ialways prioritize other people’s emotions before mine and end up suffering for it.”
Itook a deep inhale.Smoothingout my features,Isaid, “Oh, you must not have heard.Thedoctors concludedRosefell because of a muscular disease and diagnosed her with plasmaosis.”
“What?”
“Plasmaosis,”Irepeated, relishing how quicklyIcame up with a name for a fabricated illness. “It’sa disease that makes your legs unsteady.Itmade her collapse.I’msurprised you don’t know about it.”Icocked my head questioningly.Pariswas so conceited he’d never admit to not knowing a made-up ailment.
Hecoughed awkwardly. “Ofcourse,Iknow of it, but you mispronounced the word.It’spronouncedP-l-a-a-s-m-a-o-s-i.Thelastsis silent.”
