When We Were Wildflowers

Chapter 23 - Breakups and Makeups

"Your suspicions were right about Luke." Poppy's voice roars from my cell phone and I have hold it away six inches away from my ear and put it on speakerphone to protect my hearing. "He's an asshole!"

I hide inside my bedroom closet to conceal our conversation from my mom who is just down the hall. "Take a deep breath and tell me exactly what happened."

Poppy's exhales and when she speaks her voice is calm, but laced with sadness ."Luke and I met up tonight at Chick Fil-A, then he asked me to walk with him to his house to watch a movie."

"Watch a movie?" I pause, suspicious of Luke's invitation. "Just the two of you? Alone?"

"Yes." Poppy takes a long pause. "His parents were out for the night, and I guess I kind of knew what that meant, but I thought I had the situation under control."

"He didn't pressure you, did he?" I sit and pull my knees into my chest, fearful of what I might hear next.

"Well, he wanted to go farther and I kind of said okay, but then I changed my mind." Poppy voice cracks and she blubbers.

Farther? I'm not sure what that means, but I don't like where this conversation is headed and I have the urge to kick Luke in his nether parts the next time I see him. "Then what?"

"He said I was teasing him and being a bitch. A bitch!"

My jaw drops and I gasp, anger swirling in my belly. "Did you leave?"

"No, I tried to talk with him about it, but he got annoyed and said he should have never dated a middle schooler because I was too immature. Can you believed that? I am not immature. I am a smart woman." I nod in agreement. "Luke said his last girlfriend was so much more experienced and I was moving too slowly for him. It was like he didn't want a relationship, only the physical stuff."

Yuck. My skin is crawling with disgust. "Luke is a creep. Like a total dirt bag. You deserve so much better than that!" 

"I know, I know... but why does it hurt so much? Why do I feel like my heart has been cut from my chest, stomped on, and pureed in the blender? It was almost our three-week anniversary and I wrote him a poem I was going to recite tonight. Why do I miss him so much already?" Poppy loud sobs fill my closet and I tap the volume button to quiet her down.

There is a knock at the door. "Everything okay in there, honey?"

"Hold on, my mom's at the door," I whisper to Poppy and stuff my phone into my laundry basket. "Yeah, I'm good. Just watching a video."

"Oh, I thought I heard crying. Do you need to talk?"

I rise from my closet floor and walk to the closed door where Mom waits on the other side. I can almost feel her warmth calling to me, and I long to wrap my arms around her and bury my face into her shoulder like I used to do when I was younger. Instinctively, I put my hand on the door knob, ready to let her in, then pull away. "No, I'm fine."

"All right, but I'm here for you."

"Okay." I lean my forehead against the door and close my eyes, wishing things could be like they were before Dad moved out last weekend.

"Also, I planned a little get together for you and Alicia at her house tomorrow night. A sleepover. Doesn't that sound fun?"

I take a quick step back in shock. "You did what?"

"I'd like you to make some new friends here, and you're both doing the play. Seems like a good fit. Plus, I'd like to have a few words with Alicia's mom about... our situation."