Shadows of deceit

7

"what's going on with you and Branch all of a sudden?" Creek asked as he drove home, Poppy being in the passenger seat. they both clocked out together to head home. but everything after lunch ate at Creek for the rest of the day.

Poppy glanced at Creek, noting the tension in his voice. "What do you mean?" she asked, trying to keep her tone neutral.

"I mean, he seemed a bit too interested in our personal lives, don't you think?" Creek replied, his grip on the steering wheel tightening slightly.

Poppy sighed, feeling a familiar knot of unease in her stomach. "He's just concerned, Creek. We've known him for years, and he cares about us."

"I know, I know," Creek muttered, his frustration palpable. "But it's none of his business. We have our way of handling things."

Poppy hesitated, unsure of how to ease Creek's growing discomfort. she was thinking of her words carefully. "our way of handling things... looks... not.. normal... to a lot of people... so we just gotta accept that people are going to look at us that way," Poppy said looking to him, placing her hand gently on creeks thigh, in which creek quickly slapped away,

"don't touch me," he said through gritted teeth as his hands went back to the wheel, gripping it tightly.

Poppy withdrew her hand, taken aback by Creek's reaction. She glanced out the window, the tension in the car becoming almost suffocating. "I'm sorry, Creek. I didn't mean to upset you."

Creek didn't respond immediately, his jaw clenched as he focused on driving. After a few moments of silence, he spoke again, his voice strained. "It's just frustrating, you know? I don't like feeling like our personal life is under a microscope, especially from someone like Branch."

Poppy nodded slowly, understanding Creek's perspective but also feeling a sense of discomfort at his reaction. "I get it, Creek. But we can't control how others perceive us. We can only control how we handle ourselves." Poppy said, trying to give some sense of what Branch seemed to be doing. though she didn't see anything from Branch. but she knew better than to disagree with Creek, especially when he was in a mood.

Poppy's attempt to provide a different perspective fell flat in the tense atmosphere of the car. She knew Creek's moods well enough to recognize when it was best to avoid confrontation.

"Yeah, I know," Creek replied shortly, his gaze fixed on the road ahead. The silence that followed was heavy with unresolved tension, each of them lost in their thoughts.

As they neared home, Poppy glanced at Creek, her expression a mix of concern and resignation. "We'll figure it out, Creek. We always do."

Creek nodded, though his expression remained guarded. "Yeah, we will."

The rest of the journey was completed in silence, the unease lingering between them like an unspoken barrier. As they arrived home, Poppy couldn't help but wonder how they would navigate through the complexities of their relationship and the challenges that lay ahead.

Poppy stared out the window, watching the familiar streets pass by in silence. The tension between her and Creek weighed heavily on her mind. She knew their conversation in the car wasn't over, just paused until the next inevitable clash.

Entering their driveway, Creek parked the car with a sigh of relief. Poppy unbuckled her seatbelt slowly, gathering her thoughts before facing Creek again. She opened her mouth to speak, but Creek beat her to it.

"I just don't want things to get more complicated, Poppy," Creek said, his voice softer now but still tinged with frustration. He turned to look at her, his eyes searching hers for understanding.