Knox's Girl (Carmichael Series #1)✔️

Lions, Tigers, and Bears Oh My!

**I am on fucking fire you guys. Whipping these updates out like it's my damn job. Hope you guys like it. You should comment what you think cause it's the cool thing to do now a days.**

**Edited**

Poppy's POV

I carried my sandals, which had successfully rubbed the back of my ankles raw, in my hands as I made the trip to the gate at the front of the neighborhood. Turns out, calling a taxi is useless when they can't actually access the neighborhood unless they're given the security code – which I highly doubt Knox would've even considered giving me being as he kicked me out of his house without even batting an eye.

So, here I was a sobbing mess of tears trying helplessly to find my way to the front entrance of this God-forsaken gated community. I wasn't even sure if I would have enough money for the fair at this point - the cabby said he was waiting at the gate with his meter running about twenty minutes ago. After another ten minutes of aimlessly wandering down random sidewalks in hopes of getting where I needed to be, I gave up. Plopping myself down on the curb, I rested my head in my hands and just silently sat there while trying to think of things I had to be thankful for.

For one, it was only late afternoon – that was one thing at least. Things could've been much worse if it was late at night or early morning and I had somewhere to be.

"Well, Poppy, now you have no other choice but to call Kiara and get her to pick you up which will, without a doubt, lead to the you kept secrets from your best friend lecture. Annnnnd now you're talking to yourself so that's just fantastic, isn't it?" I grumbled to myself before letting out a frustrated huff. I unlocked my phone and began scrolling through the contacts on my phone. I'd memorized Kiara's number years ago, but I was stalling for the sake of my own pride.

Just as I hit the call button, a beautiful pearl-white Cadillac Escalade pulled to a stop a few feet up the road from where I was resting. I felt my heart beat increase when the driver threw the car in park and got out. Scrambling to my feet, I began backing up out of fear. When the driver came into view my shoulders sagged with relief at who it was.

"Corbin, thank the heavens it's you!" I burst out, quickly ending the outgoing call to Kiara before running towards him and throwing my arms around his midriff. I knew I caught him off guard as he stumbled back a few steps. He patted my back a few times before grasping my shoulders and pushing me away the slightest bit to assess the state I was in.

"Uh, Poppy...why are you walking around with no shoes on? Wait, have you been crying?" he asked while narrowing his eyes at me in silent accusation. I instantly felt defensive, but didn't feel the need to try and explain the whole situation to avoid looking completely insane. I had more important things to do, like convince him to give me a ride home - or at least escort me to the exit of this place.

"It's actually a really long story that I would rather not delve into right now, but if you could give me a ride back to my place I would really appreciate it," I rushed out. He released a small sigh and nodded before jerking his head in the direction of his care. He let go of me and turned, climbing back in the car as I scrambled to follow his lead and get in as well. It took me a little more effort than it should have with how high up the car actually was. The second I was properly seated and had shut the door, he sped off like a bat out of hell - not even waiting until I got my seatbelt properly buckled.

"So are you ever going to tell me what happened?" Corbin questioned with a single raised eyebrow, glancing over at me before refocusing his gaze on the road.

"Maybe some other time. What were you doing in this neighborhood?" I asked, effectively changing the topic. I could tell he caught me deflecting the question from the way he rolled his eyes, but he chose to answer me anyway.