"Get the fuck out of my house!" my dad shouted.
"Gladly. But, before I go, I have just one thing to say; you've never been a good father. You've always treated Poppy and her mother like absolute shit."
"You know nothing about being a father, you l...
**WE ARE ALMOST AT 2K VIEWS AND I AM SERIOUSLY DANCING IN CIRCLES YOU GUYS. That is amazing to me. Thank you SO SO SO much. I love you all.**
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**Edited**
Poppy's POV
Once Knox's nose was all bandaged up, we were ready to go. The nurse gave him strict instructions not to overdo it until his bruising went down. Noticing his lack of attention, she directed the words at me and repeated them once again. I nodded, giving her my full attention so I would know what to do with Knox's nose.
I was thankful that despite the amount of discomfort it brought him, Knox was able to get up and walk out of the hospital, only leaning a bit of his weight against me. I made the executive decision to just have our ride drop us off at his house, that way he didn't have to suffer another trip once getting home unlike if he were to stay at my place.
Knox and I were both relatively silent the entire ride. He'd turned much more serious than he'd been earlier; I knew it was because he was aware I was going to make him have a talk with me about everything that's happened the last two-ish weeks.
The silence finally broke once we were inside and he gently laid himself down on his bed.
"Knox..." I trailed off, waiting for him to start talking.
"I know...I've made progress," he sighed out, looking conflicted. "However, I don't know if it's the progress you're looking for," he explained further.
"What do you mean?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. This wasn't for me, this was for him.
"I know that I can be the man that you need. I know that I can and will treat you better than anyone else ever could because I love you more than anyone else ever could," he stated adamantly, a fierce look in his eyes as he spoke, "but I still don't see what yousee in me when I look at myself. I've tried, Poppy, believe me, I have. I just...I spent so long buying into the garbage my dad filled my head with," he growled, looking upset with himself.
That was when I realized how utterly wrong I'd been. Not about taking a step back and trying to get Knox to see his own self-worth, but about the way in which I went about it. After discovering that his irrational and impulsive behavior when it comes to me stems from his insecurities about his self-worth, the absolute last thing I should've done was push him away; regardless of how good my intentions were.
Doing what I'd done had only served to confirm what he believed about himself. What I should'vedone instead - and what I was going to do now - was reassure him of my love for him while making sure I reiterated what I see in him. Giving him peace of mind that what he sees and what I see are completely opposite would soothe his need to act irrationally whenever he feels threatened about our relationship. I felt horribly dumb about the ill-advised decision I'd made, but this was my first real relationship and Knox and I were learning together as we went. I cupped his cheek with my palm and turned his face so that we were staring into each other's eyes.
