Barefoot

Part Five

The next morning, he is up early after a night of tossing and turning restlessly. He sits up in bed and rubs his eyes, then gets out of bed and stumbles sleepily into the bathroom. He splashes cool water on his face, hoping to wash away his tiredness.

Then he walks back into his room, tosses a grey t-shirt and then turns his light off. He starts to walk into the kitchen, but pauses in the doorway when he sees Poppy in the next room over.

Her hair is splayed out, the red color giving her the look that she has a mane. The sun peeking through the blinds reflects off her hair and makes it shine. Her lovely green eyes are closed and her face is relaxed. It's strange to see her without that smile, he thinks.

The blankets is only pulled up to her waist and he can see one of his mom's old shirts on her. Her arms are thrown out to the sides and as she shifts, he's afraid he has woken her. He catches his breath, racking his brain to come up with something to say to her, but he doesn't need to. She simply rolls over and goes back to sleep.

His lips crack into a smile before he knows it, and he shakes his head at himself. This is ridiculous, he tells himself. How can I feel like this after only one day?

His mother's quiet voice speaks to him. "Because your hearts are connected," she says, smiling at him. He looks at her questioningly, asking how she knew exactly what he was thinking. She waves her hand at him. "You might think your expressions are unreadable, but I'm your mother. I've had eighteen years of practice."

He sighs and rolls his eyes to keep from laughing. His eyes travel back to the girl still sleeping on the bed and his heart flutters. He wants to talk to her, just as his mother suggested, but he has no idea how.

He walks away and into the kitchen with the intent of making breakfast. His mother just watches him, a surprised expression on his face. "What?" He asks.

She just shakes her head. "It's just been- never mind." She smiles at him. "Go ahead and make breakfast. I've got to run to the hospital real quick, okay? I should be back in an hour or two."

"Okay." His mom kisses his cheek and then tugs him down to her eye level. "And don't forget to tell her. You won't regret getting it off your chest. You've been bottling it up for too long." She hugs him. "And no matter what, I love you."

He awkwardly hugs back. "Love you too."

She smiles and he notices her eyes watering. "You don't see how much happier you already are," she states, and he shakes his head. He doesn't feel much different. She explains, "That's the first time you said 'I love you' to me since that happened." She walks away quickly and he hears her get into her car, which drives towards the direction of the hospital.

He turns back to the stove where the eggs he's making are cooking, only to hear footsteps pad into the kitchen. He turns his head and see Poppy, wearing only his mother's shirt. It's practically a dress on her, reaching between her hips and knees. He hadn't realized how small she was until now. His mother wasn't a large person, standing at only five-foot-seven, and her shirt was huge on her.

She smiles at him and he turns away quickly to keep his smile from her.

"Are you upset with me?" She asks, her voice husky with sleep.

Sighing, he turns around. "No." He gathers the eggs onto a plate and then splits it into two, one for each of them. He sets it in front of her and then takes a seat beside her at the table. "Actually, I wanted to apologize for how I acted last night. It was wrong of me to yell at you like that."

She sets down her fork and just looks at her food, and he realizes just how much his yelling upset her. Before his mind knows what he's doing, his heart has moved his hand over to hold hers. She jerks her head up, her cheeks pink.

"I'm sorry," he says earnestly. "I'm sorry for upsetting you. I wouldn't do that on purpose."

She shakes her head. "No, no, it's me who should be sorry. I overstepped and I pushed you and I shouldn't have."

He pulls her hand towards him and smiles at her, his first genuine grin since last year. "I want to tell you what happened."

She looks shocked. "Oh, no, you don't have to tell me anything-"

He quiets her by covering her mouth with his hand. Her cheeks flush and his heart soars at being the one to make her blush. "I want to tell you, Flower."

He mentally face-palms himself. Flower?