Death of the Perfect Girl

29- The Past Friend

Mason stopped the car in front of Poppy's house. He noticed a look on her face. "Hey," he furrowed his brows. "Are you okay?"

She looked at him. "I don't like being home alone. Not after the break in."

"Doesn't your dad have a gun?"

"Not anymore. He sold it and put up home security instead. Not after... He doesn't trust it in the house."

"How long will they be at work?"

"My dad will be out all till eight tomorrow morning and I think my mom is working overtime."

"Do you want me to keep you company?...Like old times?"

"Thank you," Poppy smiled at him.

They both got out of car.

Poppy led Mason up the steps and unlocked the front door. They walked inside and she shut the door.

Mason watched her punch in the security code. 9172 He quickly turned away when she turned around.

"Are you hungry?" She smiled at him.

He shook his head. "I'm not."

"Okay," Poppy nodded. "Do you remember the last time you came by?"

"Yeah," Mason chuckled. "Your sister almost murdered me."

Poppy's smile faded.

"Not like that. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I know what you meant."

"Do you want to go upstairs? Watch a movie on your laptop like we used to?"

Poppy nodded. "Yeah." She walked up the stairs with Mason behind her....like the good old days. But something felt different.

She opened her bedroom door.

"Wow," Mason walked inside looking around. "You repainted?"

"I didn't like the color. I needed a change."

"So, you chose blue over pink?"

Poppy took her laptop off of her desk then she walked over to her bed and sat down. "I chose blue over pink because my parents painted it pink when they made it my nursery. I never liked the color."

"Well," Mason climbed onto the bed and kicked off his shoes on to the floor," I think it's much better."

"Thank you," Poppy shrugged gleefully.

Mason chuckled. "So, what are we watching?"

Poppy held the laptop and sat at the corner of the bed, leaning her back against the frame. "I was thinking an episode of 'It's Sunny In Philadelphia' would be nice, since you have to get home by eleven."

"Oh," Mason chuckled sitting beside her," I lied. I knew Sadie wouldn't let me take you home. So, I just told her that to get her off my back."

"Okay," Poppy looked at the laptop. "By the way, why did she pull you away from the rest of us?"

Mason shook his head. "She thinks she can ruin my life by getting rid of my fans. I don't even want fans. None of this was worth it. Worth loosing you."

Poppy looked at him.

He turned to her.

The look in his eyes scared her. She knew it too well.

"Poppy," he frowned. "I'm really sorry I let you down."

"It's fine," she turned away and started logging into her Hulu account.