Seven Reasons Not To Die

v | unveiling sincerities

Maria had never been big on the idea of friends, it hadn't been as though she was a loner. It was just so happened to be that she never found the need to surround herself with other people, so maybe she really was a loner. The idea was just she had never had someone outside her family pay attention to her like Poppy did. It made her stomach feel weird, according to books the description was stated to resemble butterflies. Yet that was used to describe a feeling someone got when they were around their crush, though maybe feeling butterflies could designated for someone having a real friend. Where her and Poppy even friends? They may have grown up in the same town, but this was the first time they had spoken, and it had only been three days.

"Maria?" The younger girl groaned as she pulled her blanket over her head, the relentless nudging in her side not stopping. "We fell asleep at your house yesterday, I didn't realize I had actually spent the whole day here." Poppy muttered to herself as she kept trying to awake the blonde she had awoke beside.

"Go away!" Maria growled as she pulled her blankets tighter around her body, "It's too early for this."

"Why must you be so difficult?" Poppy pouted as she quit poking at the small figure curled beneath the bed covers, "I'm going home to change, I'll be back around noon!" Maria didn't get a chance to complain and curse the girl to stay away from her, as she heard the sounds of doors slamming. Poppy was gone, and Maria was left awake and debating if she should actually get up or not.

"She seems lovely," Gloria appeared, smirking at her niece, "She even ate my charred biscuits, I told her she didn't have to but she insisted. Very kind indeed."

"Don't think anything into this, she's just an annoying girl who refuses to leave me alone," Maria huffed, her head poking out from beneath her blanket to glare at her aunt, "And you let the poor girl try to poison herself?"

Gloria held her hands up in defense, "I was trying to be nice, I can't cook! That girl is just very polite."

"You should have burned them, they shouldn't have existed." Maria muttered as she threw her blankets off of her.

"I already burned them! And they were still existing!" Gloria yelled throwing her hands in the air, "Paula Dean has taught me nothing, I suppose? Hey where are you going?"

"I'm going to get you a resume for worst cooks in America, but it's in the same place as last year's Christmas turkey." Maria stated as she made her way into the bathroom. She had already closed the door when Gloria continued to defend her inability to cook properly.

"In my defense, we both know the turkey was already past due!"

When Poppy arrived home, what she had not expected was her mother sitting on the couch. Though it wasn't her mother that bothered her, no it was the battered picture frame from her bedroom. Three brilliantly smiling faces, "Mum?"

Eliza jumped at the sound of her daughter's voice, "You didn't come home last night, I got worried."

"Sorry, Maria and I got distracted. I guess I didn't notice how much time had passed." Poppy shrugged, but from the look she was receiving from her mother she could infer that something wasn't entirely right. Both women's gazes were focused on the picture frame, staring pitifully at the smiling face that wasn't in the room anymore.

"Why are you helping her?" Eliza spoke quietly, unfazed by the dipping in the couch. Her gaze softened though when she finally turned to look at her daughter.

"Because she needs it," No names had been spoken, but neither had a need to as the same blonde haired girl was on their minds at the moment, "I know what you're going to say, don't get involved with other people's problems, Poppy." The brunette mocked a scolding tone as she messed with her hair.

"I don't want to see you hurt, Poppy. Her problems aren't just going to go away because you're showing her all these things."

"You're speaking as if I didn't know that, Mum I wasn't going to let her do that. Not until I tried to give her reasons not to." Poppy stated as she stared at her mother's now silent figure, "Did you want me to turn around, pretend I didn't see anything?" The question was important to her, she had to understand why now. Why was her mother sitting her down to talk about this now, after she knew, after Poppy told her.

"You would have been safer, you trust too much. You're putting all this faith in this plan, Poppy what happens when it doesn't work!" Eliza didn't want to yell but she found herself doing it now, "why don't you tell her aunt, Sweetheart this isn't your problem."

"You wanted me to allow a girl to take her life, because if I didn't do what I did, there'd be no doubt that a funeral would be planned right now." Poppy was crying, she didn't know why or when she started.

"Goddammit Poppy! She isn't your father, you tried then to! The reasons didn't work then, what's making them work this time?" Eliza yelled before she had time to collect her thoughts, and Poppy was left to stare at her mother in horror.

"If you want me to tell her aunt so bad, go and do it yourself," Poppy choked as she stared at her mother, and it didn't take Eliza long to finally realize the words that had left her mouth. Nothing could take those words back, even if she wanted to Eliza had stepped too far. Her will to protect her daughter from hurting again had crossed the line, and her child's retreating figure was enough to let her know she hadn't helped a thing.

It was past three before Poppy reappeared at the Miser house, and Maria didn't know what to think about the girl standing before her now. Obviously she had grown a bit worried by one, after all the other had promised to return by noon. Her dress appeared to be on backwards, but Maria didn't dare say a thing from the appearance of Poppy's face.

"We're going out," Poppy stated flatly, and she turned around sharply beginning to walk away. This left Maria rushing to slip her shoes on, and running to catch up with the girl's fast pace. This behavior was odd, she could have dealt with her own attitude, but seeing Poppy's stoned expression was not settling with her comfortably.

"Poppy, er are you okay?" Maria questioned as she fidgeted with her hands. Poppy didn't spare a glance, and the blonde noticed her quickening pace. She didn't say anything after that, not even as they passed through streets of shops and gas stations, she followed Poppy like a lost puppy. Simply because Maria didn't know what it was like to have a friend, nor had she ever seen such a distraught look on the face of Poppy Perkins for the years she had seen her. Could there have been a time? Maria struggled to recall a time Poppy had not been the girl who always smiles, but found herself coming up empty handed.

The silence remained, and Maria found herself growing worried as the town scenery turned into the sights of the fishing pier. The wooden structure stretched out onto the water, families crowded it as children jumped in their shoes, watching their fishing poles eagerly. Though that wasn't what the teens were there for, no Poppy didn't stop walking until they found a mostly empty section of the pier, at the very end.

"I'm not okay, I don't think I have been for awhile." Poppy's voice was quiet, caught up in the wind that Maria was sure she had to have heard her wrong, "I thought everything was going great," This time the words were louder, and she was proved to have heard correctly. Especially as Poppy burried her face in her hands, "I don't have a reason for dragging you out here."

"You don't need a reason, I needed to get away from my aunt anyway." Maria found herself on the other end, no one was trying to cheer her up today. Instead roles were reversed, and Maria didn't question it too much, just because the idea of a crying Poppy wasn't an image her mind could create.

"My reasons are terrible, but today's has a point. Please Maria just know you have a future, you have things you've yet to discover. Your aunt is there for you, though she can't cook to save her life." Poppy laughed lightly at her last remark, "Could I uh, stay at your house again?"

Maria blinked rapidly as Poppy looked at her, "Yeah sure, but I make no promises about a good meal." Both girls laughed at different memories of Gloria Miser's cooking abilities failing. Neither of them said much after that, Maria knew better than to pry. If Poppy had wanted to tell her then she would have, and the silence was comforting now. There wasn't a need for any of them to speak, they watched families laugh, and children screeching as their fish flopped around. It was an hour after sundown that they decided it was time to return indoors.

"Thank you, for this." Were the last words Maria heard that night, after a whispered argument with her aunt.