A Thousand Boy Kisses(17)

I took her hand and we headed back toward our houses. All the lights in my house were still on. When we reached Poppy’s doorway, I leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose. Shifting my mouth to her ear, I whispered, “Give me an hour and I’ll come to you.”

“Okay,” Poppy whispered back. Then I jumped as her palm landed gently on my chest. Poppy stepped closer to me. The serious expression on her face made me suddenly nervous. She stared at her hand, then ran her fingers slowly over my chest and down over my stomach.

“Poppymin?” I asked, unsure what was happening.

Without saying a word, she pulled her hand away and moved toward her door. I waited for her to turn around and explain, but she didn’t. She walked through the open door, leaving me glued to the spot on her driveway. I could still feel the heat from her hand on my chest.

When the light in the Litchfields’ kitchen came on, I made myself walk back to my own house. As soon as I walked in the door, I spotted a mountain of boxes in the hallway.

They must have been packed and stored away to keep them from my sight.

Pounding past them, I saw my mamma and pappa in the living room. My pappa called my name but I didn’t stop. I entered my bedroom just as he came in behind me.

I moved to my nightstand and began gathering everything I wanted with me, especially the framed picture of Poppy and me that I had taken the previous night. As my eyes scanned the photograph, my stomach ached. If it was possible, I already missed her. Missed my home.

Missed my girl.

Sensing my pappa was still behind me, I said quietly, “I hate you for doing this to me.”

I caught his quick inhale of breath. I turned around, and I saw my mamma standing beside him. Her face was as shocked as my pappa’s. I had never treated them this badly. I liked my parents. I had never understood how other teenagers didn’t like theirs.

But I did now.

I hated them.

I’d never felt such hate toward anyone before.

“Rune—” my mamma began, but I stepped forward and cut her off.

“I will never forgive you, either of you, for doing this to me. I hate you both so much right now I can’t stand to be near you.”

I was surprised at how harsh my voice sounded. It was thick and full with all the anger that was building inside of me. Anger that I hadn’t known it was possible to feel. I knew to most people I seemed moody, sullen, but really, I rarely felt anger. Now I felt I was made of it. Only hate ran through my veins.

Rage.

My mamma’s eyes filled with tears, but for once, I didn’t care. I wanted them to feel as bad as I did right now.

“Rune—,” my pappa said, but I turned my back to him.

“What time do we leave?” I barked, interrupting whatever he was trying to say.

“We leave at seven a.m.,” he informed me softly.

I closed my eyes; I now had only hours with Poppy. In eight hours I would be leaving her behind. Leaving everything behind apart from this rage. I would make sure that traveled with me.

“It won’t be forever, Rune. After a while, it’ll get easier. You’ll meet someone else eventually. You’ll move on—”

“Don’t!” I roared as I whipped around, throwing the lamp from my nightstand across the room. The glass bulb shattered on impact. I breathed hard, heart racing in my chest, as I glared at my pappa. “Don’t you ever say anything like that again! I won’t move on from Poppy. I love her! Don’t you get that? She’s my everything and you’re ripping us apart.” I watched his face pale. I stepped forward.

My hands were shaking.

“I have no choice but to come with you, I know that. I’m only fifteen; I’m not stupid enough to believe that I could stay here alone.” I clenched my hands into fists. “But I will hate you. I will hate both of you every single day until we return. You might think that just because I’m fifteen I’ll forget Poppy as soon as some slut from Oslo flirts with me. But that will never happen. And I will hate you every single second until I’m with her again.”

I paused for breath, then added, “And even then, I’ll hate you for taking me away from her in the first place. Because of you, I’ll miss out on years of being with my girl. Don’t think that just because I’m young I don’t recognize what I have with Poppy. I love her. I love her more than you could imagine. And you’re taking me away, without even considering how I would feel.” I turned my back, walked to my closet and began pulling down my clothes. “So from now on, I won’t give a damn how you feel about anything. I will never forgive you for this. Either of you. Especially you, Pappa.”

I began packing the suitcase my mamma must have placed on my bed. My pappa remained where he was, staring at the floor in silence. Eventually he turned away and said, “Get some sleep, Rune. We’re up early.”

Every hair on my neck pricked up in annoyance at his dismissal of what I had to say, until he quietly added, “I’m so sorry, son. I do know how much Poppy means to you. I tried to leave telling you until now to spare you weeks of hurt. It clearly didn’t help. But this is real life, and it’s my job. You’ll understand one day.”

The door closed behind him, and I dropped onto the bed. I dragged my hand down my face, and my shoulders slumped when I stared at my empty closet. But the anger was still there, burning in my stomach. If anything, it was burning hotter than before.