She was going to have to do this eventually. After purposely missing the funeral, she knew that she couldn't avoid Nina's grave forever. Craig offered to take her himself and the two soon found themselves standing awkwardly in front of the headstone. Neither of them said anything the entire ride there. Craig proposed to his wife that she should join them, but Tracy wasn't ready for a grave visit. The funeral that Poppy had skipped out on was too fresh in her mind and she had cried the entire way through it.
Craig finally cleared his throat, dusting off the imaginary dust on his sleeve. He decided to wear the suit he had worn for the funeral, making the decision only after Poppy decided to change into what she would've worn for the funeral last minute. The man looked down at the flowers that Poppy had suggested bringing, and he offered them to the teenager. "It was your idea. You should get the honors." He told her, his voice soft.
The girl looked up at the man before hesitatingly taking the flowers. When they got to the flower shop, Poppy had went straight for the sunflowers. They were Nina's favorite flowers and hers as well. She wondered if Nina only ever said she liked them because Poppy liked to paint them. As a kid, she loved Van Gogh. Nina did too, but was always a Starry Night person more than Poppy was a Sunflowers person. Still, the girl wanted to believe that it was the right flowers to leave at the grave.
Poppy turned to face Craig before taking the flowers from the man. "Thanks for coming." She said quietly, afraid to meet his eyes. "You didn't have to. You don't owe me anything. I don't expect that of you–" The girl was caught off when she felt Craig's hand on her back. The man stared at her like a father would, and she couldn't help but think that since Nina's death he hadn't gotten the chance to act like one. "Poppy, it's okay. I know why you didn't come to the funeral. But you're here now." He pointed out, his gaze shifting to his daughter's grave.
He was right. She hadn't been there for Nina before, but at least she was now. Poppy knew it couldn't make up for everything that had happened between the two girls when Nina was alive, but she hoped it counted for something now that Nina was gone.
She placed the sunflowers at the base of Nina's grave before slowing standing up. It was hard for her not to cry, but the girl let a tear drip down her cheek onto the grass. Poppy brushed off her hands on her black leggings before looking at Craig. "I should go. Noah texted me earlier and said I should meet him up. Is that okay?" She asked him. Craig nodded his head a little,"Of course." He allowed.
"Thank you." She told him, turning around to head back to the car. Craig took a final look at his daughter's grave before looking back at Poppy. "Hey." He called over, getting the girl to turn her head back to look at him. "I'm glad you're making friends." Craig said honestly, giving her a smile that she once again associated with a father. It was too caring and loving to be anything but. She nodded her head a little, pausing in her walking until he caught up with her.
"What's with the funeral attire?"
Poppy didn't blame him for his words, because she had kept him in the dark. But that didn't mean Noah's words didn't hurt any less. She plopped herself down on the couch and stared up at the TV screens. "This is where you work?" She asked him, changing the subject so she wouldn't have to explain herself to him. Noah nodded his head, moving from behind the counter to join her on the couch.
The boy swung his legs over, placing them gently on Poppy's lap with a smirk. She raised her brows and gave him a look, but Noah was clearly not going to move his legs any time soon. "Okay." Poppy said quietly, accepting her feet. It was like when a cat decided to sit on your lap and fell asleep. How could you push that cat off your lap? No one would be that heartless. Though Poppy didn't consider Noah too much of a cat, more of a dog. A puppy would be the thing to describe him actually.
"So, Riley is meeting me tonight. I thought I could bring her here and show her one of my favorite places on Earth." He gestured with both arms to the store around him. Poppy smiled in surprise,"You're being yourself. See? Doesn't that feel good?" She was glad he was finally listening to her. Noah's face dropped however and he shook his head quickly. "Are you kidding? I'm terrified." He pointed out.
She chuckled a little when he looked at her with so much fear in his eyes. The redhead patted his sneakers gently,"You're going to be fine. Do you have a–" "Yes." Noah cut her off before she could even say it. Poppy raised a brow before deciding to continue and ignore his rude interruption. "So you got a c–" "Yes!" Noah exclaimed, putting his hand in front of her face to shut her up.
"You know if you're not mature enough to say 'condom', you're not mature enough for sex." Poppy scolded him for being so childish and a blush came onto his cheeks once more. He could only remember the last time that they had this conversation and he had turned into a tomato as well. "Poppy, have you ever d–" "Yes, Noah. I have." The redhead could see the question from a mile away, especially due to the timid look on his face.
Noah's eyes went wide and he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. "Then, could you–" "Noah, I'm going to stop you right there. I'm gay. My first time was with a girl." She explained. Noah only looked mildly shocked, but didn't take it too much as a surprise. He just nodded his head a little before he met her eyes again. "That doesn't mean you still can't give me advice." He tried.
Her eyes went wide as she reached for one of the couch's cushions. She slammed it straight into the boy's face, sending Noah back onto the arm of the couch roughly. "Ow." The boy's voice was muffled by the cushion and Noah reached up and sent it back flying towards Poppy.
Poppy caught it with a roll of her eye. "Think of it like a chemical reaction. It's the attraction is already there than it's bound to happen. Got it?" She asked, gently lifting his legs off of her lap so she could get up. Noah furrowed his brows as he looked up at her,"You don't do very well in chemistry, do you? Because I don't think you know what you're talking about there." He said, cautiously trying not to offend his friend.
"Goodbye, Noah." The girl told him, heading towards the door in the shop. She didn't still want to be around when Riley arrived and give her the wrong idea. "Wait, Poppy, can't you at least tell me anything about–" Noah rushed onto his feet, trying to stop the girl before she left the shop. "Goodbye, Noah." Poppy sounded a little annoyed when she opened the door, and looked even more annoyed when the boy caught up to her.
He looked at her helplessly, giving her eyes that was definitely a puppy and not a cat. She sighed before she reached over and put her hand on his shoulder. "You're going to be fine, Noah. Riley likes you for who you are. Just be your cute and charming self and she'll fall head over heels in love with you." She encouraged. Noah smiled small,"You're the best, angel. Thanks for coming. I needed your approval." He told her honestly.
She smiled back at him before ruffling his hair. "Text me after on how it went. I want to hear all about how you romanced her." Poppy joked with a giggle, and Noah opened the door for her to finally let her out.
It was dinner time in the Patterson household, and things were not easy.
Neither Craig or Tracy talked the entire time they sat across from each other, things even more strained between the couple since the death of their child and taking in Poppy. When the teenager arrived home, the only reply she was met with was the yaps and yips of the dog, Sage. Sage had taken quite a liking to Poppy ever since the girl arrived but she knew it was only because she looked like Nina.
Poppy entered the dining room, looking between the silent adults. "Geez, you guys act like somebody just died." It was an inappropriate joke and she should've never even said it. Tracy dropped her cutlery and the fork and knife crashed among the peas and mashed potatoes on her plate. "Don't you dare show up late for dinner with that kind of attitude." Tracy scolded her niece, barely capable of even looking at her.
The girl frowned as she took a seat and met the eyes of Craig. He looked at her, a little disappointed and Poppy felt guilty under his eyes. She mouthed an apology to him before picking up the fork in front of her. She wasn't exactly satisfied with the food in front of her, especially since Tracy hadn't been in the best shape the past few days which led to the food being a little undercooked. Or overcooked in the case of the burnt chicken.
She barely got through half the meal before her text message alert interrupted the silence. Tracy sent a glare towards her niece and Poppy gently pushed her chair back so she could take her phone out of the waist band of her leggings. She unlocked her phone to see a text message from Noah.
'911. She bailed. Please come.'
When she looked up at the two adults, only one of them could tell what she was about to do next. Craig looked at her with soft eyes before he nodded his head towards the front door. "You can go." He told her. "Craig–" Tracy began to protest, moving to the edge of her seat to scold her husband. When he gave her a look however, the blonde woman settled down and eased back into her chair.
Tracy looked over at Poppy, her eyes hard, before nodding her head a little. "Car keys are on the table. Be home before midnight." Craig reminded her. Poppy smiled a little and stood up from her chair. She moved over and pressed a quick kiss to the top of the man's head. "Thank you." She whispered to him before disappearing out of the dining room. Tracy raised a brow at her husband.
"What?" He asked her. Tracy shook her head and continued to cut her piece of chicken on her plate. "Nothing... just– you seemed to replace Nina quite well." She pointed out. Craig frowned at the woman until she met his eyes again. "Poppy was never about replacing Nina. She was never about that, okay? Ever." He defended her.
Poppy frowned a little when she heard them talking just outside the dining room, and wondered if Nina ever overheard them having that kind of conversation when she was alive.
She texted Noah as soon as she arrived. Noah opened the door to the shop with a frown on his face. He didn't look sad or anything, but he definitely looked a little disappointed. "Care to fill me in on the 911?" Poppy asked, holding up her phone and pointing to the opened text that he sent her. Before replying, Noah made his way over to the couch and flopped down onto the cushions face first.
The girl nearly cringed at the thump Noah made when he made contact, but the boy didn't look like he was in pain. She sighed and moved over, moving his feet off the couch and taking a seat. "I'm sensing things didn't go very well." Poppy said, earning a muffled sound from Noah. The boy turned his face on its side, his cheek being squished into the couch now. "Are you familiar with the term blue balls?" Noah questioned.
Poppy tried not to laugh, but she couldn't help it. The girl bursted out into a fit of giggles, earning a glare from the boy. Noah proceed to crawl forward so he could sit up and he turned to look at her. "It's not funny." He said, not expecting her to burst into an even bigger fit of giggles. "It's not!" He protested. "Poppy, I really like her."
His words got her giggling to die down as she met his eyes. Poppy sighed and leaned over to rest her hand gently on his shoulder. "I'm not laughing at you." She said, seeing the unconvinced look in his eyes. "I promise!" Poppy tried again before grabbing her phone. She pulled up her music and brought up the song she was thinking about. "I'm sorry, there's just– there's a musical theatre song about blue balls." Poppy explained, showing him the song.
Noah raised both brows,"You're kidding." He said, immediately reaching over to play it. Noah half smiled the moment the first line came out. "This is ridiculous." Noah commented. The boy leaned back on the couch, letting Poppy play the music. She smirked a little at him,"Audrey had a similar reaction." She informed him.
"I– I just– I don't even blame Riley for bailing. I get it." Noah started to explain, peeking the curiosity of Poppy. The girl looked at the phone in her hand and paused the song before any of that singing nonsense could continue and distract Noah from telling her what happened. "Why did she bail?" Poppy questioned.
"Tyler texted her." He explained. Poppy's eyes went wide,"The guy who killed Nina?!" Since there was no other solid suspect, Poppy presumed that the boy was Nina's killer. "Poppy... I don't think Tyler killed Nina." Noah said honestly, scratching the back of his neck. She frowned and looked down at her hands. "If he didn't kill Nina, then who did?" She didn't mean to sound so angry, or sound so hurt. When she noticed the slip of emotion, Poppy hoped Noah didn't think anything by it.
She nearly jumped in shock when she felt him touch her. "Are you okay?" Noah asked, his eyes suddenly filled with concern for his friend. Poppy nodded her head,"Of course. I just– why do you think he didn't?" She asked, trying to steer the question back on him so he could ignore her emotional outburst. Noah hesitated to answer, feeling like he shouldn't just leave whatever happened to Poppy unsettled. "Because the sheriff questioned you and me." He finally answered.
Poppy furrowed her brows,"The sheriff didn't question me–" Noah saw right through her lie, stopping her right there with a look of his eyes. She had been questioned by Sheriff Hudson, but she didn't expect Noah to figure that out despite being right there when Sheriff Hudson had pulled her aside. "It's okay, Poppy. I read your file. I'm not judging you or anything for it." Noah told her.
"You read my what?!" She exclaimed. Noah cringed and rushed onto his feet before Poppy could take a cushion from the couch and pelt him with it once more. He even put up his hands in a defensive stance. "I didn't mean to! He had it open on his desk and he just stepped out for a moment so I thought–" Noah defended himself. "You thought what?" Poppy frowned and picked up a cushion and whipped it at his frame.
Despite having his hands up, the cushion still roughly hit his side. "I'm sorry, Poppy! But– it's not a big deal, is it? I read the file. You were charged with assault but the judge ruled it self defense so... you're okay, right?" Noah said. Poppy's frown only softened when she realized the Noah didn't mean any harm by it.
"That's all you know?" Poppy asked him. Noah nodded his head,"Of course, it was the only thing to see. I realize now that is was probably a stupid thing to do, but you know a criminal record explains why the sheriff decided to question someone who just moved here." He pointed out.
"Yeah. Right." Poppy nodded her head, retreating under the mask she usually wore around people. At least Noah and Audrey were sort of getting through it. One day she would tell them the whole truth. One day.
But not today.
Noah's phone buzzed and it took both of their attention away from Poppy's criminal history. The boy pulled the phone out of his pocket and opened the text. "Riley." He explained, briefly showing the screen to Poppy. "She's at the police station. Apparently they tried to lure Tyler out of hiding and it didn't work. And now they can't find Brooke."
She furrowed her brows,"Maybe you should call her." Poppy suggested. Noah shrugged his shoulders a little, unsure if he wanted to see her after she ran out on him. It wasn't like he didn't like her anymore but the way she left him so quickly he found kind of embarrassing. That's why he decided to text Poppy instead of Audrey.
While he loved Audrey, she would tease him a lot more than Poppy did. Not to mention he was really starting to warm up to the girl. She was quickly becoming best friend material to him. "Should I? I mean, she's worried about Tyler and Brooke–" "Noah." Poppy cut him off, giving him a look. "Call her." She told him.
The push from Poppy was what he needed and Noah decided maybe it was a good thing to see her after everything that happened. He could tell her that he didn't blame her and that he was really looking forward to another date.
"I'll FaceTime her. I'll do that. It will be nice." He decided, moving behind the counter as he opened up the app on his phone. Noah pressed the call button once he found her contact and waited for the girl to pick up.
Nothing could prepare for what happened when he did.
"Noah!" Poppy heard Riley's cry for help from the couch, and immediately jumped off the cushions to run to the counter where Noah was standing. "Riley. Riley, oh my God. Where are you? What's happening?" He moved from behind the counter, his eyes briefly flashing up and catching Poppy's. From the look in his eyes, the girl could tell what was happening wasn't good.
"He stabbed me. Please call 911." Riley begged over the call. Poppy moved behind Noah to catch the sight of the crying girl on his phone screen. "Oh my God." She whispered, covering her mouth as her eyes flooded with concern. "Who stabbed you? Where are you?" Noah asked her, wondering if she was still at the station. But that would be impossible, because he was certain she would be safe there.
If she was stabbed, she couldn't have been stabbed at the police station... right?
"The roof. Tyler. He's... gone." Riley struggled to get the words out, probably due to blood loss and the pain she was experiencing. Poppy looked at Noah,"Tyler, do you think he–" She was afraid to finish her question and Noah met her eyes before going back to his screen. "Hey, Riley, where are you?" He asked again. "Just look around, just tell me what you can see!"
Riley lowered her phone, and Noah nor Poppy could see her anymore. "I can see our stars..." Her faint voice was heard over the call. "No, Riley! Hey... no... hey, you have to stay with me, okay?" Noah begged, wishing she hadn't lowered her phone so he couldn't even see her right now. But she was right. He did see their stars.
"Please! Please!" Noah begged when there was no response. "Riley?" He asked desperately. "Riley!" His shouts and begs amounted to nothing and Noah started shaking when nothing was coming over the call. He didn't know what to do, but Poppy leaned forward and ended the call. "What are you doing?" Noah whipped his head around to look for her.
Poppy took his phone and dialed 911 before handing it back to him. "Tell them what happened. I'm going to call Audrey." She urged him. Noah took a deep breath before pressing his phone to his ear to answer when he reached them. Poppy took out her own phone before stepping outside and finding Audrey's contact.
She clicked the girl's number and pressed her phone to her ear. Poppy took in a sharp breath of the cool autumn air, looking around the dark night. "Hello?" Audrey's voice came over the speaker. "Audrey?" Poppy said, making sure it was the girl before continuing. "No. Another Audrey." The sarcastic reply was all she needed to know it was her.
"Noah FaceTimed Riley and the killer stabbed her. Noah's calling 911 right now but you need to get over to the shop right now because Noah needs you." She rushed out, stopping to take a breath. It was hard to process watching someone die over a video call but she knew it would be easier if Audrey was there.
"I need you."
"Can't you park closer?!" Noah yelled, mostly due to nerves. He had already yelled at Poppy to drive faster once Audrey had arrived. The girl didn't take too long to get there. After Poppy said the words 'I need you', Audrey practically dropped everything to get there. "This is the best I can do. There are police cars everywhere, Noah." Poppy pointed out, unbuckling her seatbelt. She looked to the passenger seat where Audrey was seating and the girl gave her a reassuring look.
Whatever they found, they would get through this all together. Poppy just really hoped that they wouldn't find Riley's dead body but based on the police cruisers right out front, she guessed they might find just that.
The three piled out of the car, rushing down the street to the flashing lights of the police cruisers. Audrey and Noah took the lead, but in her own defense, Poppy was wearing heels. She caught up with them quickly however, just as they made it passed the police cruisers.
Noah stopped right in front when the coroners were wheeling a body bag on a stretcher by him. "Is that Riley?" He choked out, but none of them bothered to look at him. "Oh my God." He let out, Audrey reaching up to put her hand on his shoulder. His eyes caught Emma who was standing on the front steps with her mother.
"How did this happen?" He asked her. "How did this happen?" Noah repeated as Emma came down the steps, reluctant to answer him. A police officer moved right by him and the boy didn't hesitant to yell at him. "Hey!" "Noah–" Emma attempted to stop him but his fury was beyond his control. "Hey, 'protect and serve' my ass!" He yelled as the police officer ignored him.
Audrey and Poppy had to hold the boy back from physically assaulting a police officer. "Noah." Emma tried again to no success. "Where was he?" He was hysterical now, loosing control and neither Audrey or Poppy could hold him down. "Noah!" Emma begged him to stop but he wouldn't listen.
"She was right here!" He shouted. "Come on, breathe. Noah, stop!" Tears flooded Emma's eyes and his reaction wasn't making her feel any better about her actions earlier tonight. He wasn't even listening to her. "I don't understand. I don't understand." Noah repeated, letting his grief instead of anger take over him. "Who would kill her? I need to know." He said firmly.
Emma reached up to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Yeah. So do I." She replied, moving past the three. Audrey watched as her ex-best friend left them and her eyes fell onto Noah.
"Are you going to be okay?" Audrey asked him, carefully, like she was stepping on eggshells. Noah hardly responded at first, instead he looked at Poppy. "No. Not until that sick bastard is caught." He replied. "Do you still think that Tyler didn't do it?" Poppy questioned him, raising both brows. "I–" He began, looking to the where the coroners had dragged Riley's dead body off. "I don't know what to think anymore." Noah whispered.
