Poppy's Fall

Chapter 6

She hadn’t bothered to turn on the light.  Instead, Poppy sat on the floor of her room, her back against the door and in complete darkness.  The tears she had refused to cry because of a man now came, finally.

She heard the sound of soft, padded footsteps coming down the hall and stop at her door.   But no knock came.  It sounded as though someone had sat down and then Ellie’s voice came from the other side.  

“I’m sorry.”

Poppy sighed softly.  “You didn’t know.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” asked Ellie. 

“It’s humiliating.”  Poppy admitted. “I’ve been against love and commitment for so long.  Then I met Kyle and everything was different.  I actually thought this was it, this could work.  I loved him, maybe I still do.  But after he got what he wanted he took off with some other chick.”

When Ellie didn’t respond Poppy continued. “I’m supposed to be the tough one.  I don’t run away when things get complicated.  I stand my ground and face it head on.  No offence.” She finished.

“None taken,” Ellie eventually said.  “Everyone deals with things differently during trying times.  It’s what makes us all unique.”

Poppy smiled through her tears.  Leave it to Ellie to find the positive out of anything.  She sighed heavily.  “If you don’t mind, I think I’m just going to go to bed.”

“Are you sure?” Ellie’s voice reflected the pain she felt for her best friend.

“I’m sure.”  Poppy finally stood and stumbled her way to bed not even bothering to change her clothes.  She was emotionally drained and just needed time to think.  After several minutes, she heard Ellie stand up and leave quietly. 

                                                                                                *** 

The next morning Poppy woke up to the sun streaming brightly through the sheer curtains of her bedroom window.  The Ireland weather was unpredictable at best.  Sure it wasn’t uncommon for the sun to come out but one could also expect rain, if only for a moment, at any given time.  In any case, she wasn’t going to waste the sun and within fifteen minutes she was ready to hit the ground running…literally. 

Poppy wasn’t big on running but the B & B wasn’t exactly equipped with a gym and she had to get her exercise in, especially seeing as she hadn’t made any effort to do so since she had gotten to Ireland.  She knew a lot of people who didn’t mind running when the weather wasn’t all too pleasant but that wasn’t her style.  When she stepped outside she took in a deep breath and took off.  She wasn’t sure where she was going and quite frankly she didn’t care.  She would just go where her legs took her. 

As far as Poppy was concerned running was a great way to clear your mind.  She focused on her feet hitting the road and concentrated on her breath as she inhaled and exhaled.  The air was sharp and she was happy to have added the extra layer under her thin wind breaker.  For a few glorious moments Kyle was not in her thoughts.  Then Poppy realized she hadn’t thought about him for a bit and there he was again.  It frustrated her to no end how easily he could creep in and stay there.  She knew better than to let someone get under your skin like that.  Did she still love him?  She wasn’t sure and oddly that thought gave her comfort.  If she couldn’t decide if she loved him, or not, then she must not.  Every time she replayed the whole thing in her mind, how he kissed her breathless before he left that morning and how Agnes’ news had felt like a cold hard slap, she just got angrier and angrier, yet she couldn’t bring herself to hate him either.  If this was love then she wanted no part of it.

Not really knowing how far or how long she’d been running, Poppy slowed her steps until she was walking along what seemed like a deserted road.  There were no houses around and the road itself wasn’t even paved, mostly just a dirt road with loose gravel crunching beneath her feet.  She wasn’t scared but figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea to turn around and go back to the village. 

It was when she was a good ten minutes away that Poppy could hear the rumbling of a car far behind her.  She could see Doolin straight ahead and moved farther to the side of the road to be on the safe side.  When the vehicle didn’t speed past her she looked back only to realize it was slowing down.  There was no need to panic but Poppy picked up her pace nonetheless.  She didn’t slow down or even glance at the truck when it was right beside her. 

The old black truck did speed up then and pulled over to the side several feet in front of her.  The driver left it running and stepped out.

Oh God, this is where I die, Poppy frantically looked around for some sort of weapon, a big rock, a branch, anything. 

What had she been thinking?  She had just taken off without letting anyone know, without any real plan as to where she was going.  How long would it take for anyone to find her?  Ellie obviously knew she had been upset so she was maybe giving Poppy some space and wouldn’t realize she was missing for a day or so.

“Poppy?”

He knew her name.  How did he know who she was?  Had he been stalking her?  Wait!  She knew that voice.

“Ryan?” Poppy felt like a fool and hoped he hadn’t seen the alarm on her face when she had no idea it was him.

“You remember!” Ryan gave her an easy smile.

Poppy felt at ease with him straight away and shot him a grin.  “Well, we did just meet yesterday.”

“I supposed you’re right.” Not knowing what else to do he shoved his hands in his front pockets.  “Would you like a ride back to Doolin?”

“Oh that would be great.  I came out a little farther than I thought and quite frankly, I’m bushed.” Poppy said gratefully. 

Ryan gestured for her to go first and they walked to his truck where he opened the door for her.  The move didn’t surprise her, she had a feeling he had been brought up to be a gentleman.  It was nice to see there were still some of them left out there. 

“I’m glad to be of service.”

Poppy had a feeling he would have bowed if it wasn’t for the fact that they weren’t in the medieval times.  A small smile tugged at her lips and she looked away.  She didn’t know what he would think if she told him she just envisioned him as a knight in shining armor. 

The ride to the village took only a few minutes which were passed in complete silence.  It occurred to her that she hadn’t asked why he was in Doolin.  It was a bit of a drive for him and they had gotten the fish order from McCarthy’s the day before. 

Finally, Ryan broke the silence “Do you want me to drop you off at Dunne’s or somewhere else?”           

“I’m staying at a B & B just up the way if you wouldn’t mind.” Poppy answered politely.  He made her nervous.  Why did he make her feel as though she needed to prove to him that she was worthy of his chivalry?

“Not at all, it’s my pleasure.” Ryan answered with a crooked grin.

Of course it is, Poppy thought. 

At the B & B they sat in the truck for several seconds before Ryan cleared his throat. “I need to confess something.”

“Oh?” Poppy turned in her seat and faced him.  He looked so anxious, it was actually cute.

“I drove here hoping to run into you.” He fiddled with his fingers.

“Why?” Poppy blurted out immediately regretting it.  It came off sounding condescending.   “I didn’t mean it that way, I’m just surprised.”

“My father gave me something of Aidan’s to return to him when he came for his next fish order and I decided to come down and bring it.”  Ryan looked up to see Poppy watching him intently.  “When I first saw you yesterday, you took my breath away.  I jumped at the chance to come to Doolin to ask you if you’d like to join me for a drive and a picnic.”

Poppy stared and let the words sink in.  He wasn’t the kind of man to be casual, she knew this in her heart and she wasn’t ready for anything serious.  She opened her mouth to tell him she was flattered and to decline.  Instead she found herself saying…

“I’d love to.”