Run Poppy Run

Tanzen

Poppy

Jess pulled up at 6:00 pm. I wrapped my wrist up the best I could as I headed out the door.

I turned to her car after I locked the house up.

“Oh, my God, girl! What happened?!” she gasped as she reached across the middle to inspect my wrapped wrist.

“Oh, you know me! Always falling.” I mumbled, looking out the window. She tsked, pulling out of the driveway.

“Girl, you gotta get your equilibrium checked or something with how much you fall and bump into things.”

“I- just don’t pay attention is all.” I sighed, leaning my head against the headrest. I pulled my phone up, checking my messages. My heart sank in my chest when I saw Jake’s response to my earlier accusations.

“If I wanted you back, I wouldn’t have to play silly games, Red.”

His text sent daggers through my heart. Jess quickly nabbed my phone from my hands.

“HEY!” I yelled, trying to get it back.

“Excuse me? What’s this!?” she exclaimed as she tossed my phone back into my lap. Uh-oh, caught.

“Jake’s harassing you now?! Do I need to kick his ass?!” She angrily switched lanes, throwing me into the side of the door.

“Jesus, Jess! Calm down. No!” I re-adjusted myself in the seat as her seething calmed down. I took a deep breath. Jess has been my friend since elementary school. She’s always had my back; she was the first one to tell me how slimy Jake was.

“Ok, don’t... like... birth a crazy demonic vengeance baby... but I think I have a stalker,” I said the words, the reality of my situation finally in light, causing my brain to shift gears from denial to panic.

“EXCUSE ME!!!” She threw the car off into the shoulder of the road as she slammed her brakes.” She turned to me, her face red.

“DETAILS! NOW!” she huffed and folded her arms. I looked out the window, my breath hitting the glass and fogging it.

“Ever since you dared me to set foot on that creepy house’s lawn, I’ve had a... dude stand outside by my porch most of the night.” I leaned away from the window as I meekly looked at her.

“I didn’t think anything of it- until today... someone left a box of poppies on my porch. I thought it was Jake, being an asshole, so I threw it away. But when I got home today...” I paused, fidgeting in my pocket. I don’t know what possessed me to bring that dumb-ass card with me, but I did. I pulled it out, handing it to her. She mouthed the threat as her eyes widened.

“Pop’s! You have to call the police!” She urgently pleaded. Ugh, I hate when she calls me “Pop’s”. Makes me feel like a dirty old man. It was her nickname she’d call me when she was serious about something.

“I’ll just change my locks. I can’t afford to drag the police into this.” I took the card back, stuffing it back into my pocket. I can’t get the police involved because if I do, our address is put in the database. We changed our last names to escape my father’s loan problems, and to start over, I was Poppy Evergreen and now I’m Poppy McNair. But he’d know it was us and I couldn’t put my mother through that. She already went years with the abuse, so she could attempt to give me a loving home.

Jess sighed, turning her blinker on and pulling back onto the road.

“Well, tonight is your 22nd birthday. We’ll drink, party, maybe have a one-night stand and move on. I’ll come and hang out with you for a few days. I’m on winter break, anyway.”

Yup, my 22nd birthday, December 21st. Born on the first day of winter, named after a flower that blooms in summer. As she pulled out of the shoulder, I could have sworn I saw a motorcycle idled behind us. I turned to look, just to see one zoom by us.

The rest of the ride was Jess telling me about her college fun, the parties she attended, the drugs she tried, the men she slept with. She was a loose cannon once she got out from underneath her parents’ strict thumb. I could never, I complain about my life being boring, but in all honesty I’m too goody-goody to do what she does. I can’t even do horror movies; I freak out too much. But lately I’ve been trying to step out of my comfort zone.

I yawned and stretched as we pulled up to a club. I strained to see the name through the blinding lights.

“Little bunny?” I raised a brow at Jess, who laughed.

“That’s the s*x club next door. We’re going there.” She pointed to the club next door that read Tanzen. She drove around, looking for a spot. She found one next to a motorcycle, with a man sitting on it adjusting his helmet. I exited the passenger side; my door almost touched the wheel of his bike. I shrunk into myself, apologizing, as I could feel his stare bore into me through his visor. Sheesh, why do people insist on being so rude today?

I stumbled on my heels as I made my way around her car. My dress kept riding up, causing me to constantly pull it down. I knew I should have worn something else. This made me feel far too exposed, but again, trying to step out of my comfort zone.

I clutched onto my hand clutch, as I hooked arms with Jess. She was the same height as me, with golden brown hair and hazel eyes. The boys always chased her, she was blessed in the chest and ass department. She always joked that I was a Jessica Rabbit with size B breasts and a thicker waist.

We made our way across the street; it was crowded for a Thursday night. Most of the people here looked like they belonged in high school, but who am I to judge? We hopped into the line, waiting our turn to get up to the bouncer. There were two decent looking men walking down the line, their gazes landed on us.

“No!” Jess immediately put her hand up, hushing the men before they spoke.

“Don’t be so rude! Ya didn’t even know what I was going to say!” The man spoke with an odd accent. I eyed him up and down. He looked like he could easily kidnap us if he wanted. Shivers ran down my spine as his partner landed his gaze on mine. He was built like he could easily rip a tree stump in half. His facial features were sharp but attractive. I felt heat rush to my face as he moved around his friend.

“Hello, my name's Darren.” He extended his hand to me; I slowly took it as Jess shot the man a look. He pulled my hand up to his mouth, planting a peck on it.

“Hey, chill Darren, if you wanna hop in line with us and buy us some drinks so we can get to know you, that’s fine by me.” Jess grabbed my hand out of his as the two chuckled.

“Protective much?” The other man who has yet to introduce himself to us said. Jess nodded.

“Well, my name’s Nox, and you’ve already met my friend Darren.” He gestured to the man who was looking me up and down, almost like he was undressing me. I stiffened up as he ran his hands through his light brown hair. He was a good six feet; his friend was around his height as well. They both sported hand tattoos while wearing suits. If it weren’t for their contrasting hair colors and eye color, I would say they were brothers.

We slowly made our way up to the bouncer, who requested to see our IDs. I noticed some clubbers were wearing masks.

“Is it required?” I pointed out the masks as I asked the bouncer who handed our IDs back. He shook his head.

“No, only if you want. Please step forward and enjoy!”

Jess grabbed my hand and pulled me through the door. I looked over my shoulder as Darren and Nox pulled half masks out, snapping them onto their faces. I frowned a bit; it’ll be hard to find them. My heart jumped as I realized how exciting it would be to find them.