“Poppy? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” she asks as I get in the elevator, and she follows me back inside.
“Yeah, everything’s fine.” My voice cracks as I lie to my friend.
“Oh, sweetheart.” Clover pulls me into a hug and doesn’t ask me any other questions. “Sometimes, it takes people a long time to find their way back. He just needs some time.” She whispers in my ear, and that’s enough to push me over the edge. I break down against her shoulder, and she just holds onto me until the elevator opens on the main floor.
“Thanks, Clover. Thank you. I think I’m going to be taking a bit of a break from coming here but thank you for everything that you’ve done for me.” I tell her and make my way out of the elevator, leaving her. I take one final glance at her and can see the worry in her eyes. I need to get home. I feel so raw, like every one of my nerve endings is flayed and spread out for all the world to see.
I speed walk over to my car and quickly get into the front seat. Just as I’m about to turn, the ignition buzzing in my pocket lets me know that my phone is going off. Maybe it’s Tristan to call me and tell me that he’s sorry. That he’s sorry for being such a jerk. That he wants me to come back.
I dig the phone out of my pocket, and my hopes deflate when I see it’s a series of texts from my mother. I pen up the application, and the first thing I read is her gushing about the fact that she got engaged. There’s a photo of the ring, and she has the nerve to ask me if I’ve found anyone as close to how great her new hubby-to-be is. I want to be happy for her. I want to tell her congratulations but for the life of this just makes me feel so much more like a failure and a loser. The man that I decided to open up to basically told me that I was a pathetic woman who was a nuisance and needed to get a life. Not the words that dreams are made of.
I pull up Corentina’s number and shoot her a text. She’s expecting me to stay here with Tristan and give her updates, but there’s no way that I can do that. Not after what happened today. She’s just going to have to understand.
I tell her a bit about what happened, but I leave a lot out of the text message. Instead, I just let her know that I can’t see him anymore. That she’s going to have to get her information from the medical team directly.
A second after I send the message, Corentina calls me, but I don’t have the heart to answer it. I can’t deal with her trying to make me feel better. I just need to put this behind me and forget I ever had any feelings for Tristan. If he wants me to forget it, then I will.