Rune walked slowly to my bed, standing to wait by its side. Shuffling back, I lifted the cover and Rune climbed in, immediately wrapping his arms around my waist.
As my back nestled perfectly against his front, I sighed in contentment. I closed my eyes. Rune pressed a kiss just below my ear and whispered, “Sleep, baby. I got you.”
And he did.
He had me.
Just like I had him.
Rune
I woke to Poppy staring up at me.
“Hey,” said Poppy. She smiled and nuzzled further into my chest. I let my hands wander through her hair, before tucking my hands under her arms, pulling her up until she lay above me, her mouth opposite mine.
“Morning,” I replied, then pressed my lips against hers.
Poppy sighed into my mouth as her lips parted and worked against my own. When I pulled back, she glanced out the window and said, “We missed the sunrise.”
I nodded. But when she looked back at me, her expression didn’t show any sadness. Instead she kissed my cheek, and admitted, “I think I’d trade all the sunrises if it meant I got to wake up like this, with you.”
My chest concaved at those words. Taking her by surprise, I flipped her on her back, hovering over where she lay. Poppy giggled as I trapped her hands on the pillow above her head.
I scowled. Poppy tried—unsuccessfully—to stop her laughter.
Her cheeks were pink with excitement. Needing to kiss her more than breathe, I did.
I released Poppy’s hands and she grasped my hair. Her laugh began to fade as the kiss grew deeper, and then there was a loud knock on the door. We froze, our lips still joined and our eyes wide open.
“Poppy! Time to get up, sweetheart!” Poppy’s daddy’s voice drifted into the room. I could feel Poppy’s heart racing, echoing through my chest, flush against hers.
Poppy shifted her head to the side, breaking the kiss. “I’m awake!” she shouted back. We didn’t dare move until we heard her daddy walking away from the door.
Poppy’s eyes were huge when she faced me again. “Oh my God!” she whispered, bursting into a fresh set of giggles.
Shaking my head, I rolled to the side of the bed, grabbing my shirt off the floor. As I pulled the black material over my head, Poppy’s hands landed on my shoulders from behind. She sighed. “We slept too late this morning. We almost got caught.”
“It won’t happen again,” I said, not wanting her to have any excuse to end this. I had to be with her at night. I had to. Nothing happened—we kissed, we slept.
That was enough for me.
Poppy nodded in agreement, but when her chin rested on my shoulder, her arms wrapping around my waist, she said, “I liked it.”
She laughed again and I turned my head slightly, catching the bright look on her face. She nodded playfully. Poppy sat back and took my hand and pressed it over her heart. It was beating fast. “It made me feel alive.”
Laughing at her, I shook my head. “You’re crazy.”
Standing up, I slid on my boots. Poppy sat back on her bed. “You know, I’ve never done anything naughty or bad before, Rune. I’m a good girl, I suppose.”
I frowned at the thought of corrupting her. But Poppy leaned forward, and said, “It was fun.” I pushed my hair back from my face and leaned down over the bed and gave her one last kiss, soft and sweet.
“Rune Kristiansen, maybe I’ll like this bad-boy side to you after all. You’re sure gonna make the next few months entertaining.” She sighed dramatically. “Sweet kisses and trouble-making antics … I’m in!”
As I made my way to the window, I heard Poppy move behind me. Just as I went to sneak out of her window, I glanced back. Poppy was filling out two blank hearts from her jar. I allowed myself to watch her. Watch as she smiled at whatever she was writing.
She was so beautiful.
As she placed the completed hearts back in her jar, she turned and stopped. She’d caught me watching. Her gaze softened. She opened her mouth to say something, when the knob on her door began to turn. Her eyes widened and she flicked her hands in a shooing motion.
As I jumped from the window and ran from the house, I heard her laughter following behind. Only something that pure could chase away the darkness in my heart.
I had barely made it back through my window before I had to jump in the shower for school. The steam billowed around the bathroom as I stood under the hot spray.
I leaned forward, the powerful jets pelting water onto my head. My hands rested against the slick tiles in front of me. Every day when I woke, anger consumed me. It was so consuming that I could almost taste its bitterness on my tongue, feel the heat of it coursing through my veins.
But this morning was different.
It was Poppy.
Lifting my head from the water, I switched it off and grabbed my towel. I slipped on my jeans and opened the bathroom door. My pappa was standing in the doorway of my room. When he heard me behind him, he turned to face me.
“Morning, Rune,” he greeted. I pushed past him to walk to my closet. I grabbed a white t-shirt and pulled it over my head. When I reached for my boots, I noticed my pappa was still standing in the doorway.
Stopping mid-motion, I met his eyes and snapped, “What?”
He edged into the room, holding a coffee in his hand. “How was your date with Poppy last night?”
I didn’t respond. I hadn’t told him anything about it, which meant my mamma had. I wouldn’t answer him. The prick didn’t deserve to know.
He cleared his throat. “Rune, after you left last night, Mr. Litchfield came over to see us.”
And then it came back, rushing through me like a torrent. The anger. I remembered Mr. Litchfield’s face as he opened the door last night. As we drove away out of the street. He was pissed. I could see he hadn’t wanted Poppy to come with me. Hell, he’d looked like he was one second away from forbidding her to go.
But when Poppy walked outside, I could see that he wouldn’t say no to whatever she wanted. How could he? He was losing his daughter. It was the only thing that stopped me from saying exactly what I thought of his objection to her being with me.
My pappa walked to stand in front of me. I kept my eyes to the floor as he said, “He’s worried, Rune. He’s worried that you and Poppy getting back together might not be such a good thing.”
I gritted my teeth. “Not good for who? Him?”
“Poppy, Rune. You know … you know she doesn’t have long—”
I whipped my head up, rage burning in my stomach. “Yeah, I get that. It’s not too hard to forget. You know, the fact that the girl I love is dying.”
My pappa paled. “James just wants Poppy’s final days to be trouble-free. Peaceful. Enjoyable. No stress.”
“And let me guess, I’m trouble, right? I’m that stress?”
He sighed. “He’s asked that you stay away from her. Just let her go without a scene.”
“Not happening,” I bit out, grabbing my backpack off the floor. I slid my leather jacket on and walked around him.
“Rune, think of Poppy,” my pappa pleaded.
I stopped dead and turned back to him. “She’s all I’m thinking of. You have no idea what it’s like for us, so how about you stay the hell out of my business. James Litchfield too.”
“She’s his daughter!” my pappa argued, his voice sterner than before.
“Yeah,” I argued back, “and she’s the love of my life. And I’m not walking away from her, even for a second. And there’s nothing either of you can do about it.”