A Thousand Boy Kisses
: Chapter 6

Poppy

“You sure you’re okay?” my mama asked as she stroked my arm. The car rolled to a stop.

I smiled and nodded my head. “Yeah, mama, I’m good.”

Her eyes were rimmed with red and tears were building in her eyes. “Poppy. Baby. You don’t have to go to school today if you don’t want to.”

“Mama, I love school. I want to be here.” I shrugged. “Plus, I have history fifth period and you know how much I love it. It’s my favorite class.”

A reluctant smile pulled on her mouth and she laughed, wiping her eyes. “You’re just like your mamaw. Stubborn as an ox and always seeing the sunshine behind every cloud. I see her personality shining through your eyes every single day.”

Warmth blossomed in my chest. “That makes me real happy, Mama. But I mean it, I’m truly okay,” I said sincerely.

When Mama’s eyes filled with water again, she shooed me from the car, pushing the doctor’s note into my hand. “Here, make sure to hand that in.”

I took the paper, but before I shut the car door, I ducked down to say, “I love you, Mama. With my whole heart.”

My mama paused and I saw the bittersweet happiness spread on her face. “I love you too, Pops. With my whole heart.”

I shut the door and turned to walk into school. I always thought it was strange, arriving at school late. The place was so quiet and still, kind of apocalyptic, the total opposite to the rowdiness of lunch period or the mad dash of students in between classes.

I made my way to the school office for Mrs. Greenway, the secretary, to process my doctor’s note. As she handed me my hall pass, she asked, “How you doing, darlin’? You keeping that pretty head of yours up?”

Smiling at her kind face, I replied, “Yes, ma’am.”

She winked at me, making me laugh. “That’s my girl.”

Checking my watch, I saw that my next class had only been in session fifteen minutes. Moving as quickly as I could to avoid missing anything else, I rushed through two sets of doors until I arrived at my locker. I yanked it open and pulled out the pile of English Lit books that I needed for my class.

I heard the door at the end of the short hallway opening, but paid it no mind. Once I had everything I needed, I shut my locker door with my elbow and headed for class, wrestling with my many books. When I looked up, I stopped dead.

I was sure my heart and my lungs stopped working. Standing about eight feet in front of me, seemingly as glued to the spot as I was, was Rune. A towering and fully grown Rune.

And he was staring at me. Crystal-blue eyes held me in their trap. I couldn’t have turned away even if I had wanted to.

Finally, I was able to replace a breath, and filled my lungs with air. Like a jump lead, the action caused my heart to beat, to beat furiously under the stare of this boy. The one, that if I was being honest with myself, I still loved more than anything in the world.

Rune was dressed as he always had—black muscle t-shirt, black slim-fit jeans and black suede boots. Only now, his arms were thicker; his waist was toned and leaner, tapering in at his hips. My eyes traveled to his face and my stomach flipped. I thought I had seen all his beauty as he stood under the lamplight last night, but I hadn’t.

Older and more mature, he was quite possibly the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. His jaw was strong, perfectly defining his Scandinavian face. His cheekbones were prominent, but not in any way feminine, and a light dusting of blond stubble graced his chin and cheeks. The constants, I discovered, were those dark-blond eyebrows furrowed over his almond-shaped bright-blue eyes.

The eyes that even the distance of four thousand miles, and a timescale of two years, could never erase from my memory.

But that gaze, the gaze that was currently boring through mine, didn’t belong to the Rune I knew. Because it was filled with accusation and hatred. These eyes were glaring at me with unconcealed contempt.

I swallowed back the pain that was clawing up my throat, the pain of being on the receiving end of such a hard stare. Being loved by Rune brought the heady sensation of warmth. Being hated by Rune was like standing on an arctic ice shelf.

Minutes passed by and neither of us moved an inch. The air seemed to crackle around us. I watched as Rune’s fist clenched at his side. He seemed to be mentally warring with himself. I wondered what he was fighting inside. The look on his face grew darker still. Then, behind him, the door opened, and William, the hall monitor walked through.

He looked at Rune and me, serving up the excuse I needed to break free from this too-intense moment. I needed to gather my thoughts.

William cleared his throat. “Can I see your hall passes?”

I nodded and, balancing my books on a raised knee, went to hand mine over, but Rune shoved his in front of mine.

I didn’t react to his blatant rudeness.

William checked his pass first. Rune had been picking up his class schedule, that was why he was late. William handed back Rune’s pass, but Rune still didn’t move. William took hold of mine. He looked at me and said, “I hope you feel better soon, Poppy.”

My face paled, wondering how he knew, but then I realized the pass had said I’d been to see my doctor. He was simply being kind. He didn’t know.

“Thank you,” I said nervously and risked a look up. Rune was watching me, only this time his forehead appeared lined. I recognized his expression of worry. As soon as Rune saw me staring at him, reading him correctly, the worry was quickly replaced by the scowl he had previously worn.

Rune Kristiansen was way too handsome to scowl. A face that beautiful should forever wear a smile.

“Go on, you two, get to class.” William’s hard voice pulled my attention back from Rune. I pushed past them both, and rushed out through the far doors. As soon I was through to the next hallway, I glanced back, only to replace Rune staring at me through the large panes of glass.

My hands began to shake at the intensity of his gaze, but then he suddenly moved away, as if he was forcing himself to leave me alone.

It took several seconds to gather some composure, then I hurried to my class.

I was still shaking an hour later.

* * *

A week passed by. A week of avoiding Rune at all costs. I stayed in my bedroom until I knew he wasn’t home. I kept my curtains drawn and my window locked—not that Rune would have tried to come in. The few times I had seen him in school he had either ignored me, or glared at me like I was his greatest enemy.

Both hurt in equal measure.

During lunch periods I stayed away from the cafeteria. I ate my lunch in the music room and spent the rest of the time practicing my cello. Music was still my safe haven, the one place where I could escape the world.

When my bow hit the string, I was transported away on a sea of tones and notes. The pain and grief of the last two years disappeared. The loneliness, the tears and anger, all evaporated, leaving a peace I could not replace anywhere else.

Last week, after my awful hallway reunion with Rune, I’d needed to get away from it all. I’d needed to forget the look in his eyes as he glared at me with such hatred. Music was normally my remedy, so I threw myself into intense practice. The only problem? Each time I finished a piece, as soon as the final note faded and I lowered my bow, that devastation cut back through me tenfold. And it stayed. Today, after I finished playing at lunch, the anguish haunted me for the rest of the afternoon. It weighed heavily on my mind as I exited the school building.

The courtyard was bustling with students making their way home. I kept my head down and pushed through the crowd, only to turn the corner and see Rune and his friends sitting on the field in the park. Jorie and Ruby were there too. And so was Avery.

I tried not to stare as Avery sat beside Rune, who was lighting up a cigarette. I tried not to stare as Rune began to smoke, his elbow resting casually on his knee as he leaned back against a tree. And I tried to ignore the flip of my stomach as I hurried by, Rune’s narrowed eyes briefly meeting mine.

I quickly averted my eyes. Jorie jumped to her feet and came running after me. I managed to get far enough from Rune and his friends that they wouldn’t hear what Jorie had to say to me.

“Poppy,” she called as she stopped behind me. I turned to face her, feeling Rune’s watchful gaze settle on me. I ignored it.

“How are you doing?” she asked.

“Fine,” I replied. Even I heard the slight tremble in my voice.

Jorie sighed. “Have you spoken to him yet? He’s been back over a week.”

My cheeks blazed. I shook my head. “No. I’m not real sure that’s a good idea.” I drew in a breath and confided, “I have no idea what I would say anyhow. He doesn’t seem to be the boy I knew and loved for all those years. He seems different. Looks like he’s changed.”

Jorie’s eyes flared. “I know. But I think you’re the only girl that sees that as a bad thing, Pops.”

“What do you mean?” Jealousy sparked in my chest.

Jorie pointed to the girls gathering around where he sat, aiming to appear casual, but failing epically in their endeavor. “He’s all anyone is talking about, and I’m pretty sure any girl in this school—except you, me and Ruby—would sell their soul to the devil for him to even acknowledge them. He was always wanted, Pops, but well, he had you and we all knew he wouldn’t leave you for anything or anyone. But now…” She trailed off, and I could feel my heart deflating.

“But now he doesn’t have me,” I finished for her. “Now he’s free to be with whomever he wants.”

Jorie’s eyes widened when she realized she had once again put her foot in her mouth. She squeezed my arm in support, wincing apologetically. I couldn’t be mad at her though, she was always speaking before she’d thought it through. Besides, everything she said was true.

A moment of awkward silence passed, until she asked, “What are you up to tomorrow night?”

“Nothing,” I replied. I was itching to leave.

Jorie’s face lit up. “Good! You can come to Deacon’s house party. Can’t have you sitting in alone another Saturday night.”

I laughed.

Jorie frowned.

“Jorie, I don’t go to parties. No one would invite me anyway.”

“I’m inviting you. You’ll be my date.”

My humor dropped. “I can’t, Jor.” I paused. “I can’t be there when Rune is. Not after everything.”

Jorie leaned in closer. “He won’t be there,” she said quietly. “He’s told Deacon he isn’t going, that he’s going somewhere else.”

“Where?” I asked, failing to disguise my curiosity.

She shrugged. “Hell if I know. Rune doesn’t really talk much. I think it only adds to why he’s attracting groupies like there’s no tomorrow.” Jorie stuck out her bottom lip and prodded my arm. “Please, Pops. You’ve been gone so long, and I’ve missed you. I want to spend as much time with you as I can, but you keep hiding yourself away. We have years to make up for. Ruby will be there too. You know I’d never leave you alone.”

My eyes inspected the ground, trying hard to think up an excuse. I looked up at Jorie and I could see that my refusal was upsetting her.

Chasing away the pangs of doubt in my chest, I relented. “Okay, I’ll come with you.”

Jorie’s face split into a huge smile. “Perfect!” she said. I laughed as she brought me in for a quick hug.

“I need to get home,” I said as she released me. “I’ve got a recital tonight.”

“Okay, I’ll come get you at seven tomorrow night. Good?”

I waved my hand and began walking home. I had only made it a few hundred yards before I felt someone walking behind me through the blossom grove. When I looked over my shoulder, there was Rune.

My heart kicked into sprint mode as my gaze caught his. He didn’t look away from me, but I did from him. I was terrified he would try to talk to me. What if he wanted me to explain everything? Or worse, what if he wanted to tell me that what we had was nothing?

That would break me.

Quickening my pace, I kept my head down and rushed all the way home. I felt him trailing me the entire way, but he made no move to overtake.

As I raced up the steps of my porch, I looked to the side and saw him leaning against the side of his house, near his window. My heart flipped as he pushed back his hair. I had to keep my feet rooted to the porch, in case I dropped my bag and ran over to him, to explain why I let him go, why I cut him off so horribly, why I’d give anything for him to kiss me just one more time. Instead, I forced myself to go inside.

My mama’s words played heavily on my mind as I walked to my bedroom and lay down … maybe it was a good thing you broke all contact, baby. I’m not real sure he could have handled everything you went through from what his mamma has said…

Closing my eyes, I vowed to leave him alone. I wouldn’t be a burden to him. I’d protect him from the pain.

Because I still loved him as much as I always had.

Even if the boy I loved no longer loved me back.