Page 26 of Renegade

I had all but forgotten about what happened before we got here. I was so scared when I lost Poppy in the crowd and when that guy kept grabbing at me, well I didn’t know what to do. When Fitz came and pulled him away, the relief I felt was unbelievable. It made my heart skip a beat that he would rush out of nowhere to rescue me, kind of like my own knight in shining armor. Except this knight doesn’t have a sword and castle, he has a guitar and stage.

“Come on, the car is here for you. I’ll walk you out back,” he says and nods to the door. I don’t say anything, what can I say? I feel like a tease, getting him all horny and saying I need to leave. This is just too much for me to process, all of it. I need to just be alone with my thoughts.

I follow him as he takes me to the stairwell. He just looks back to make sure I am there and continues to walk down. At this point I don’t know if he’s pissed at me or himself. Maybe a little of both, since that is how I feel. I’m pissed that he tried to cross a line, yet pissed that I even allowed myself in that situation to begin with. This whole situation is ridiculous and I leave soon, which makes me wish none of it was happening, for so many reasons.

We reach the bottom of the stairwell and he stands by the door that I assume will lead me to the back of the building and my ride home. I’m out of breath from all the stairs and I look up at him. “Damn, no wonder you are in shape. If I had to do those stairs all the time I’d look good too,” I say trying to lighten the mood between us.

He gives me a forced grin and crosses his arms. “You don’t need the stairs.” I smile and dip my head. “Brooklyn,” he says and I look back at him. “I’m sorry for everything tonight.”

For the first time, I step to him and wrap my arms around his waist. He immediately follows suit and holds me closer. “I’m sorry too.”

“You h

ave nothing to apologize for. This disaster is my fault. I just hope that we can move past it and still be friends,” he says into my hair.

I lift my head shaking it. “Is that what we are?”

“I’m trying Brooklyn,” he says and kisses my forehead. “Come on, I don’t want the car to leave.” We go outside and he helps me into the car. “Please text me when you get there. I need to make sure you are safe.”

I nod my head and he closes the door. Obviously he’s told the driver where to go because he doesn’t say a word at first, just takes off. After a few minutes he looks into the rearview mirror and smiles at me. “I’ll get you home safe, don’t worry,” he says.

I look out the side window, watching the city pass by as I say, “Thanks.”

Nothing else is said the rest of the short drive and I’m so thankful when we pull into the parking garage of Poppy’s building. I hope to hell she is home, because I didn’t call her for a key. He stops the car and before I can open the door, he is right there.

“Thank you,” I say and he nods his head.

I walk toward the elevators and look behind to notice he is still watching. It makes me wonder if Fitz told him to do it or if he’s just doing it on his own. Once inside the elevator, I lean against the wall. This night needs to end. I get off when it reaches her floor and cross my fingers walking to the door. I try the handle and I want to scream when it’s unlocked. I’m so relieved.

“Holy shit Brooklyn,” Poppy yells and comes rushing at me. She grabs me in a hug and is twisting me from side to side. “I’m so fucking sorry. Please don’t be mad at me. I thought you were right behind me. Shit, I’m so so sorry.”

I pull away and cross my arms. “I am pissed Poppy. This vacation has been nothing like you promised. We only had one night with just the two of us, I thought we’d have a lot more. Plus, I’m always put in these situations that I shouldn’t be in and it’s fucking with me.” I say and head toward my room.

I close the door and lean against it before making my way into bed. Not for the first night since I’ve been here, I don’t even care that I am in the same clothes I wore out. I’m mentally and physically exhausted from this night and sleep cannot pull me under fast enough.

**

The next morning, I am woken up to light tapping on my bedroom door. “What?” I manage to squeak out through my cracking morning voice.

The door opens and Poppy comes in with a tray and sits it on the nightstand. I look at her and then the tray. It’s my favorite coffee and my plain bagel with cream cheese. She takes a deep breath and clears her throat. “I’m sure you want to shower first, since that is your schedule, but it’s here when you get out,” she says and starts to walk away.

“Poppy wait,” I say and sit up. She turns to look at me and crosses her arms. “I’m sorry I yelled last night, but I’m not sorry for what I said. It’s true.”

“Brooklyn, I just thought, actually it doesn’t matter. What matters is you’re right and today is all about you. We will go sightseeing, have lunch in the park and whatever else you want to do before you leave. Today is all about you,” she says and walks out of the room.

I get the feeling she’s pissed at me, but I don’t care anymore. I’m excited to do the things I’ve been wanting to do since I left California. I leave tomorrow and I’m glad my last day will be with just Poppy. I do exactly like I would if I was home, take a shower, get ready and then eat my breakfast. This is how it should be, routine and normalcy.

I bring the rest of my coffee out into the living room and find Poppy on her phone. She looks at me and smiles. “She’s right here, I swear,” she says and laughs. “Brooklyn, say hi,” she rolls her copper eyes holding out the phone.

“Hi?” I say, sounding more like a question.

“See, she’s fine. Now I need to go because we have plans today.” She’s quiet for a minute, but shakes her head the whole time. “Fucking relax, it’s not my first time out in the city alone. I’ll talk to you later,” she says and hangs up.

“Who was that?” I ask, sitting on the couch and sipping my coffee.

“That my friend, was Fitz, again. He was not happy that you didn’t text him. He was ready to drive over here when I answered a call from him last night,” she says, laughing.

I close my eyes and let my head fall back. “Shit, I totally forgot. I feel awful.”