[ 𝐘𝐎𝐔 ♪ 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐘 ]

not a line in the world | 12

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Branch woke up from his 2nd nap to find he was still in that nasty hospital. In the same chilly bed and paper scrubs as 40 minutes ago.

He stared in disgust at the liquid IV being pumped in through his veins. The cold harsh lighting gave him an even harder migraine.
He stared around at his room.

White walls. His bed was almost freezing. It sat in the middle of the room, next to some big machine keeping him alive, tracking his heart rate. To his left were two empty visitors chairs. Branch hoped by some miracle there'd be Poppy, Viva and all his brothers waiting for him with balloons and sneaking him a burger,
but there's not.

A doctor soon arrived with a clipboard. He was around Branch's age. Maybe 25? Very young. Looked Italian.
"Good morning." he smiled professionally. "I'm Doctor Scheff, how are you holding up?"

"Hooked up to an IV, I guess..." Branch joked flatly. The doctor didn't laugh.
"Sorry. I-I feel okay."

Scheff flipped some papers up on his wooden clipboard. "Well, you suffered some pretty bad injury. You were attacked? Abrasions on your throat, jaw, bruised your rib and a fractured nose. It's a good thing you made it here before things got any worse." Scheff nodded.

Branch furrowed his brows, reaching up to touch his nose, finding a cloth cast around his twisted nose.
"It should heal in three weeks. For now, I'm prescribing you these, for the swelling, and these for your ribs."

Scheff stepped closer and handed branch two bottles of prescribed pills. The pills for his ribs were significantly stronger.
"So, when can I leave?" he fiddled with the orange bottles.

He sighed. "Well, you'll have to be signed out, is anyone coming for you?" Scheff had his pen ready.

Branch swallowed, glancing towards the empty chairs. "My girlfriend, my brother and my sister in law should be." he had a soft grin. "What time is it?"

"Half past 6am."

- [12:19 AM]

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Creek growled through his teeth. He dropped to the floor, having poppy sit between his legs while still apprehended.
He held her arms tightly against her sides and she thrashed around like a fish out of water.
He moved his arm out of her lips, locking it around her neck.

"You're gonna kill me!" Poppy sobbed hysterically, defeatedly tugging at his arms for release. "You're gonna kill me!" she wailed.

Creek rolled his eyes. "If you'd stop crying like a fucking- I- okay. I need you to stop." he breathed harshly. She continued to heave around and kick her feet for another 10 minutes until she was worn out.
Black tear lines drew down the curves of her cheeks. Her hair began to frizz.

"Love. you know I didn't want to do this." he sighed, holding her.

"Then let me go." Poppy grumbled angrily.

"I would if you didn't just try to knock me out with a vase, eh? But that's become a problem." he ignored the stinging shards of glass puncturing the back of his neck.
"You poor thing." he mumbled, touching her hair.

The way he pronounced words pissed her off. It's vase. not vaze. stupid Australian.

She knew what he was doing but in the back of her mind she knew it felt okay because it was Creek. "What do you want?" she groaned.

"You." he whispered and nuzzled her head lovingly. She grimaced and her heart fluttered at the same time. How's that even possible...

Poppy sighed. The only way she knew to get him away was to give him what he wanted, and now that was what she had to do. Poppy obviously knew how wrong it was, but the principal was right, so it cancelled out. I guess. She prayed for forgiveness in her head for a moment before turning and starting off a sweet kiss.

The two's lips shared passionate touches, the longer they went the more he began to release, but he knew better than to let her go completely. His hand was still gripped on her arm like a birds talons in a rodent.
She felt disgusting. Even if it was for a good cause it was very, very wrong.
Making out with your supposedly dead fiancé, Not the best look.

She cupped the side of his neck, deepening the kiss and pulling his tie. His hand held her waist and the other gripped her arm, it was sure to leave a mark.
She pulled away, catching her breath.

"Better?" she forced a soft grin, watching his expression.

"Mhm..." Creek nodded in a daze, leaning in again and gently pushing her back into the side of the bed as he kissed her lips and chin. "You know how much I've missed you, love?" he mumbled into her skin. "So, so much... so much." he whimpered, hungrily tasting her lips.

She nearly threw up in her mouth. She pulled away for one last time. Poppy stared at him with low seductive eyes that wouldn't stop falling to his lips. She breathed hard, her face was on fire.

"So?" Poppy breathed quickly.

"So?" he raised a brow.

"So, now what? You gonna hold me captive forever?" she wiped her lips with her shoulder. He noticed.

Creek groaned, rolling his eyes. "Way to ruin the moment." he grumbled. "I suppose I could just leave, but then I'd never see you again." Creek frowned. "But I want to see you all the time. Everyday." he touched her cheek. "So, what do you suppose we do, love?"

Poppy sat in thought. Truthfully, it seemed like neither of them thought it through.
"Weren't you supposed to be taken in by the police?" she sat back against the wall.

He smiled nervously, opening his mouth to say something yet the words wouldn't budge. Creek shrugged with a cunning smile. "Well..." he trailed off, breaking the eye contact.

She made a face. "Creek?" her voice raised in a questioning tone. She laughed in shock. "Are you on the run from the police?!" she slapped her hands against her mouth in shock.

"No! No. I'm not hiding from anyone. My... okay." he chuckled. "My father pulled some strings and they let me off the hook." Creek stared at his bloody knuckles.

Poppy's eyes fell to his hands as well. The scars had dried into nasty red scabs on his fingers. "Here," she stood up and walked to the bathroom. He let her go without thinking.

She walked back in with a small first aid kit covered in stickers that say things like 'Get well soon!'. He grinned, he hadn't seen that in a long while.
She kneeled beside him and pulled out alcohol wipes, gently cleaning the scars on his hands.

He was taken aback, slightly apprehensive to her actions. She did just try to knock him out with a glass vase, and he did break into her house. She patched his hands up with multicoloured bandages and grinned at her work.

"How'd you get in?" she asked while rubbing a numbing cream onto the back of his neck. It tingled.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. His personal key to the house. He jingled it and her eyes widened.
"You still have it." she smiled.

He nodded as she tweezed small shards of glass out of his neck and placed them on a napkin. The two talked like old friends, weirdly enough. It felt natural, like nothing had ever happened. They laughed and joked just how they always did.

Finally she patched his neck up with bandages and sat back tiredly.

"Poppy," he began. "Thank you." Creek nodded sincerely. "I'm really grateful to know someone like you."
she blushed softly, not having the words to speak.
"After everything you still found it in your heart to be kind to me." he stared at the band-aids on his knickles. "I hope one day you'll find it in your heart to forgive me."

Poppy hesitated.

"I- I do forgive you."

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