Sealed With a Kiss

Nine

IX: Truth

I'M ABSOLUTELY HOPELESS. Starring at all the new clothes Hannah and Elle had chosen for me, seeing so many skirts and dresses and blazers, and I still went right to the same thing: jeans and a t-shirt.

One of them, probably Hannah if I'm being honest with myself, had taken all my old clothes and thrown them out. So even though I was in jeans and a t-shirt, I was slightly more chic (whatever that actually means) now than my old Brooklyn self.

I wore jeans, but they didnt even feel like denim. They were tight and looked as if I'd need to peel them off at the end of the day. My t-shirt, one that I had chosen with my eyes closed, was made of soft white cotton and had black leather shoulder sleeve cuffs.

My favourite plimsoles had been thrown out too, so now I was trying to find a pair of shoes that didn't have a platform heel. I finally settled on three inch plum suede pumps because they were the only thing I found that I actually felt like I didn't walk peg footed in.

Just as I was putting my hair up in a high ponytail, I heard the doorbell. Making my way out of the room to greet who I had assumed was Felicity, I froze when I heard raised voices.

"Please leave. Miss White does not wish to see you."

"But I have to talk to her!" There was a pause. "Poppy! Poppy please hear me out!"

"What is all that screaming?" I said as I trotted down the stairs.  I paused when I saw Elle and sighed. "What are you doing here?"

"Poppy, please..." There was something in her gaze that made me falter. Sincerity maybe, but it was more than that. She seemed...hurt.

I sighed. "Okay."

Elle visibly relaxed and followed me into the drawing room. "I see you liked the clothes."

"Well, I don't fancy walking around naked, and since you both threw my old clothes away...I guess I have to like them now."

Elle gave me a weak smile. "Hannah insisted."

"Yeah, you say that a lot."

Elle raised an eyebrow. "You have met her, haven't you?"

I tensed at the almost friendly direction the conversation had drifted to. I'm supposed to be angry. "Why are you here?"

"Poppy, you need to believe me. I had nothing to do with this. And Hannah, she can be a pain in the ass but she would never--"

"Then who?" I interrupted. Tears were blurring my vision. Who would ever target me like this?

"I don't know." I looked up and met her soft gaze. "But I do know that this has scheme written all over it. Someone planned this; they purposely went out of their way to hurt you. You need to be careful of who you trust. Secrets have a way of getting out around here, and scandal always follows."

"Are you speaking from experience?" I asked. I watched as her composure crumbled and I instantly felt horrible.

"I uh yeah, I guess I am. People are still getting over my latest hiccup. It's been over a year and...and they're still condemning me for it."

I wanted to say something. My mouth was poised and ready to apologize but she stopped me with a smile. "Look, I didn't come here to talk about me. I just came to warn you. You need to watch your back, but not from people like Hannah and I."

"What are you saying?" I had a feeling something was at the tip of her tongue, but like she said before, secrets are meant to be kept or they'll cause havoc.