Dear Mum and Dad,
Fuck you.
- Sincerely Poppy.
*✶⋆*★
Truth be told, Poppy's not sure what made her send that letter, but it was a long time coming. She would've loved to scream it to her parents face until they finally absorbed what she was saying. She wishes she could burn her entire childhood house down just to prove her point.
Fuck her parents for all her emotional trauma. She really should've ran from home years ago. They probably wouldn't notice. She honestly couldn't imagine her mum and dad worried about her unless she had spilled orange juice on their precious white carpet.
She remembers when Lily had thrown a tantrum when she was eight and told their parents she was running away. They had laughed in her face and brushed her off. Poppy watched from the edge of the room as Lily packed a bag and stomped out of the house. Poppy had followed, simply curious and wanted to know what her sister would do.
Lily walked a few miles before making herself at home at one of their older neighbor's shed, pulling out a few candy bars and books. She sat down on one of the dusty chairs after pulling on the lightbulb string for light. Poppy didn't say long after that, she walked back to their house.
No one noticed Poppy enter, but after two hours, 48 minutes, and 12 seconds her parents finally started looking for Lily. Poppy couldn't help but grin at her parents' distraught faces as they began to yell outside of the house. It was also the first time her dad had actually approached Poppy.
He caught Poppy's coy smile and had turned his stern gaze to her. "Poppy, do you know where your sister is?" He had asked, standing tall. He towered over her, intimidating the small red-head. Poppy's smile had dropped when they locked eyes.
"I think Lily's trying to prove she doesn't need you." Poppy murmured to her father softly, avoiding the question.
His eyes narrowed and he pointed a steely finger between her eyes. "Don't get smart with me." He reprimanded.
Poppy's eyebrows furrowed, confused. "Don't you want me to be smart?" She had asked.
That had caught her mother's attention. "Poppy Joy Evans, do not speak to your father that way." She shrilled, joining her husband in trying to frighten their daughter. Petunia had noticed the commotion too, but watched from behind the door of her room.
"Sorry." Poppy whispered after her mother stopped screaming, not really meaning it. She only wanted her mum to stop before her eardrums could burst.
"Where is Lily?" Her father asked again.
Poppy met his eyes head on and shook her head with false confusion. "How am I supposed to know? I'm not in charge of her." Her tone was not timid, but instead condescending. She had watched her parents lean back with surprise that's soon replaced with anger. The shock had made Poppy actually beam in her parents face.
"Poppy!" Her mother had gasped.
Poppy smirked. "Yes?"
Her father had raised a hand to smack her, but her mum grabbed his arm, effectively stopping him. "Jack!" She had cried.
Poppy blinked at them innocently as Petunia's jaw dropped. "What's wrong?" Poppy tilted her head. "Did I say something wrong?"
Her mum looked at her daughter with new eyes, looking positively frightened. "What did you do to our Lily?" She whispered, pulling her husband back. Her mother took slow steps toward the kitchen.
Poppy eyed the knife rack. "Are you going to kill me, mummy?"
Her father had other ideas, pulling his arm out of his wife's grip and rushed over to Poppy. He grabbed her arm roughly, yanking her. "Where is Lily?"
Poppy tried to free her arm but it was pointless. "Careful, I might bruise."
He glared at the red-head. "Call the police." He told his wife without taking his eye off Poppy.
*✶⋆*★
Okay, I know what you're thinking. Poppy's loco, but can you really blame her? All the shit she's been through? You can't just expect her to be fine after all the emotional abandonment.
Now I'm not saying that emotional abandonment leads to insanity, not at all. Poppy only said those things to test her family, at least her parents and Petunia.
And fuck you if you think Poppy's wrong for causing her parents to worry a little. It's not like Poppy kidnapped Lily. For god's sake, she followed her to make sure she'd be fine. Her mum and dad deserved to suffer a little, they're assholes.
She didn't plan for this. She didn't plan for Lily to run away for some petty reason she can't remember. She didn't plan for her parents to believe that she hurt her twin. She didn't plan to have her heart broken by her family.
Everything that happened to her parents,
Was brought by themselves.
*✶⋆*★
Poppy was placed on the sofa and watched by her dad until the police arrived. They had separated Poppy from her parents and Petunia. Her mother was shaking with tears streaming down her cheeks. Her husband tried to comfort her, but he had trouble tearing his eyes away from Poppy. Petunia stood in shock, silent.
The cops talking to her were very kind, using a soft tone and giving her small smiles. "Do you know where your sister is?" They asked.
Poppy shook her head. "Lily said she was running away."
They wrote everything she said in a small notebook. "What happened with your mum and dad?" The female police officer asked with a gentle tone.
Poppy could feel her own tears tickle her cheeks. She hiccuped and breathed heavily. "I don't know. I was helping them yell for Lily, but all of a sudden they turned to me, yelling. They accused me of hurting her." She continued as the cop placed her hand on Poppy's. "I know we don't always get along, but she's my sister. I wouldn't hurt her."
When Poppy took a shuddery breath, one of the officers brought her a cup of water. Her hand shook, subtly, but noticeable enough. She set the cup down after a few sips with a hiccup of a cry. She glanced back at her parents and her mother jumped when they locked eyes. Poppy hid her laugh within a cry.
Right then, Lily strolls in. She pauses when she sees the scene, her family talking to police and crying. "What happened?" She asks the room.
Good timing, Poppy thought to herself.
Petunia runs to her sister, cradling her in a hug as her mother nearly faints from relief. They rush at her with hugs and kisses, crying about how worried they were. Poppy stands and runs over to Lily, but is pushed away by their father. "Stay away from her." He yells, making the officers look at the family worriedly.
Poppy sobs. "I told you I didn't do anything! Why are you doing this?"
Lily looks at her parents with disbelief. "She didn't do anything! Why can't she come over?"
The cops shake their heads sadly for Poppy. Lily runs into Poppy's arms, her shirt soaking up tears. "Don't cry, Poppy. It's okay."
*✶⋆*★
The next day, her chair at the dinner table was gone and the Evans family changed forever.
They had unintentionally ignored Poppy, but now they made sure it was done. They never dared to physically hurt her, too scared of what would happen. They had tried to give the girl away to an orphanage, but Lily had threatened to go with her.
Her parents think Poppy's a monster.
Funny how the very people who made her, can blame her
*✶⋆*★
A/N: .....
Did I unintentionally write a plot twist because I listened to some crazy music? Yes, I did.
Am I going to keep it? I don't know.
Truth be told, If you guys liked the plot twist I can keep it. But if you guys hated it, I can just say this is an AU chapter.
You all talked about how much you love her and relate to her, so I'm really unsure about this chapter. I wrote it on a writing spree when I listened to Olivia Rodrigo's song "good 4 u."
Music really does effect my writing, lol.
This is random but after writing this chapter, I went to bed and had some evil-ish dreams that woke me up early. Don't ask, because I can't remember them anymore.
Also, I'm not saying that mental illness causes insanity or anything. She's a fictional character (sadly) and she's not a good representation of a stable mental health. She's got problems.
I can't accurately write her going crazy from the emotional neglect, which is a good thing in my case, because I've never been emotionally neglected.
Just for clarification, I was going to make her think and do things that come off as sociopathic, but she won't actually be a sociopath.
So, let me know if you want to keep Poppy as the precious girl you love, or add a little crazed revenge. I'm fine with either.