Page 86 of Ravage

“You have the same effect on me.”

“I do?”

“You sure do.”

She studied me for several seconds, then announced, “You can help me pick a color for my turtle.”

“Okay.”

“Pick a good one.”

“How about purple?”

“No.”

“Pink?”

“No.”

“Green.”

“A big no.”

“Yellow?”

She sighed. “You aren’t very good at this.”

“You’re right,” I giggled. “You pick the color.”

“Teal.” She smiled. “That will be the perfect color.”

“Yes, it will.”

And just like that, the weight of the day was lifted from my shoulders, and I felt a little more like myself again. It was all thanks to Poppy. She helped me see that losing our things wasn’t the end of the world. We could make them again, even better this time. It wasn’t the same, but it was close.

Clara arrived just after five, and I was sad our session had come to an end so quickly. She gathered her things and slipped her pink backpack on her shoulder as she told me, “Next week, we will do our houses again.”

“I think that’s a fabulous idea.”

Satisfied with the plan, she gave me a nod and started for the door. Before going out, she turned back to me and asked, “You’re not going to be sad anymore, right?”

“I’m going to try.”

“Good… Tell Mr. Cole I said hi.”

“I will. Bye, Poppy.”

“Bye, Ms. Emery.”

And just like that, she was gone. I stared at the closed door and smiled. It amazed me how kids seemed to notice everything. Poppy seemed to notice more than most, like how I’d seemed happier when Cole was around. I wouldn’t have thought anyone would notice, but she certainly did.

And she was right. I did like having him around, and after last night, I wasn’t looking forward to going back to stolen glances and pretending I didn’t have feelings for him. My cheeks flushed just thinking about the night I’d shared with him. I’d spent so much time wondering what it would be like to be in his arms, and now, I finally knew.

I should’ve been elated. Instead, I was terrified.

This could be bad for both of us, even more so for Cole.

And our timing couldn’t have been worse. Someone was taking a stand against the club. I had no idea who, and I certainly didn’t know why. But I’d been around long enough to know that Fury had enemies, lots of them.