Page 26 of Billionaire's Desire
I log into my account and swipe through some photos of me and Poppy. Us on campus, us at the very top of the Ferris wheel, us on a drunken girl’s night out… That last one slams into me like a rock.
If only I had known that she was struggling, I would have helped. I would have helped her and maybe then, she would still be here.
“Hey!” I am ripped from the Pandora-sized pit of sadness I just opened. It’s Hilda.
She is no longer on the other side of the room but instead she is seated on the bed beside me as she runs her hand up and down my back.
I must have completely zoned out because I didn’t even hear her move.
“Honey,” she prods again, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I choke out.
“Then why are you crying?”
I had not even realized that the rivulets of my tears were running down my cheek.
Her soft calm tone which is a lot different than her loud outspoken demeanor is the final straw before my dam breaks free.
My shoulders shake as I cry. Hilda gently wraps her arm around me.
“It’s okay sweetheart. Everything will be alright.”
“No, it won’t! Nothing will ever be the same again.”
Hilda is calm and collected as she continues to soothe me.
“Let it out, let it all out.”
I cry even harder.
“You’ll get through this. Whatever it is that is going on, I will go through it. I’m here for you, okay?”
I nod into her warm embrace as I continue to sob.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
I haven’t told her about Poppy, who was quite possibly my other half and my very best friend but that’s just because I have not been able to talk about her to anyone. My chest hurts every single day she is not here. I want to talk to someone about her, without the accident changing how they viewed her—who she was before all of that.
“I don’t know how to,” I responded honestly.
She pauses a beat, “Well, whenever you are ready, I will be here.”
I nod my head again.
She patiently waits for the sobs racking through my body to die down before she eventually pulls away.
“Oh my God. I needed that.”
“We all need a good cry every now and then,” she reassures me.
I am beyond grateful that I did not have to go through this trip on my own. I am very grateful that Hilda has been here the last few days.
She is not Poppy. No one could replace Poppy, but in the few brief days I have known her, Hilda is damn near close.
“Thank you, Hilda.”
She shares a smile with me. “Don’t mention it. I am going to expect you to return the favor very, very soon.”
