Frozen.
Fearful.
Like all my dirty secrets are being laid out for everyone to analyze and see.
“Are you taking drugs?” my father rages, staring at me like he sees right through me.
“Of course not, Daddy,” I try to argue, but the disappointment is still there, running deep in his judgmental eyes.
The doctor turns to my father and frowns. “Sir, I just asked that question to rule out possible scenarios. As I said, what’s in her system is nothing like we’ve ever seen before. New drugs are popping up on the market every day, and I think she was drugged at the club she visited last night.
Pippa steps in. “It’s a common thing, Daddy. You know Poppy would never do drugs. She’s too good for that.” She smirks at me from behind their backs, but like always, when Pippa speaks, our dad softens.
“Of course. Poppy would never do something like that,” he says, quickly correcting his tone. “I’ve raised good daughters.”
Dr. Vale smiles, then starts looking me over. “You’re going to have a bit of a concussion. When you fainted, your head hit the hard floor. It’s going to be a few days of recovery for you, but I think you’re going to be okay.” He fires off a few questions to check my memory, and besides not knowing the exact day, I passed every one. “Yeah, you’ll be fine. If you start to have headaches, have any nausea and vomiting, vision changes, or memory lapses, please get yourself checked out.”
“I will, Dr. Vale. Thank you.”
He excuses himself from the room, leaving me alone with my parents and sister.
“What has gotten into you, Poppy? First Yale, now this.” His voice carries so much fear, control, dominance, and the weight of everything that holds me back.
“Daddy, I’m sorry.”
“If you weren’t out always partying, you’d be at Yale like we planned. Instead, you’re going to Stanford, and I had to pay your way to get there.”
My heart almost stops beating. “Excuse me?”
He smirks. “Did you think with your college scores that you could get in on your own, Poppy? No, like always, I had to pull some strings to get you in there.”
The room starts to spin as tears prick my eyes.
“Jacob, that’s enough. Leave the poor girl alone,” my mother chastises.
“Shut up, Evelyn. Let me parent our children for once. They need a dose of reality every once in a while.”
I can’t even look him in the eye. Every word that leaves his mouth is another to punish me.
“Just go,” I whisper, barely able to speak.
“Excuse me?”
“I said go!” I shout a little louder. “If I’m such a damn disappointment, then get the hell out of here. I don’t need you making me feel worse than I already do. Besides, don’t you have a board meeting or a conference call you’re missing?”
He shakes his head. “Come on, Evelyn, let’s go.”
“Jacob, I’d really like to stay and make sure she’s okay.”
“She brought this on herself. I said we’re leaving, so we’re leaving.” He grabs my mother by the hand, forcing her to leave the room.
Pippa hangs back, waiting until they’re halfway down the hall before she meanders over to the bed.
“Thanks for covering for me, I guess. Not that it helped.”
She shrugs. “He was already pissed off that he had to come down here. People are already talking about the fight at the club and how one of the Kiplinger sisters was involved. He’s trying to bury it before it affects his job.”
I pick at the sheet covering me and sigh. “Do you think he was telling the truth?”
