“I’m not going to need it where I’m going. And you’re going to need it in Stanford. So, keep it. I’ll just get something new when I get back.”
“So, this is it then? You’re really just going to up and leave like this?”
She nods. “It’s what’s best.”
“I’m going to miss you, Amber,” I blurt out, my emotions building.
“I’ll miss you too, Poppy.” She says it so flatly, like she doesn’t really mean it. That’s why I don’t believe her. She still won’t look at me, and there’s no sincerity in her tone at all.
My heart drops when I see her pick up a few more items and start to zip up her suitcase. “You know you don’t have to move out.”
“I can’t live with her, Poppy. Not after everything that happened.”
“She’s sorry, even if she doesn’t say it.”
“Still doesn’t change the fact that she sabotaged my entire relationship all because she was jealous of me and Eddie.”
“Yeah, I wish I had known,” I say with less conviction than I should, and she sees right through it.
“You don’t have to lie to me, Poppy. She’s your sister, of course you’re going to cover for her.” She rolls her eyes before she moves closer to the door.
“Amber, I—”
“Please don’t pretend anymore. The truth is out, Poppy. Just admit it. You knew and chose not to tell me.”
Admitting it out loud will only make things worse. I can’t lose her, not when it feels like everyone else is turning their backs on me.
“Where you gonna go?” I ask again.
She shrugs, her shoulders lifting through a shuddering breath. “I don’t know. I have this non-refundable ticket to Italy. I think I may go there. You can come too, if you want?”
The thought is tempting, but I’m supposed to start at Stanford in a month. “I wish I could, but I have things to do here.”
“And I don’t,” Amber mumbles. “All of that is behind me now.”
“What happened with the Australian dude? Are you going to see him again?”
“Don’t even get me started on that womanizing whore—”
I cut her off. “That bad, huh?”
“The bastard couldn’t even make it a night without sticking his dick in someone else. She offered him a lot of money he couldn’t pass up. Did I tell you she was fifty?”
“Fifty!”
“Gross, right? I was appalled. But that’s why I’m back here. I’m going to pack up my stuff, leave it in a storage unit, and figure it all out from there. There’s nothing here for me anymore.”
“What about me?” I question, not sure if I really want to know her answer.
“You made your choice, Poppy. And it was the right one. Blood before friendship.”
“Amber—”
“It’s okay, Poppy. It’s what you had to do…” She forces out a fake, half-hearted smile. “Well, that’s the last of it. Thanks for always being there for me, as much as you could, Poppy.”
My heart sinks. “This sounds like a goodbye.”
“It is.”
