Page 94 of Stay Wild Darlin’

“Fuck, Cora,” I said, scrubbing a hand down my face before scooping her up. “I need your help.”

She blinked up at me, unbothered as she chewed on her fist.

“Let’s go in there and pretend we need her,” I said, more to myself than her. “She can’t ignore both of us.”

I carried her down the hall, each step louder than it should’ve been in the morning stillness. My stomach twisted the closer we got to her door.

I knocked gently. “Poppy?”

No response.

I knocked again, this time with Cora on my hip, hoping maybe her baby babble would coax something out.

Still nothing.

My hand hovered over the doorknob. “I’m only checking.”

I twisted the knob and pushed the door open slowly.

The room was empty.

I carried Cora back to the living room in a daze, barely keeping it together while I rocked her until she finally dozed off for her first nap. I laid her in her crib, kissed her head, and closed the door behind me.

I sank into the couch, elbows on my knees, heart still stuck somewhere back in Poppy’s empty doorway. The silence stretched around me until it felt unbearable.

I pulled out my phone.

She was always checking that group—posting in the threads. I did it the other day as a way to connect with her, but this time I needed advice. If she trusted the group, then I would too.

What happens when a girl you slept with leaves the next morning, no note, no text, nothing? Just vanished. What do I do? Is this normal? Do I wait? Did I fuck up?

I stared at it for a second before I hit Post. The responses trickled in faster than I expected.

@GentleChaosMom: Deep breaths. Sometimes we vanish because we like you too much. Talk to her before spiraling.

@BigSagEnergy: You probably said something dumb. Did you bring up your ex? It’s always the ex. Women smell ex-talk like smoke.

@CaffeineQueen420: Maybe she needed coffee and silence. That doesn’t mean she’s abandoning you, Romeo.

@MothmanMILF47: Bro. You done fucked up. Give her a sincere apology, and maybe a tattoo of her initials. Stat.

Click.

The back door to the suite opened and shut.

I held still, trying to process the responses.

Shit.

I did bring up Brooke.

Not in a I want to get back together way—God, no. Still . . . I mentioned her. Said I used to think about trying again so Cora could wake up with both of us.

That had to be it.

Poppy’d gone quiet after that and didn’t say a damn word. I’d kept talking like an idiot.

I dragged a hand through my hair, leaned forward until my elbows dug into my knees, and stared at the floor like it might offer some answers.