Page 135 of Broken Ties (Rixon High 4)

“Sure thing, Mom.” I waved her off as I headed for the door.

“I love you, Poppy. And one day, you’ll find the kind of love me and your dad, and Lily and Kaiden have found. It’s out there, sweetheart. Waiting for you.”

A small nod was all I could manage. Because how could I tell her that I was pretty sure I’d already found it.

He just didn’t feel the same.

I was halfway through my homework when my cell vibrated.

“Hey, this is a surprise,” I said, answering Lily’s call.

“What, I can’t call my sister anymore?” She chuckled. “Mom texted. She said you might need me.”

“She did?”

“Yeah. She also said the two of you talked.”

“It was very weird. She made me guilt muffins.”

“Can’t we call them apology muffins, it sounds better?”

“Fine. Apology muffins.” I rolled my eyes as if muffins could erase years’ worth of misunderstandings.

“I think seeing you hurt on Saturday gave her an epiphany.”

“Maybe I should get elbowed in the face by a grown man more often.”

“Poppy… Did the muffins at least taste good?” Amusement dripped from her words.

There was no denying they had been tasty muffins.

“So good.”

Our laughter filled the line.

“I’m glad the two of you talked. I don’t want to have to come home and bash your heads together.”

“There’s still plenty of time for that,” I said. “I suppose she told you I cried like a baby too?”

“She may have mentioned it. Want to talk about it?”

“Nope.” I flopped back into my pile of pillows with a heavy sigh.

“Poppy, come on… this is me. You can tell me anything.”

“I called things off with Eli.”

“Oh no. That’s a shame. I was hoping that maybe he was—”

“Well, he wasn’t. And it wasn’t fair to keep seeing him when I…”

“Aaron?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

She let out a soft sigh. “Guys are so clueless sometimes.”

“They really, really are.”

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