Page 30 of Poetry of Flowers

I chuckled, “I’m sorry, Fleur, but I need some space, or do you want me to sleep on the ground?”

Tillie pulled the blanket over her shoulders and closed her eyes again.

“My floors are clean.” She yawned.

I laughed and just stood up to push her to the other side of the bed. It didn’t take any strength at all.

Suddenly wide awake, she sat up and leaned against her headrest as I slipped in under her comforter and lay down on one of the dozens of pillows, she hoarded.

Why on Earth did anyone need that many pillows?!

When I still couldn’t feel her weight shift on the mattress after a couple of minutes, I turn around. When I looked up at her, she was gazing down at me.

“You really do want to see me on the floor, do you, Avril?” I asked, making her giggle.

I could listen to that sound for days.

“You woke me, and now I’m wide awake because of you.”

Tillie said and gently hit my arm with the palm of her hand, but her smile never left her lips.

“We’re going to make this week one of the best of our lives, right?”

“Of course, we will, that’s the plan. We’ll make memories worthy of poetry.” My smile felt dirty on my face, the way I had to lie to her made me sick.

I was disgusted by myself, but didn’t want to make her cry tonight again.

“Well, I usually write them when I am sad, and I am not planning on being sad on our trip! But who knows, maybe that will change.” Tillie nodded to herself as she spoke. She slipped back under the covers and rolled over to her side, so she could face me again.

“Someday you will be happy again, Matilda, I will make sure of that.” I whispered while I realized our faces were only inches apart.

Stop it, Kayden!When we were younger, you didn’t think like this!

Her smile faded a bit, and she sighed as she lay down on her back to look at the stars on her ceiling.

Her mother had drawn them for her when she was just a baby. The stars showed her star sign, Virgo.

Her mother had so much talent; I loved that ceiling.

“I think I’m the only person who can make me happy again, after lots of thinking, it’s the only logical answer.”

Her side profile still looked like the little girl who wanted to rule an entire kingdom when she was younger.

“You’re right, but logical was never our thing, remember?” When she began to laugh, I knew she remembered.

“I was six.” Leaning over, Tillie buried her face into my side as she continued to giggle. I felt her happiness like a vibration.

“Nash told us if we had a few more brain cells we wouldn’t climb up that tree, but we still did, nothing could stop us. Watching the shooting stars was so much more important for our little brains.” I recalled the memory while I laid my arms around my best friend’s waist, pulling her closer to me.

“Well... we were too heavy for that old tree and the night ended for both of us in the hospital, but it was worth it.” Tillie placed her chin on my chest and grinned up at me.

“Oh sure, your broken wrist and my dislocated shoulder were totally worth the one second of night sky we saw.”

She laid her head down on my chest, her arm hugging me around my waist.

She was so comfortable with me, and I loved that, but her soft fingers felt oh so good as they brushed against me.

“My cast was red, so it wasn’t that bad, it matched my favorite strawberry dress.”

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