while Poppy struggled to absorb the revelations. “Mom and Dad are fighting all the time. Grammie says she’s selling it all and going to leave us destitute.” All the stress couldn’t be aiding their grandmother’s recovery either. “You have to come back. We need you.”
Not something that Poppy had ever heard her sister say or expected any of the family to say to her. Until that moment, she had never considered her role in the family. Being closest to Grammie, she did have the most influence there. With her sisters always striving to outdo each other, she’d always been their mediator.
But it didn’t matter. When she thought about going back, her head began to shake. “I can’t,” Poppy said. “I have a life here now. Responsibilities. I have a job.”
“Is it more important than your family? Are you saving lives?”
“That’s not the point,” Poppy said, beseeching her sister. “For the first time in my life, I am running my own life. I don’t want to give that up.”
“We all have responsibilities,” Primrose said. “We all have obligations that we’d rather turn our back on. But we don’t. That’s not reality. It’s not life. Your family need you. Are you really going to abandon us?”
Her breathing slowed. There were plenty of times Turner and the Maddoxes were tearing their hair out at each other. But they were always there to stand together. More than once, their love and support of each other put tears in her eyes.
Family stepped up for each other. That was what she’d learned from the Maddoxes. The Venture was in Turner’s name. Val told her that. Solely his name. If he wanted to, Turner could say fuck his family. He could leave his mom to support herself and the teenagers. He could have abandoned Faye after the Kev fiasco, told her she was on her own.
But he never did. The female Maddoxes looked up to him, as they would a father. Poppy always thought she got it, but true clarity hadn’t joined her until that second. Turner was a role model for her as well as his sisters. He set an example that she should aspire to.
Inhaling, Poppy couldn’t see a way to refuse her sister and still stand anywhere near the Maddoxes.
Primrose came closer. “Poppy, say something. Don’t just leave me standing here.”
So many possibilities came to mind. How could she refuse? How would she justify that refusal to Turner? He’d brought Primrose to her apartment, he expected something of her. He’d said once that he feared disappointing her. That was her fear in that moment. Disappointing him would tear her apart. Life wasn’t about what the individual wanted. Family did what was best for the greater good.
“It’s late,” Poppy said, settling on remaining neutral. “I only got home from work a couple of hours ago. Can we get some rest and talk tomorrow?”
Surprise crossed Primrose’s face. “Here? You want to rest here?”
“This is my home,” Poppy said, accepting that it may not be for much longer. “You can have my room. Come on. I’ll show you.”
THIRTY-THREE
Poppy had already decided that she had to go back to her family. After a restless night on the couch, she found sleep at some point. Charley had woken her up to say she was going to brunch with David. No questions about why she was asleep on the couch, but that was to be expected when Charley was high about receiving Leicester’s attention.
Her friend went out and she was left alone with her thoughts. Poppy needed to talk to someone. She needed support. But who could she talk to? No one knew the truth, no one except Turner.
She’d wasted her time. The more she thought about it, the more obvious that became. Her time in the real world was never destined to be forever. She’d kidded herself that it might be, but Primrose was right. At some point, her family would’ve tracked her down, they would’ve wanted her back.
That moment had come.
She’d never regret meeting the Maddox family. They had taught her so much about what was important. Her own wants and needs had to come after what was best for the whole. Would she choose a life away from the money and the Granger name if she could? Maybe. But she wasn’t beaten or abused, her life was one of privilege. One other people envied. Perhaps she’d been too hasty to cast it aside.
In the almost three months that had passed since she’d fled Violet’s wedding, Poppy had