guys was smoking and the younger of the two women was sitting on top of a short statue by a wooden door.
As Poppy approached, all of them stopped talking to look at her. Rather than the blank expressions of the other men, these people seemed wary.
“Hello,” she said, hoping confidence and a smile would go a long way. “I need some help.” She stopped walking, but didn’t receive any acknowledgement. “I need a ride out of here.”
“You the one screwing the groom?” the older of the two guys asked.
“No,” Poppy said, reminding herself that a groan wouldn’t ingratiate her. “Definitely not doing that… Can someone give me a ride?”
Glancing at the vehicles nearest to them, she noticed a small wooden sign driven into the grass at the edge of the gravel, which stated “employee parking.”
“Where you headed?” the guy asked.
“Anywhere,” she said. “Doesn’t matter.”
“Well, we’ve got work to do here,” he said. “You hang around a few hours and we’ll—”
“No,” she said. “I really need to go now…” Hesitating, she caught her lip in her teeth as she considered the options. “I can pay you.”
The guy’s brows went up and he looked around at the others. “Yeah? What you gotta pay with?”
No cash, if that’s what he was hoping. The diamonds of her grandmother’s jewelry dug into her palm. Instead of giving them the exquisite gems, she shook her head to highlight the sparkle of her earrings.
“Take me to the nearest pawn shop, you won’t be disappointed.”
The older guy prodded the younger one. “Keep an eye on things. I’ll be back later.”
She had a ride. Progress. Even if it was slow, Poppy had to appreciate every increment. One step at a time was the only way she’d get through.
TWO
Getting a job answering customer service calls for an online shopping company was a great leap forward. A job meant earning money. But still living in a hotel, Poppy was spending faster than she could earn. Trying to find an apartment was next on her agenda. Actually, it had been for a while. With each day that passed, she became more desperate.
It had been a month since she’d walked away from Violet’s wedding. A month of living in a hotel, and not a cheap one. Her job hunt hadn’t been straightforward either. Few people had a need for a classical pianist and she wasn’t about to start trying to make a name for herself. Music had been her passion as a child, studying and performing gave her something to do, but she’d never loved it enough to dedicate herself to the craft like a true professional would.
As far as family went, so far, she’d only spoken to her grandmother. From what she’d heard about home, that was a reprieve. Things weren’t going well. Everyone was at each other’s throats. Holden was still hanging around. Her parents were at their wits end. Primrose and Violet were terrorizing each other much more than usual too. Everyone wanted to know where she was, but Marigold was keeping quiet.
Poppy got the impression her grandmother might be enjoying the drama a little. She definitely enjoyed living vicariously. Every time they talked, her Grammie wanted to hear all about her new life. To hear about where she’d been… and who she’d met.
Thus far, her father hadn’t put a lot of effort into looking for her. Grammie was holding the reins on that one without a doubt. If he wanted to find her, he could. If he heard that she’d been injured or attacked, it would be much more difficult for Marigold to hold him back. For all his faults, her father was protective of his daughters.
In the breakroom, she scanned the apartment listings in the local paper. Poppy needed something close to work. Something that wasn’t too expensive, but it couldn’t be in a terrible area either. She wanted different experiences, that didn’t mean she wanted to start carrying weapons or worrying about being jumped on her way home.
“Hey, are there car listings in there?”
Glancing up, Poppy saw Charlotte, one of the women on her team, coming around to join her at the table, a vending machine coffee in her hand.
“Uh… yes,” Poppy said, searching for the section. “They’re on the back of this page though. Can I give it to you in just a minute?”
“Sure,” Charlotte said, shrugging as she sat down.
The woman was younger than her, beautiful and bright with a blonde, pink dip-dye thing going on. Having only worked there a couple of weeks, Poppy