Read Trust for Free Online

feel his irritation.
    Felix : Where r u ?
    Poppy : Out. Shopping .
    Feli x : Come home. We need to talk.
    Poppy : About what?
    Felix : Last night .
    Those two words had the power to suck the air right out of her lungs. Of course, she was expecting it, but w hat should she say? What could she say? Poppy went with ignorance . Didn’t like the show? I guess I’ll have to work on my performance.
    Felix : Are you coming home?
    Poppy : Later .
    Maybe . She hadn’t decided yet.
    Felix : What store ru at? I’m coming 2 u .
    So he was impatient. Not a good sign for her. Poppy : Just leaving. Have more running 2 do. See u at home.
    She knew he wouldn’t take the brush-off well, so she put her phone away and walked as fast as she could for the car. There was no way she was meeting with Felix. Was he crazy? The whole world would be an audience to their hardships. No, she just needed a few more hours to get her head together , and then she would face him. He was right that they needed to talk, but not here, not now.
    In her pocket, her phone was going crazy. Felix was probably blowing a gasket right now, but she couldn’t worry about him. Right now, she had to worry about herself. She needed to get her thoughts in order, come up with a game plan, and decide what her next move was going to be when she finally did talk to him, because one thing was certain: she was not going to let herself fall into the same pattern with Felix as she had with Jimmy.
    She would not be a doormat. She would not turn a blind eye. She would not lose everything she had worked so hard for. Once was more than enough and she had learned her lesson well.
    Poppy visited five more stores and forced herself to eat a late lunch. She was still full from the first one, but she wasn’t ready to go home. Overall, she’d bought herself an extra three and a half hours. The problem was, now she was teetering on broke, her trunk was full of nonsensical items that she would probably end up returning later, and she had nowhere else to go. Home seemed to be the next logical step, and it would be if it weren’t for the angry boyfriend waiting for her there.
    Pulling in a huge breath through her nose, Poppy released it slowly, cranked the engine, and steered the car toward home.
    ***
    Felix wasn’t there. When she stepped inside, quiet as a mouse, Poppy took painful measures to keep the bags in her hands from rustling too much. She wasn’t taking any chances. Toeing her shoes off, she hastily made her way upstairs, her eyes darting in every direction in case Felix was lurking nearby. Fortunately, she was alone.
    Really alone.
    She frowned, looking over her shoulder at Bo’s empty pallet in the corner. One after another, Poppy hung her new clothes on the bar in the closet. Normally, she would be admiring her finds, choosing which one she would wear first. The cream sweater dress with the black belt that gave her the illusion of having an actual waist, or the hunter green silk blouse paired with the knee length pencil skirt that looked like a modern version of a fifties school teacher? Today, she just didn’t have the energy to care.
    Where was Bo? Where was Felix? Felix loved the dog, but it was unlike him to take off with him alone. Worry struck her cold. What if Felix ab ducted her dog—her baby, her only child? Her hands shaking, she dropped onto the edge of the bed, clutching a box of gourmet chocolate to her chest.
    Felix would never do that. He knew how much she loved that dog. Her thoughts were confirmed when she heard the front door click shut. Moments later, the sound of Bo’s nails scrambling across the wood floors and up the stairs followed. Realizing what was coming next, Poppy quickly set aside her things, cleared a spot on the bed, and braced herself.
    “Bo-bo!” Opening her arms, she wrapped them around the giant beast as he barreled through the door and leapt up onto her chest. His large paws slammed down on her shoulders, bowing her spine, and he