Poppy eyed her cousin with all the concern and remorse in the world. She heard Professor Lissington address her, and she tried to believe him. Would Basil, in fact, come out of this unscathed? She certainly hoped so! He shifted then, looking around blearily and she almost dropped back to his side to hold his hand. Yes, they were not so terribly close even as cousins. Yes, she was in fact much, much closer with his brother Atticus. But at the end of the day, Basil was still family and Poppy could feel the guilt begin to stir in her gut. Then, he spoke and something inside of her seemed to melt away.
Who are you?
Water clouded her eyes as Poppy looked down into the familiar face. Oh Merlin, she’d erased herself from his mind! Who knew what else she’d catapulted out of there! Poppy clenched her small fist by her side. She forced herself to nod at Professor Lissington and remove herself from the situation. She would only get in the way, and this was her fault after all. With one last, miserable glance back over her shoulder, Poppy made her way down the hall. She hoped she didn’t run into anyone she knew. All she wanted was to cry into her pillow.
© Fox