The Lonely Raven

Chapter 7 - Poppy

Raven slammed her apartment door behind her. In a hurry, she grabbed her keys and quickly locked the door. She was still trying to catch her breath from all that running. Within seconds her coat was whipped off and flung onto the sofa. Raven found herself pacing back and forth, she could not get that mysterious man out of her thoughts.

With her apartment empty, she was begging at least someone was here. The emptiness now scared Raven, it wasn't welcoming anymore. Raven couldn't shake off the feeling that someone else was here. She felt as if she was going insane, it was all that filled her mind. "What if he's here in the house?" Raven questioned. She paused after saying that and remained silent to hear any noises. Nothing... Raven let a sigh and her body relaxed. With the sudden scare of seeing the man from her nightmare, she was paranoid.

Raven was still freezing, her rosy cheeks and chapped lips were signs that she needed to warm up. She made her way into the kitchen, although it was small it did have everything she needed. With a flick of a switch, the kettle was heating up. Raven hovered her hands over the kettle in an attempt to warm them up. The loud noise from the kettle soon stopped and the apartment was silent again. Raven reached for the cupboard and grabbed a coffee mug. She could practically taste the coffee already, this was what she needed.

*Bang!*

There was a loud knock at the door and Raven jumped out of her skin. In a panic she dropped her mug and it smashed into pieces. That was the least of her worries as she was certain it was him at the door. Raven slowly crept towards the door and placed her hand onto the handle. Her heart felt like it would explode any second and her sweaty palms made it difficult to grasp the handle. She took a deep breath as the door swung open.

It was Poppy. She didn't look her usual self. Her makeup was severely stained and her hair was all over the place. There was no smile but instead teary eyes and faint whimpers as tears rolled down her face. Raven was in shock but relieved it wasn't who she thought it was. She welcomed Poppy in and quietly closed the door behind her. Poppy made her way to the sofa and stared blankly at the wall. Raven had no knowledge on how to comfort someone, she couldn't help but feel awkward as silence filled the air. Her feet dragged along the floor as she made her way over to Poppy, they both embraced as Poppy cried on her shoulder. Raven decided not to tell her about her eventful day and to leave it for another time.

It felt as if hours had pasted and Poppy was still crying. Raven questioned what had happened, she expected Poppy to not respond but instead the words just flew out of her mouth. Her talking was fast and hard to understand as she was crying. Raven could only make out that she left this morning to meet her ex. Poppy was cheated on and now left alone, just like Raven. Poppy hugged her tighter as a single tear formed in Raven's eyes.

They both knew they had each other and that their friendship was now stronger. However, Raven could not stop thinking about the events that took place this morning. She was certain she would see that man again.