Finding Thomas

[Poppy Lockwood]

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| Tagged: Cassie Stryker |

She knocked on the door. She knocked again when no one answered. Poppy Lockwood stood outside her trainer's doors with a small backpack on her shoulders and scrap of paper in hand. It had been a week since their first training session and since Poppy suggested for them to hunt down Cassidy's ex boyfriend.

With the last and first name Cassidy provided, she managed to track him down. Thomas Wilkins was currently residing somewhere in Whitefish, Montana. Luckily for them, it would not be such a long journey from Kalispell. The brunette was very excited when her trainer agreed to the trip and looked forward to it.

So after packing some snacks for the road, Poppy walked over to Cassidy's dorm. She had sent a text earlier informing the trainer she would stop by, but had not recieved a reply -- she only sent it like five minutes ago when she locked her own dorm. It was a huge possibility Cassidy was not in but she took her chances.

"Cassidy, let's go on an adventure!" shouted the girl as she pounded on the door.

[Cassie Stryker]

Cassie groaned and rolled over in bed. More of the bloody knocking. She got out of bed, her hair every which way as she walked to the door and opened it.

"Yeah?" A little bleary-eyed, she didn't register that it was Poppy until a moment later. And then she realized she was standing there in a baggy grey t-shirt and plaid pyjama pants with her hair everywhere.

"Hi? What? Huuuuh?" Little groggy still.

[Poppy Lockwood]

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The door finally opened and she was greeted with a underdressed not dressed Cassidy. Her hair was going in all sorts of direction and she was in pyjamas. It looked like her trainer had just gotten out of bed.

Glancing at her watch, which showed half past nine in the morning, she realized Cassidy probably had just gotten out of bed. Woops.

"Yeah hi." Knowing a thing about not liking interrupted sleep, she squeezed her way into the dorm before Cassidy decided to shut the door in her face. "Didn't you get my text? Road trip!" Of course since her trainer had only woken up, she most likely had not seen the text. Moreover, the two had not communicated much during the past week so the trip was sort of a spur of the moment thing.

"I got Thomas' address. Somewhere in Whitefish." Poppy held the scarp of paper cotaining the ex boyfriend's information proudly in her hand.

[Cassie Stryker]

Poppy had slipped past her into the room before Cassidy could react to the unexpected presence of her student. What was happening? Text? Then Cassie groaned.

"Wait I thought that was my alarm and that I killed it..." She'd find out what she'd done to her phone later on. Great that was just great. Luckily nobody ever really tried to phone her. She barely used the thing anyways. And then she heard Poppy speak about Thomas and her sleepy eyes shot straight open as she froze and looked at Poppy.

"We're...going to see Thomas? I thought that was just you joking. I mean..." Did she want to do this? She still wasn't sure. It might be a good way to get peace of mind but still it was odd.

[Poppy Lockwood]

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As her trainer mentioned about killing her phone, Poppy's hand instinctively went to her pocket where her phone was. There was nothing really significant of the act but it was just one of the mundane things people do. Like when someone asked for the time, you glance at your wrist as if your watch was there.

Cassidy looked -- stunned, shocked? -- when the student talked about her ex boyfriend. And now Poppy understood why. The trainer thought that she had been joking all along. It was no wonder she had agreed easily. Probably thought the girl was just being sarcastic. Who wanted to meet the person they've single handedly ruined their life?

But Poppy was not sarcastic -- just impulsive. She was serious then and she was serious now. "Cassidy..." Truthfully, that was all she had so far. "But we...Thomas...you." The girl was not making sense.

"We are going. We're gonna see that son of a bitch and demand answers!" There, that was better.

[Cassie Stryker]

"He's not a song of a bitch firstly. He's one of the only people I've ever trusted in my life, so no calling him names no matter what he does. But...I don't know. I don't want to stir the pot." It would be nice to know though. Cassidy sighed.

"Give me a minute." She went into her bedroom, changed into a t-shirt and jeans and ran a comb through her unruly hair before emerging.

"Now what did you have in mind?"

[Poppy Lockwood]

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Poppy held her hands up as the trainer defended her ex boyfriend. Finally Cassidy caved in and went to get ready.

The girl sat on the couch in the living room as she waited. Not long after, she came out dressed and ready for the trip. Poppy stood up and passed the scrap of paper over to Cassidy.

"Thomas Wilkins lives somewhere in Whitefish. Isn't that far right? So I thought we'd take your car and drive there. Since you just woke up, wanna stop by for breakfast or something? I brought snacks, can eat in the car. Or I can drive..." Poppy was one of the population who had a license but not a car. "What would it be?"

[Cassie Stryker]

Cassidy snatched the paper out of Poppy's hands and read it.

"Well then that's interesting." So close...why did he live so close? It made no sense in the scheme of things. Oh well she wasn't going to think about that too hard.

"I can drive you can navigate. I don't want you crashing my baby, although you'll probably say you're a good driver." Her Benz was beautiful and she didn't want it ruined by anyone what could she say?

[Poppy Lockwood]

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As the paper was snatched out of Poppy's hands, the only thought that passed was; Oh grabby hands. She took this as a good sign. It looked like Cassidy was interested and/or curious about her ex boyfriend.

"Yes, I am a good driver." The girl understood why she would not be driving. Personally, if when she has a car, she would not want anyone driving it and risk damaging it. No matter how good of a driver they say they were. It was vain but so what.

"Come on then." With her small backpack on her shoulders, Poppy made out of the door. "Straight to Thomas or breakfast first?"

[Cassie Stryker]

"Predictable. You said just what I thought you'd say." She smirked as she mumbled the sentence. Then she followed Poppy out her door and Cassie turned around and locked the door. She heard Poppy's question as she turned back to the girl.

"Let's catch some breaky first. I'm starving."

[Poppy Lockwood]

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"Of course you are." Considering she had just woken up, Cassidy's day had not even started. So the student followed the trainer.

Breakfast had been quick and after her trainer had downed everything, Poppy was excited to get the show on the road -- literally. Once in the car, she strapped on her seatbelt.

"Ready?" She said as she turned to face Cassidy with a mischievous grin.

[Cassie Stryker]

She downed a granola bar, some cereal and a banana before standing up, putting her bowl away neatly before turning to Poppy and heading outside to the car, putting the keys in the ignition and sighing with pride as she heard the engine of her Benz purr like a kitten. She loved that sound. Then Poppy asked if she was ready and Cassidy sighed but this time it wasn't with pride but with resignation.

"Ready as I'll ever be I guess." And with that, she pulled out of the parking lot and headed down the highway.

"Feel free to find some music on the radio if you like."

[Poppy Lockwood]

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The resignation in the trainer's voice could be heard and Poppy gave her a small smile. This would be a tough one for Cassidy -- that much she knew. This trip could be for better or for worse, but she damn hoped it would be the former rather than the latter.

After all, it was her who suggested they find Thomas the ex boyfriend. So she partly feels more involved in this than she really was.

They were going to get answers -- what else could happen?

Poppy turned on the radio and settled on one playing Avril Lavigne's What the Hell as a response to what the other girl had said. They were on the road. "So, do you know how to get there?"

Without waiting for a reply, she turned to face Cassidy and changed her question. "Actually, do you think he'd recognize you? Like have you changed a lot since then?"

[Cassie Stryker]

"I don't think I've changed all that much, but hey I was only fifteen and I'm twenty-two now so it could be he won't recognize me. Somehow I think he will though. I mean, I was the one to paralyze him so I don't think that's a face he'd forget any time soon." It all came back to that. She did kind of approve of Poppy's choice of music though and she found her fingers tapping the leather covered steering wheel to the beat.

"Nope I have no idea how to get to his house. I can however get to Whitefish. But after that you're going to have to direct me because I don't know the town that well." She shrugged and kept driving. When they finally reached the outskirts of Whitefish, she turned to look at Poppy expectantly before putting her eyes firmly back on the road.

[Poppy Lockwood]

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Poppy's eyes went wide when she realized how young Cassidy had been. It had definitely been some time ago but like her trainer said, Thomas was bound to forever remember the girl who single handedly turned his life upside down. Who did not?

"Ah yes. True, true." Whilst time may heal wounds, the mind had a way of remembering even the most insignificant details. "Or he was madly in love with you and just could not get you out of his mind," the girl tried to make light of the conversation.

Once Whitefish was only a few distance away, Poppy took out her phone and opened the map of the town she downloaded a few days ago. "I have two addresses actually. One is his house though this was his parent's. So I'm guessing it would most likely be before the accident. Couldn't find anything if they moved or not. I do however have the rehab center he's currently attending. This seems more for sure. But it's up to you where we go first..." Whichever Cassidy decide on, she would direct accordingly. Besides, they could always check the other address later as well.