No More Coca Cola

[Poppy Lockwood]

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| Tagged: Gabriel Mendes |
| OOC Note: Takes place shortly after Death by Wolf |

The girl slowly dragged her feet up the stairs leading up to the apartment. Every step felt away from where she had been felt heavier than the one before. Poppy Lockwood had been nearby at the lake that afternoon. Instead of going to the one near the academy, she went to the one further off school grounds. She told herself that it did not matter which lake it was but the fact that it was a lake would suffice. Apparently that little notion costed her something someone today.

Her shirt was sticking to her body because of the sweat. Her pants were covered in dirt. Almost all of her was covered in dirt. Her fingernails looked filthy from all the digging she had been doing for the past hours? Poppy did not know how long it had been. However, she did know it rained halfway through. So at the moment she knew she looked like a mess.

But she could not bring herself to care about the state she was in -- tear streaked face, puffy red eyes, strands of hair in all directions -- when she knocked on Gabe's door. "Can I come in?" whimpered Poppy once the door opened.

[Gabriel Mendes]

It was yet again a lazy weekend and Gabriel found himself lounging in his living room, surfing through the channels on his TV. He could hear the popping of hot oil in the kitchen as Violet, his maid, cooked for dinner. He didn't hear the door knock but his butler, Daniel, was just crossing the hall when he heard the door.

Upon opening the door to see the young girl in such a state, he paused for a moment before stepping aside to let her in. He closed the door behind her and walked over to Gabriel, tapping him on the shoulder. "There's a very dirty girl at the door. I let her come in."

Gabriel frowned slightly and got off the couch to walk over to the door where he saw Poppy looking like she had wrestled in mud prior to coming here.

"Poppy? What are you doing here? What happened?" He asked before calling for Violet.

[Poppy Lockwood]

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The person that greeted her from the other side of the door surprised the brunette a little. It was not her friend and she had forgotten that Gabe did not live alone. But seeing the butler reminded Poppy that there would be other people who would see the terrible state she was in. The man stepped aside, making room for to her enter which she did gratefully.

She did not know what to do next so she hung behind back at the entrance as the butler she assumed would go and fetch his master. Everything felt so formal. And everything that had happened before she came here felt so not. Another wave of sadness washed over her as she thought about it.

When she saw Gabe and heard his questions, the girl was lost for words. Her shoulders sagged and her throat felt heavy. "I...I, I, I..." Poppy just did not know how to answer him.

[Gabriel Mendes]

When Violet finally arrived, the older woman's eyes widened at the sight of thr dirty girl. "Vi, help clean her up. Give her whatever you have to wear. I'll put her things in the washing machine." Gabriel looked at Poppy with his eyebrows furrowed in the middle.

"Go, follow Violet." He waved her over to the older woman, who put a comforting arm around Poppy's shoulder and guided her to the bathroom. "Sweetheart, what happened?" She asked, her voice gentle and soothing, very persuasive.

[Poppy Lockwood]

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Poppy stammered and when the older woman emerged, she was relief she did not have to try any further to get the words out. It was already hard as it was. A few tears escaped before she abruptly brushed it away.

Even though he had waved her over, her feet felt like it was glued to the floor and she could not move. Only when the older woman, Violet, came and put an arm around her did she let herself be guided to the bathroom. Her voice sounded comforting for the younger girl. But still, Poppy was not ready to speak because saying it out loud would only make it true.

After taking a long shower and cleaning the dirt off her, she dressed in a shirt that was a size too big for her and a pair of shorts. She walked back into the living room where she found Gabe.

"Erm hey. Thank you for...this all and sorry. I didn't mean to show up unexpectedly, it's just that I didn't know where to go..."

[Gabriel Mendes]

Violet nodded when the girl didn't respond. Instead, she showed her the bathroom before going into her room to get her some of Gabriel's little sister's clothes and laid them on the bed so Poppy can dress in them. She closed the door to the room and continued with the cooking.

Meanwhile, Gabriel's mind was reeling as to what had happened to Poppy. It didn't look like she was physically hurt. But she was dirty from head to toe. He had always felt personally responsible for the young woman because he had been the one who convinced her to come to Kalispell. She was the little sister replacement, somewhat, since he couldn't meet up that often with his own sisters.

Her arriving at his place looking like she had been mud wrestling did not help that feeling at all.

When she finally re-emerged from the room wearing his little sister's clothing that hung off Poppy's thin frame, Gabriel stood from where he had been sitting and approached her. "What happened, Poppy?"

[Poppy Lockwood]

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Did not know where to go. But Poppy knew where she did not want to be.

When the rain started to pour down, the girl decided to make her way to her friend's house instead of going back to the academy. Besides it being closer, she was not ready to face the empty and lonely dorm and let reality sink in just yet.

Now cleaned and far from the terrible state she was in, the nineteen year finally could begin to collect her thoughts. And the fact that she had cried in the shower as well helped to wash a little of her sorrows away.

The seriousness and concern in Gabe's tone broke her a little as her mind spit out images of what had happened in the past few hours. "Gabe, I...I buried buried someone today." She walked closer and perched on the arm rest of the couch.

Inhale. Exhale. "I buried...Coca." Somehow, she managed to whisper out the last part even though she thought saying it would only make it true. Call it indenial or whatever but the fact remained that Poppy Lockwood was not prepared for the death of her long time pet and friend.

[Gabriel Mendes]

Gabriel made his way over to his arm chair and watched as Poppy took to the couch. He looked at her when he realised she had just told him she buried someone. Before he could speak, Poppy continued on saying that it was her cat.

It hadn't been a week since they last saw each other, and Poppy had spoken about Coca Cola like he was still well and good.

"What happened to him?"

[Poppy Lockwood]

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"He died obviously," she said with a hoarse laugh. Only when the words were spoken out loud did the brunette realize how true and real everything was at that moment. The laughter then turned into coughing like she was clearing a soar throat.

"I...He..." She looked at him as her mouth tried to form the words. Suddenly, all the collected thoughts fell apart. "He was on the ground. I woke up and went searching for him only to find him laying on the ground. And there was this wolf," she said with mock disbelief. Her words were rushed and she knew she must sound crazy.

"I wasn't there. God, I fell asleep! And now he's gone..."

[Gabriel Mendes]

When Poppy responded sarcastically, Gabriel let it slide and let her continue. Something about a wolf and her being asleep. And now her best friend was dead. How did a wolf get on the grounds?

"Poppy...I'm so sorry." Gabriel sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, not knowing what to do or say. "Where were you that you found a wolf?"

[Poppy Lockwood]

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Inhale. Exhale.

Her fingers fiddled with the hem of the sleeves. Poppy took deep breaths and tried to pace herself. Her sentences were a jumble so she decided to start again. This time from the beginning.

"I was at the lake with him earlier. I really should have left him at the academy, but I took him with me anyway," she said with a tinge of regret. "Then somehow I managed to doze off. When I woke up, Coca wasn't there anymore. So of course I went looking..."

She took a deep breath as she remembered how surprised she was when she saw the wolf. And how shocked she had been when she saw her pet laying almost lifeless by its side. It was still hard for her to revisit the haunting moment, so instead of retelling Gabe her whole encounter with the wolf girl, Poppy kept it as simple as she could.

Like how her pet did not immediately die but suffered in pain before taking its last breath because she did not have the courage to put him out of it herself. Like how it was not fair he had to go the way he did. Like how she dug a hole to bury the cat with her own hands because there was no other tools around. That was why her fingernails were so filthy. Like how she broke down every time she saw the lifeless cat. Like how she still blamed the wolf.

"What...now?" The brown eyes that looked up to him were glassy with tears threatening to fall again.

[Gabriel Mendes]

Insightful might not be one of Gabriel's biggest traits. He was smart, there was no doubt about that but when it came to personal matters, the boy was hardly a shoulder to cry on. So with how heavy the thread of this conversation was, Gabriel could only look at Poppy with a fusion of concern and sympathy. He understood loss, he did, but he didn't know how to console people.

The moment she raised her eyes up at him, looking so lost, Gabriel got off the couch and gave her a hug. There could be repercussions to this but right then, all he saw was his little sister seeking help.

"It's going to be okay, Poppy. Be as sad as you want...but it will be okay."

[Poppy Lockwood]

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What now indeed. The college girl knew that the life expectancy of her cat was only about ten to fifteen years. Last Christmas marked their ten year anniversary so Poppy thought she could at least get another year in. But even so, she always thought Coca Cola would die of old age.

Not death by wolf.

She found the hug that came very comforting. Not long ago she remembered how he had voiced his concerns about it so Poppy felt very grateful for it. The tears that were threatening to fall finally fell.

Her lips trembled as her hands kept wiping her wet cheeks. "And I thought I have no more tears to shed," she joke half heartedly. "I'm sorry Gabe, if I interrupted something or chabge up your plans tonight...He's really gone isn't he," whispered the sobbing girl.

[Gabriel Mendes]

When the floodgates crashed, Gabriel patted the girl's back in a comforting fashion. He was still uneasy about the whole thing but there were more important matter to attend to than his obligations. He was responsible over her and that was that.

Again with her apologies, something Gabriel thought she would eventually get over, but he kept quiet, letting her go through whatever it is she had to go through. Because Gabriel hadn't seen the body, he couldn't really say anything. She knew the cat was gone, she just needed to let it out. So he let her.

[Poppy Lockwood]

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At one point, Poppy just stopped brushing the tears away because she knew more were to come and it was pointless. Crying was the only thing she did when she heard her pet took its last breath. When she dug its grave, she cried some more. More tears fell when she held the lifeless body that not long ago was curled up against her. She sobbed uncontrollably as she pushed the dirt in to cover the hole, burying Coca Cola in there forever. Even in the shower at Gabriel's place, she cried at the pain the memory brought her.

And now she was crying yet again.

What was it that her friend had said? Be as sad as you want...but it will be okay. From the books she had read, she knew a thing or two about grief, though experiencing it was a whole other story. But because she was an optimist she believed him. However, for now Poppy just could not stop being in sorrow.

"I miss him already," she said after who knew how long. Grabbing a couple pieces of tissue, she dabbed her tear streaked face once she felt like her body could not produce anymore tears. "Errm Gabe, can you please tell me something funny so this doesn't feel as depressing as it is."