Until You Met Me

Poppy blinked dazedly, trying, and failing, to push down the lump of panic that had worked its way up into her throat as soon as her eyes had landed on the empty bed. She didn’t want to immediately jump to the worst case scenario. Whilst the empty bed in front of her wasn’t a promising sign, there still could have been a more reasonable explanation as to why Gerard wasn’t there, but as hard as she tried, she couldn’t ignore the voice in her head that was telling her that there was a chance that he really had left. She didn’t want to believe it. She didn’t want to think that there was even a chance that Gerard, who had always gone out of his way to be a shoulder for Molly to cry on, could do something so hurtful to her, but the longer she stood, staring at the barely slept in bed in front of her, the louder the voice in her head got.

“Poppy?”

Poppy jumped at the sound of Cesc’s voice but didn’t turn to look at him. “Have you seen him?” she asked, trying her hardest to keep her voice from shaking.

Cesc opened his mouth, preparing to make a quip about it being too early for Gerard to be awake, but the joke died on the tip of his tongue when he stepped up behind Poppy, his stare settling on the empty bed.

“Cesc” Poppy prodded “Have you seen him this morning?” she repeated, her voice growing a little more urgent.

“No” Cesc answered “I’ve not seen him since last night. Do you think he sneaked down to see Molly?” he added.

Poppy shook her head. “She sent me to see him” she replied.

Cesc nodded his head slowly, allowing a moment of heavy silence to pass between the two of them, before he shuffled forwards and pulled the wardrobe open. Poppy watched him swing the door open before her stare moved up towards his face, watching for his reaction. “Well?” she asked.

“His suit is here” Cesc replied “His overnight bag, too” he added.

Poppy pushed a hand back through her hair before she shook her head, exhaling a shaky breath. She was trying her hardest to keep calm, to stop herself from jumping to conclusions, but she couldn’t shake the thought that she might have to go and tell Molly that Gerard was gone from her mind. She couldn’t stop picturing Molly’s face falling, or hearing her sob, and it meant that keeping her calm was growing increasingly difficult. If it was true, she didn’t quite know how Molly would bounce back from it.

“Have you called him?” Cesc asked.

Poppy blinked a couple of times before she refocused on Cesc. “Hm?” she asked.

“Gerard” Cesc clarified “Have you called him?” he asked.

Poppy shook her head. “My phone is back in my room” she said.

Cesc slipped his phone out of his pocket, handing it over to Poppy. “Call him” he said “I’ll head downstairs and look around. He can’t have gone far” he added.

Poppy offered him a slightly shaky smile in reply before she thumbed through Cesc’s contacts, finding Gerard’s number. Pressing the phone against her ear, she listened to the dial tone for a few moments before it clicked over, allowing Gerard’s voicemail to fill her ears. Squeezing her eyes closed, she let the message finish before she spoke. “It’s Pop” she said “Molly sent me to look for you, and you’re not in your room. She told me about Tiago, and she was worried that you would be having second thoughts. I told her that was crazy, but I am standing in your empty room, and I...I am worried, too. I know how you feel about Tiago, and if you want to be pissed about him showing up, fine, but if you’re even thinking about walking out on Molly...” she trailed off with a soft shake of her head.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled the phone back to her ear. “She loves you, Gerard” she said “And I know you love her, too. Call me back” she added before she hung up the phone.

Turning it over in her hands, she sunk down at the foot of Gerard’s bed for a few minutes until she heard the room door open, something which caused her to spring to her feet, a sigh of relief escaping her when Gerard padded down the hall, Cesc trailing after him. “Oh, thank god” she breathed.

Gerard offered her a slightly bemused smile. “I didn’t realise you liked me so much, Pop” he chirped.

“Gerard” Cesc warned.

“What?” Gerard asked.

Poppy shook her head, a scoffed laugh falling out of her mouth. “You want to know why I am so relieved to see you?” she asked “You want to know why I am in your room at seven thirty in the morning?” she added.

The bemused smile fell from Gerard’s face when he heard the sharpness in Poppy’s voice. “Has something happened?” he asked.

“You scared the crap out of my sister” Poppy answered “I don’t know exactly what happened last night, but I know that when I found her this morning, she seemed to be pretty concerned that you weren’t going to show up today. I came up here to find you, to reassure her that that was a crazy thought, and you were nowhere to be found. Where the hell were you?” she pressed.

Gerard opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, trying to get his head around everything that Poppy was saying, before he shook his head. “I...I went for a walk” he said “I needed to clear my head. Molly really thought that…that I would…?” he stumbled out.

Poppy deflated slightly at the uncertainty in his voice. “She’s not had a lot of sleep” she said “And she’s been up for a while, vomiting” she added.

“She was actually sick?” Gerard pressed.

“She’s nervous” Poppy said “And pregnant. It’s not a great combination. Throw in what happened last night, and she’s a bit of a mess” she added.

“Can I see her?” Gerard asked.

Poppy’s lips quirked ever so slightly before she nodded her head. “If you’re quick” she said “My parents are still asleep. I’ll take you down” she added, making her way towards the door.

Gerard trailed after her, following her back down to Molly’s room, before Poppy unlocked the door and took a step back. “She’s in the bathroom” she said “I’ll give you a little space, but don’t stay for too long. It’s bad luck” she added.

Gerard offered her a faint smile before he moved to step into the room, only for Poppy to stop him by gently setting her hand on his arm. “Take it easy on her” she said gently “She was just scared that she’d messed up. She didn’t really think you’d left. She’s tired, and nervous, and probably a little hormonal, too, and the last thing she needs is you running in there and being upset that the thought even crossed her mind. She just needs you, Gerard. Just be there” she added before she moved away towards her own room.

Gerard watched Poppy’s door close before he slipped into Molly’s room, quietly closing the door after himself. Padding through the suite, he reached the bathroom door before he inched it open, his lips quirking ever so slightly when Molly looked up at him, her eyes wide and tearful. Without a word, he retrieved a cloth from the counter and dampened it with cool water before he sunk down onto the floor next to her, gently pressing it against her forehead. Molly didn’t question it, allowing him to cool her clammy skin before he pulled the cloth away and pressed a kiss against her forehead. “How are you feeling?” he asked quietly.

Molly smiled to herself gently. “Better now” she answered.