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“I'm about to board my flight. I'll call you when I land.”

Kadie's voice was somber as she hung up the phone. Just a few short hours ago she was fired from her dream job. She was already on her way back to the City. I felt a wave of emotions wash over me as I thought of the unfortunate position she'd been put in because of Poppy.

It all started 48 hours ago. Adam had finally figured out a plan to take Poppy down without anyone finding out. Unfortunately, the faulty plan was made on a whim. It would've worked on anyone else, but Poppy is always three steps ahead. She's one of those people you shouldn't dare to cross. Not because she's scary, but because she'll make it her life mission to get you back a million times worse.

When she figured out Adam was behind the plan, she jumped on her family's private jet and paid her Auntie Eva a visit in LA. I'm sure she fed her some outrageous lies which infuriated Eva. So much so, that she wouldn't even listen to Kadie as she tried to plead her innocence.

Kadie explained to Eva how messed up and involved with drugs Poppy is, but Eva didn't believe a word of it. She told her how Poppy even tried to make out with Adam in order to ruin their relationship. When Kadie had Googled the picture to prove it she couldn't find anything. By that point Adam's legal team had made sure the internet was clear from the false story that Poppy tried to plant.

When Kadie called to let me know her flight information, she asked if she could stay with me. Adam had been trying to reach out to her, but she told him she wasn't having it. She was shell shocked and needed her space to think everything over.

As soon as we'd hung up the phone I headed over to Adam's to grab a few of Kadie's essentials.

“Hey” Adam greeted me as he opened his door. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. It was strange seeing a lightly forming beard on his face since he was normally clean shaven. It was a testimony to the struggle he'd been put in.

“Kadie wanted me to tell you she still needs her space. She's coming into town in a few hours and she's planning on staying at my place for a few days.” I spoke quickly as I walked past him into their bedroom.

Adam grunted irritatedly as he leaned against the bedroom door's frame. He stood there with his arms folded as he watched. “Once Poppy comes back into town I swear to fucking...”

“Adam” I cut him off. “Don't you understand? Nothing's going to work on Poppy. She always gets what she wants. She told you she'd ruin your relationship, didn't she? This is Poppy's world, we're just living in it.” I sighed as I grabbed the last of Kadie's things and walked out the room.

“Where is that coming from? You were just helping me plot a revenge...” Adam asked as he trailed after me.

I stopped just before opening the front door. “I can't hurt my best friend anymore, Adam. We tried to stop Poppy once and look how it turned out. She's a force that can't be reckoned with. Kadie just lost her dream job and any connections she had in this industry because of her. It's over, Adam. You should salvage what you have now before it's all gone.” We stared at each other in silence before I opened the door to his apartment and left.

It was almost 10pm that night when I finally headed over to the airport to pick up Kadie. The look on her face was blank. She was completely emotionless. The entire subway ride back to my apartment was spent in silence. It wasn't until she dropped her bag on the floor once we'd gotten inside that she began crying.

“Kadie” I rubbed her shoulder trying to comfort her. She flinched at my touch and leaned away.

“I get it, Lynn. Adam was only trying to help.” She said sarcastically.

“That's not what I was going to say...” I sat across from her on the couch.

“Then what? Everything's going to be okay?” She lifted her head up from her hands and looked at me. “Well guess what? It's not! I'm so fucked! Losing a job anywhere else would have been fine. But, this is Eva fucking Darlington. If any future employers find out I was fired, or tries to get a reference, I'll never land a job in this industry again!” Kadie was shouting at this point. I sat quietly and let her purge her feelings. I knew she was being a little over dramatic, but I didn't say anything. “I worked my ass off, Lynn. I don't deserve this! And it's all because of Adam!”

“Hey!” I snapped back at her. “You can blame this on any one you want. Hell, blame it on me. But, Adam? Absolutely not. He has been a legitimate mess trying to keep you out of this. It's not his fault Poppy is an evil little bitch.”

“They both can go to hell for all I care.” Kadie sucked in a sharp breath to calm herself. She wiped the tears from her eyes and laid down on the couch.

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottled water from the fridge. I put it on the coffee table for Kadie. “Here's some water. You know where the extra blankets and pillows are if you need them. I'm going to sleep.” I picked up my things and went into my room for the night.

The next morning as I was leaving for school I found Kadie lying on the couch with her eyes opened. She was staring up at the ceiling. I almost felt guilty leaving. I took a step towards the door, but swung myself around and walked towards her instead.

“Hey” I nudged her legs to make room for myself.

“Hi.” She whispered back. Both her hands were cushioning the back of her head. “Weird to see me before school, right?” The side of Kadie's mouth curled up in a bitter half smile.

“We ran into each other plenty of times in the morning while you were here.” I tried to play it off to avoid making her feel any worse.

“Not like this” She pulled out her hand from under her head and grabbed at her t-shirt.

“I have to go, K” I stood up and walked away. “There's left overs in the fridge if you get hungry.”

“Great! This is my life now. Squatting at my friend's apartment and eating leftovers.” She mumbled as I walked out the front door.

As I shuffled down the stairs to the main street I pulled out my cell phone to text Adam.

Kadie's a huge mess. Really think you should stop by while I'm gone. I have a feeling things will be different if she sees you in person.

Just before I made it to the subway stop I'd gotten a response.

I'll go during my lunch break.

Both Henry and Sarah practically tackled me as I walked into class.

“What the hell is going on?” Sarah loudly whispered.

“I'll tell you later.” I hissed back as our professor walked into the room. The truth was, I didn't know how to break it to them. I wanted to yell at both of them for being oblivious to Poppy's lifestyle, but at the same time they'd both been good friends to me (Sarah more than Henry) since I'd moved to the City. I didn't want to jeopardize that.

Our lecture ran a little longer than usual. It gave me enough time to figure out a way to tell Sarah and Henry without things getting too complicated. As soon as we were out for our break, we headed over to the food cart across the street. We found an empty bench on the outskirts of Central Park and sat down.

“So, what the fuck is Kadie's problem?” Henry asked.

“What the fuck is Kadie's problem?” I pulled my words as I asked the question back to Henry. “More like what the fuck is Poppy's problem.”

Henry and Sarah looked at each other surprised. “What are you talking about?” I told them the whole story from the beginning. There was a few times Sarah would interject to defend Poppy, but I would stop her. Henry on the other hand sat quietly, knowing that everything I was saying was true. His mind was just as twisted as his cousin's and he knew exactly what she was capable of.

“That can't be true” Sarah folded her arms “I know Poppy rode my mother's coattails, but she'd never make a fool out of her like that.”

I was taken back. I was about to snap when I decided to bite my tongue. Each of us was going to defend the man in our corner. “You know what, guys? Maybe we should agree to disagree. I don't want to lose a friendship because of somebody else's issue.”

As we walked back into class after our break, I felt my phone vibrate. It was a text from Adam.

Just left your place.

I texted back:

How'd it go?

He responded:

You were right, she felt a little better after seeing me in person. Said she forgave me but still needs to stay at your place for some space.

After class was over I skipped my normal study session and headed home. Kadie was exactly where I'd left her this morning. Still in her pajamas on the couch.

“So” I greeted her as I walked in “How did it go?”

Kadie sat upright, knowing exactly what I was talking about. “You win” She threw up her hands defeated. “You knew my weakness. You knew I'd cave once I'd see him in person.”

“Well there's a reason he's a lawyer, K” I smiled back at her but she didn't do the same.

“He told me he was going to make it up to me. What does he mean by that?” She asked.

“I don't know. He didn't tell me anything.” I answered just as confused as her. I went into my room to put my things away. And joined Kadie on the couch.

“I'm sorry for taking it out of you.” Kadie's voice was low. “Adam made me realize that both of you two had good intentions. It's just hard to accept with all the repercussions.”

“It's okay.” I mumbled back before I changed the subject. “I'm starving. You want pizza?”

I grabbed my phone to call for pizza delivery when my phone suddenly started vibrating. I looked over to see Kadie's phone vibrating on the table as well.

We stared at each other wondering who could have been texting us both at the same time. I looked down at my screen to see a text from Adam, again.

Turn it on E!

Kadie had seen the text on her phone and had already reached over for the remote. We watched quietly as a Breaking News report showed a video of Poppy Leroux surrounded by paparazzi as she was being handcuffed and escorted by the NYPD out of Adam's law firm.