Page 81 of Halloween Town

Thom lifted his eyebrows. It took a lot for Hayes to change his routine, even more for him to step away from his workshop. He lifted his now-full coffee mug. “Do you want one?”

Hayes downed a glass of water and shook his head. He refilled his glass and took it back to the table, where he pulled out a chair and sat down. “I came to have a come-to-Jesus talk with you,” he said, his brown eyes sparking with aggravation. And worry.

“Why? I’m fine.” Thom straddled a chair back to front and rested his forearms on the back. “Maybe a little tired.”

Hayes narrowed his eyes at him. “That is premium bullshit, dude, and the fact you think I’d believe it is insulting.”

Thom grimaced. He’d tried and it’d backfired. So he shrugged. “Look, it is what it is.”

“What it is, is Poppy crying herself to sleep in my fucking guest room, dude. What it is, is you looking pale and as tense as a leaf spring under load. She’s always been your person, Thom. So, what the actual fuck is going on?”

Thom took a sip of his coffee and stared into the black liquid, wishing he had the answers. How did he tell Hayes that he wanted her to choose him, that he wanted her to stay? That he couldn’t be the one who was always left⁠—

“You need to talk to me, Thom. You need to work this out,” Hayes insisted. “She’s hurting, you’re hurting.”

He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth. “Has she been okay?” he asked.

Hayes sent him a withering look. “Oh, she’s been just peachy, dickface.” Shit, he’d forgotten how sarcastic Hayes could be. His best friend sighed. “She’s been crying, a lot. She said it was your decision.”

“Mm.”

“And that Benji came to see you,” Hayes probed. “And that you didn’t understand that she needs to find herself, to live on her own and be on her own. That she wasn’t breaking up with you; she just needed to test herself.”

All true. “Seems like she covered all the bases,” Thom muttered. “No doubt she and Wren have been trashing me behind my back.”

“No, actually, they haven’t. They seem to think you have unresolved Benji and Ingrid issues, and that you need to work through them. I told them a good punch to your head would sort you out, but they vetoed that idea. Poppy even told me that she’d never forgive me if I hurt you.

“Pity, because nobody needs his ass kicked more than you,” Hayes added.

Thom rested his forehead on his arm. “It’s too early to be harassed like this. I’m tired and pissed off, Hayes, don’t test my temper.”

Hayes sent him an evil smile. “Oh, I might’ve promised not to punch you, but if I harass you into punching me then all promises are null and void. I’ll tell them you started it and I’ll still kick your ass.”

Glad to know that he had it all worked out. “Hayes, you’ve never once punched me, and you’re not going to do it now.”

Hayes took his coffee cup out of his hand and took a big swallow. “You’re right. Fuck.”

Thom gripped the bridge of his nose. It might be too early for a beer but, since he hadn’t scheduled any crews to do renovation work today, he could go upstairs and crawl into bed. The bed he hadn’t slept in since he’d left H-Town a week ago. He didn’t know if he could sleep in it without Poppy next to him.

When next would he get a decent night’s sleep? Never?

“Still waiting for an explanation, dude.”

Hayes wasn’t going to leave him in peace until he told him.

“Poppy wanting to leave…” Thom cleared his throat and looked at a point on the wall past Hayes’s shoulder. “It made me realize, think … shit, feel, the way I did with Benji and Ingrid.”

“But Poppy didn’t cheat on you, Thom.”

No, she didn’t. “But like them, she didn’t choose me either, she didn’t choose to stay.” He closed his eyes, the next words ripped from his soul. “I needed her to choose me.”

Before Hayes could answer, Fel let out a long howl, sounding like a cat with constipation, his paws scrabbling on the floor as he stood up. Then he streaked out of the kitchen into the hallway, his long ears flying and his butt wiggling as he ran. Thom winced as he heard Fel bounce off the closed front door but, before he could react, the dog was streaking back across the kitchen again and flew out of the open back door, clearing the steps in one massive leap. He knew his dog was flat-out sprinting around the house.

“What the hell is happening?” Hayes asked.

Thom shook his head and put his finger on his lips. “Poppy is here.”

“Okay,” Hayes replied, looking confused. “But why are we whispering?”