Page 51 of Halloween Town

The lying liar. But finding out that Benji had cheated on her didn’t really move any emotional needles; she was over him before she’d run away, and was even more over him now.

“But you knew that, right?” Wren cried, visibly upset, “Why didn’t you say anything, Poppy? I’m… We’re your best friends!”

Wren was properly hurt. And the worst part? It was Poppy’s silence causing her pain. Poppy ground her fist into her sternum, trying to push away the acidic flames licking the lining of her stomach. What was happening?

“When did you find out about their affair? On your wedding day? Or before? You phoned me, the few days before the wedding… Did you want to talk to me about him then and I couldn’t because I was too sick?”

Oh…

Oh, shit! Shit. Shit. Shit.

Wren genuinely thought she’d become a runaway bride because she’d found out about Benji’s affair. And that was so far from the truth it was laughable. But how could she explain that?

“Poppy! Wren!”

Double shit. Luna and Marsha, her best friend, PA, and sidekick, were rushing across the lawn to them, followed by the head witch, Andrea, from Luna’s coven. Frankly, she was surprised that Madame Calliope wasn’t here, because the four women normally moved as a chaos-creating pack.

Andrea, because she was a witch (or super intuitive) answered her silent question. “Madame’s dealing with Effie. Apparently, Effie’s in an existential crisis, convinced her fame as H-Town’s most legendary ghost is the only thing keeping her relevant,” she explained. Madame and Effie were, despite living on different vibrational planes, best friends.

Meanwhile, Poppy’s best friend looked like she was about to lose her shit.

Before she could placate Wren, or think of an exit plan, Luna yanked Poppy to her feet and pulled her to her ample, very ample, chest. “I’m so glad you got out when you did, Poppy. But why didn’t you tell us?”

Oh, well, that would be because I didn’t know until five minutes ago!

“Thank God you trusted your instincts.” Luna turned to her witch friend. “Can you cast a spell and make his penis fall off?” she demanded. Poppy recalled Luna wanting Wren’s dad’s penis to fall off when he’d wronged her over the summer. The fact that Luna wanted men to lose their manhood should worry more people.

Andrea, such a very prosaic name for a witch, shook her head. “What’s the first rule, Luna?”

Luna’s expression turned sulky. “First do no harm,” she muttered. “You’re such a stickler for rules.” Whirling around, Luna put her back to Poppy and slapped her hands on her hips, her spine stiff with irritation. “No, Cedric, I do not want to go for a walk along the shore. I’m focused on Poppy right now. Can you not read the room?”

Poppy scratched her neck. Only in H-Town would her so-called crisis be interrupted by a spectral historian. She glanced around, and wondered whether there were other ghosts listening in. She suspected they loved a bit of drama. Where was Hadley when she had questions?

Poppy felt her phone vibrate in her hand and looked down to see a message from her mother. What the hell? Her mother never sent her messages; it was either a phone call or nothing. She looked at Thom, who immediately sprang to his feet, worried for her. She waved the phone at him. “My mom,” she mouthed.

He came to stand beside her and placed his hand on her back. “You okay?” he softly asked. She wanted to tell him that she was fine, that she was unaffected, not even remotely heartbroken. That she felt disoriented rather than devastated. She wanted to tell him, and Wren, that she didn’t run because Benji was sleeping with someone else—yuck!—but because she’d been trying to be someone she wasn’t.

Thom rubbed her back. “You’ve handled yourself so well, Pops. I’m so proud of you.” Oh, fuck, he assumed that she knew about Benji’s affair, too?

He tapped her phone with his index finger. “Read the message from your mom, sweetheart.”

Poppy looked at him, nodded, and opened the message.

Why didn’t you tell me? Us? We feel rather foolish. Why did you let us assume that you simply ran because you couldn’t follow through?

It was concern wrapped up in criticism, a sorry that happened to you, but also a silent reminder that she never finished med school, or law school, or whatever the hell they called finance school. Underneath her mother’s backhanded compliment, or whatever that was, she knew they were relieved to have an explanation for her impulsivity, a reason for her flight from what was supposed to be the wedding of the year. The blame could be shifted onto Benji, and she would no longer be, at least for now, the Daughter of Disappointment.

Poppy closed her eyes and exited the messaging app.

Morrigan appeared and stalked over to her, headbutting her calf, then her leg. Poppy, happy for the distraction, dropped to her haunches and stroked the cat’s long back. Morrigan sent her a long, narrow, yellow-eyed stare. She felt … judged. Then he smacked her cheek with his tail, nipped her thumb and stalked off.

Yep, definitely judged and found lacking.

Thom pulled her up, pushed her beer into her hand and told her to drink. To give herself time to think, she took a sip, then another. When she looked at her friends and Luna, she caught the sympathy on their faces and in their eyes.

If they knew the real reason I ran, would they still defend me? Would they still look at me like I was brave?

No, she was pretty sure they wouldn’t.