She laughed sharply, although there was a harsh edge to it. “I shouldn’t be? After that stunt you pulled today, you think I can just trust you?”
He glanced back at her a strong anger in his eyes as he took a few steps towards her. "That stunt I pulled?" he asked, his voice raised. "This.. I went back to try to help people. If I bright you along and things went south it just would have been worse!" He glared at her. "And here you are accusing of kissing her and being in love with her! You have best be joking! For God's sake, Poppy. I understand that you hate me right now, and you don't trust me, but I just wanted to save someone if it was needed. I just need a damn breath for one second, but I can never seem to get it!"
She flinched as he advanced toward her as if he might hit her, but her eyes were fierce and her hair seemed even curlier than usual, electrified with anger. “How can I trust you?! You betrayed me, Francis! Not only did you have my own crew turn against me, but you turned against me! You left! I begged for you to come back; I begged for you to stay with me and it meant nothing. How am I supposed to feel about that?!”
"It meant everything that you begged me to come back," he replied, his eyes lit with frustration. "I could have given up and just sacrificed myself to kill that monster back there! There's a lot of things I could have done wrong that would never have brought me home. In fact, all I want is to go home right now, but I can't have that! You're supposed to feel angry, but what I'm mad about is the fact that you thought I loved someone else!" He took a shaky, breath, raising his hands in defeat. "You know what? Do whatever you want."
“Fine!” she threw back fiercely, her voice sharp as she turned away and left the room, slamming the door behind her.
When they opened the door after the silent cab ride home, Tom padded to the door, tail wagging. Poppy kneeled beside him and buried her face in the dog’s fur, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Francis moved past her, his expression resigned. He went to the room, his bag held tightly in his hand.
She stayed in that position for a long time. “Wanna go for a walk?” she murmured, rubbing the dog’s head before standing up. “Come on.” The door closed behind them with a tiny click.
He emerged from the room, watching the door sadly before retreating to the room, changing and getting into the bed.
She watched him for a moment before going to the drawers to pull out one of his large shirts, heading into the bathroom to change. Once she had finished, she went to the couch and wrapped the blanket around her, hating the fact that the smell of his cologne comforted her.
Poppy fell asleep gradually, turning her face into the pillow as she drifted off, her hands shaking. She woke up in the middle of the night with a gasp as lightning crashed outside, casting shadows across the room. Tom barked at the windows, a low growl in his throat.
