Hoyt tells Jessica to look him in the eye and tell him she doesn't love him; she can't quite do that, but she doesn't answer either. It's not her she's worried about; it's inflicting herself on him. It's the same standoff as the night they met: Can you possibly be as good as I think you are? Is it possible we're that lucky? Does anybody deserve that much love? He gives in, he takes off.

Tommy can't help himself; he follows Hoyt outside to hoot and gloat at him, and one giant Hoyt arm comes flying out and drops little Tommy. He doesn't break his stride or even look, and it is totally bad-ass. Of course, he doesn't know that Tommy can also turn into a pitbull and rip his arm into hamburger, so he's somewhat surprised when that happens.

Inside, Jessica realizes something suddenly, which is that in a world where crosses are burning and bricks are flying, where everything is topsy-turvy and nobody deserves anything, you have to go with what you want. Pure sweet Hoyt is just an illusion she created in her head; purity itself is an illusion we use to hurt ourselves, because we imagine going backwards will make us clean. And just like Sookie told Jason, and Jason told himself, and Arlene thought when she got strong enough to tell Terry the truth, and everybody realizes when they grow up: You can't make people's decisions for them. If she loves Hoyt as much as she does, she has to respect his wishes. Which means giving in to her own. It makes all the sense in the world.

Jessica runs out of there, imagining it: Chasing his car, if she has to; throwing her arms around him; telling him a hundred times that she loves him, for all that he is. A smile plays across her face. Now of course, he's being mauled by a random pitbull when she gets out there, so: New plan. She throws little Tommy into the woods and gets a look at the horror of Hoyt's arm, which is just spouting blood, and she offers him her wrist. Pure sweet Hoyt was just an illusion anyway, that was what she figured out: It doesn't matter now, and he's whiting out underneath her. He jerks away, in shock, still terrified, and she growls. "Hoyt: I love you too. Now drink my blood." He does, and she throws her arms around him, and Tommy sits in the woods, watching it all. Now they are connected.