Hidebound

Chapter Fifty

I don't remember walking out the door and through the back into the alleyway. It was like I just teleported from one place to the other while the entirety of my attention is on my phone, trying to pull up Hex's number with my shaking fingers.

The bins stink bad as they overflow with rubbish waiting to be emptied by the garbage disposal but it's almost like my brain doesn't acknowledge the smell as it runs wild with other thoughts. I lean against the brick wall of Darby's as my legs shake and struggle to hold me up but I also don't want to sit on the dirty ground, who knows what has happened beneath my shoes. Even the dirty wall makes me cringe but I try not to think about it.

When I can't get my fingers to stop shaking I put my phone down by my side and look to the sky as I take a couple deep breaths. The cool air fills my lungs and expands my chest, it helps and with each breath I calm down more.

I don't know why I'm panicking so much. We don't even know for sure if its Amos or Ace. Kevin is a social guy; he could be talking about any of the friends that he socialises with at Darby's. I hadn't heard anything about a car accident, especially a fatal one so maybe its just Kevin's drunken mind making it up?

Although the breathes help, convincing myself that there was no car accident or that it didn't involve Amos and Ace doesn't help and the panic starts to eat me up again.

I pull up Hex's number before the shakes take over my motion again.

"Hello?" I ignore the punch to my gut when he doesn't greet me with his usual term of endearment.

"Hex" I breathe shakily. He's silent for a moment and I assume its because he's waiting for me to continue but he surprises me by talking first.

"You heard?" He asks. I stutter on my breath, my brows pulling together. Did I hear what? Are we talking about the same thing?

"Did I hear what?" I question. The sudden surprise at which Hex took me had acted like a shock to my body and I notice that I'm no longer panicking.

I hear Hex breathing on the other end of the line; he knows I'm playing dumb. "Did you hear? Yes or no, Poppy" his voice is steady and it comforts me that he's not tip-toeing around the subject.

"Yes, yes I heard" I mumble and wrap my arm that's not holding the phone around my waist as the chilly breeze barrels through the alley, taking with it the smell of rubbish for only a split second before its back again.

"Mhm" Hex hums as I hear tools and clanks of metal in the background. The noise fades as he walks further away. "I was about to call you" he states. Seems we had found out at similar times.

A sombre feeling sets in between us.

"Who was it?" I whisper over the wind as the grey clouds in the distance roll in. Hex seems to know more than I do and I wonder if he had been contacted by someone legally since it involves the Pollar family but I doubt it. Once he left prison and finished parole then there was no reason to be informed about them anymore and vice versa.

"The car's fucked" Hex suddenly exclaims. It takes me by shock and my mind goes to places before I can stop it. Is Hex somehow involved with this? No, no there's no way. He wouldn't have done that. It may be hard for him to show emotion but he's not a monster. I push the thought from my mind and bury it.

"Amos, drink driving apparently" I gulp, we had served those drinks. "Ace was in the car too but he's fine, unfortunately" Hex grumbles.

"Hex" I reprimand him, my voice sounding strong even though I feel the complete opposite. Hex ignores me and continues.

"Figured something happened when their car got towed into the yard his morning, I don't know why they thought we could fix it, thing's fucked" images of the black car that I had seen around on multiple occasions runs through my mind. Crumpled and scratched up, the front dinted in as well as the drivers door, no chance at being repaired. It sends a shiver down my spine.

"I-I dont understand. They weren't drunk when they left Darby's yesterday" I stutter and run a hand through my hair as my forehead starts to sweat while I vividly remember them leaving through the front door while I was standing with Rex.

"Don't know, baby. Its just what they found at the scene" the term of endearment he uses shouldn't make my body tingle every time he says it, especially not while we're having a conversation such as this but it relaxes me and stops the millions of thoughts that are rushing through my head. It also reassures me that we're okay to some extent, after last night I wasn't sure where we stood.

Someone - I can only assume it's Harley - bangs on the back door of Darby's, letting me know that she needs me. It makes me jump at the loudness as it echos in the alley way. It doesn't feel like I have been out here for very long but when I look at my phone it has been ten minutes already.

"I've got to go, Harley needs me" I explain to Hex as I push off the wall, my legs now stable enough to hold my weight. Hopefully they hold out for the rest of the day.

"Alright" neither of us hang up and I kick a random stone as it lies on the concrete. It hits the bins and clanks loudly.

"W-will you be home tonight?" I mumble as my nail finds my mouth.

I feel a pang of hurt, but it's not mine, its Hex's.

"Of course I'll be home" he exclaims.

"Okay, I'll speak to you tonight, bye" it feels foreign on my tongue ending the conversation with bye compared to our usual love you but right now just doesn't feel like the right time.

"Bye baby" I hang up, my phone now hot in my hand as I slide it back into my pocket.

I take one last look around the alley before walking back inside. The backdoor feels lighter than it did when I walked outside ten minutes ago. I take a final breath in the backroom before I enter the bar, knowing that Kevin is still sitting where I had left him.

Selfishly, I hope he is too drunk to notice my strange behaviour.

"I can't believe it, Harley" I gulp. I lay my eyes on Kevin as he speaks to Harley. He's not crying but he's emotionless, almost like he's in shock and I have no doubt he is. He saw him alive last night and now he's gone, just like that. I guess we should just be thankful that Kevin wasn't in the car with them.

"I know, Kevin" Harley sighs and tries her best at making him feel better but it does little. It doesn't go unnoticed that she keeps directing his attention back to her when it would swing to me. I appreciate it.

"Oh god, Ace" he covers his face with both hands as his voice chokes up. I keep my eyes down and I try to get to the furthest part of the bar in an attempt to not hear the words Kevin is about to spill. "He lost his brother only last month and now his dad too" I have to swallow the vomit down as it rises from my stomach. I keep my back to them and wait for Harley to reply to him but she takes a few moments to gather herself first. Kevin has no idea just how close Harley and I am with the Pollar's. He also doesn't have a clue that they were most likely using him to get to Harley and I yesterday but I'm not about to tell him that.

"Y-yeah, that's horrible" Harley stumbles over her words when she has to show any type of sympathy to Alex Pollar, the guy that had terrified her and ruined not only Hex's life but his own too.

And then without another word Kevin stands from the bar and I watch closely as he takes a seat at the same table him, Amos and Ace sat at yesterday. He drops his head while his right hand clutches the drink Harley had made him.

"Holy shit" Harley mumbles in passing, more so to herself but I hear it clearly.