Hidebound

Chapter FiftyFive

"I'm sorry Harley, I'll see you at work, okay?" I rush to gather my belongings and follow Hex as I hear the front door slam shut.

I leave Harley in the kitchen and pull open the door to see Hex just as distressed as he was in the kitchen. His hands are fisted and he keeps them in his hair in order not to break something with them.

The keys jiggle in his pocket as he walks. He's in no condition to be driving.

"Hex, give me the keys" I hold out my hand as I catch up to him. He must agree because he hands them to me without a word.

He climbs into the car and slams the door behind him making the car rattle. I climb in just as quickly, worried that he'll get out of the car and disappear if I take too long.

His hand fists the door handle while the other cups his mouth. His leg continues to bounce.

"Seatbelt, please" I remind him quietly as I pull out of Harley's driveway. He does as I ask and surprises me when he grips my knee, hard enough to leave red marks but I don't mind.

The car ride is silent, not even the sound of the radio is heard. Hex seems to be finding peace in the silence and I don't want to turn the radio on and hear more about Ace Pollar, that would be Hex's last straw.

But the calm only lasts for so long. When we pull into our driveway Hex's emotions spike again, the car door is slammed again and whoever put those windows in deserves a raise because they should have shattered four car-door-slams ago.

"Why is this happening? Why is it happening to my mum?" He asks. His tense back is to me as he walks in the door of our apartment. I close and lock it behind me, hoping it somehow stops him from leaving.

"I don't know, Hex" I sigh and rub his back as he takes a seat on the couch, his head finding it's place between his hands as he cups his cheeks. "It just happened and it's no one's fault, okay?" I lean over the back of the couch and wrap my arms around his neck.

He shakes his head as he continues holding it in his hands.

"It was mine, Poppy" I freeze "I stressed her out too much, I was a cunt and then I went to Hellbound" I wrap my arms tighter around him "that's why it got her so young."

"No Hex" I move around the side of the couch and kneel in front of him, my lips finding his forehead as he continues hiding his face from me. "That's not how it works, you know that" I try and peel his hands from his face as he shakes his head again, disagreeing with me.

He allows me to take his palms off his face and he leans back against the couch with his hands folded behind his head as I use his knees for balance.

Around his eyes are rimmed red and I don't know if it's from rubbing at them or crying but he doesn't give me enough time to figure it out as he looks at the ceiling, once again avoiding my eyes.

He stands abruptly. I let go of his knees and remain sitting in front of the couch, watching as he walks from one end of the lounge room to the other.

"I ruined so many years I could have spent with her" my mouth opens but no words pour out. I don't know what to say. I don't know if there's anything I can say to make him feel any better. "Goddamn it!"

"Hex-"

"I don't want to hear it, baby" I close my mouth again and just watch him. Thought's run a million miles an hour behind his eyes, every scenario ending in death. There's no way to stop Wyonna from dying from this disease. She will die. She is dying.

"Fuck!" I jump at his shout. His hands are fisted as he motions towards hitting the wall but manages to contain himself.

Knocking at the front door drags my eyes away from him as I stand.

"Fuck off!" Hex yells loud enough for whoever's on the other side to hear. I wince.

I leave him in the lounge room and walk quickly to the front door. I try and see through the frosted glass but whoever it is is just a blur of colours. We're not expecting anyone.

The door unlocks as I pull it open, sucking in a sharp breath when I lay eyes on him.

"Charlie, hi" I breathe. There's not possibly a worse time for him to show up.

"Charlie?" I hear Hex mutter to himself, his tone not friendly in the slightest.

Charlie hears it too as he looks past me and into the house. Charlie looks confused and slightly offended when I move forward onto the front step, forcing him to step back.

"Fuck of-" the door doesn't shut quick enough as Hex's words filter through.

"Sorry, uh- ignore him" I cross my arms in front of my chest, I hadn't grabbed a jumper before leaving the house. "What can I help you with?"

Charlie raises one perfectly plucked eyebrow but the rest of his face doesn't move. Hex could say the nastiness things to him and he wouldn't be offended in the slightest, one trait that makes him good at his job.

"It wasn't you who I was planning on talking with Ms. Hart but I see Mr. Rose isn't up for a conversation" I suppress the urge to correct him over my last name but I'm sure he already knows, I guess he just got used to calling me Ms. Hart.

"H-he doesn't usually act like this, he's working through some things." It's true, Hex doesn't react the way he used to, not one bit. If he did, he'd be back in prison ten times over by now. The therapy and anger management classes did their job.

"Things?" Charlie questions. I don't know if it's the fact that he was Hex's parole officer or the authority he holds that makes me want to tell him but I don't see the harm in informing him.

"His mother is sick" I say it quietly even though I doubt Hex can hear us through the door.

"Ah yes, the sick mother. She's been sick a while hasn't she?" His eyes light up with recollection. We must have mentioned it in front of him before, either that or he's seen it in Hex's notes while he was his parole officer.

"Yeah, she's not doing good" I reply softly, my fingers play with the ends of my hair as I strain my ears to hear Hex inside.

"Well, maybe I'll come around another time" Charlie takes a few steps back.

"Can I ask why you wanted to see Hex?" I ask hesitantly. Is this normal for a parole officer to see his ex-parolee? I thought once parole was up there was no need to keep in contact.

The question seems to stump Charlie but he doesn't let onto it. His head tilts to the left just slightly and a small wrinkle forms between his brows.

"I'm not entirely sure why I'm here, Ms. Hart" Charlie tips his head in a goodbye and walks down the driveway. I open the door and walk inside.

"Ms. Hart" I stop and stick my head around the door. "Put him back in therapy" my throat tightens as I watch Charlie get into his car and leave.

Put him back in therapy? The panic takes hold of me. Does he think Hex will re-offend?