Hidebound

Chapter SixtyNine

He wears all black and holds a walkie-talkie in his hand, he must be security. But not your typical security, more like a knock off brand of security and it fails to make me feel safe.

"Let me guess; cheating husband?" His voice is deep and croaky and the smell of marijuanas is strong in the air around him, my eyes catching on the lit end of a blunt in his hand.

"No" I state firmly and cross my arms.

"Lying husband?" I don't answer him. I don't know if you have to pay to get in these places but I have no money on me and luckily he doesn't stop me. "Do what you gotta do, little miss" he pushes the metal door open for me.

A hallway opens up to me, its empty but the left wall is illuminated from the lights coming from around the corner on the right. Not much is heard over the sound of the music that's loud enough to make the ground shake under my feet.

It causes adrenaline to rush through me.

I don't feel afraid anymore. I had never felt afraid of walking in here and finding Hex with another girl, I would've felt it. The pain would have been too much to handle not only for me, but for Hex too.

I'm still angry though. Angry at the fact he hadn't told me where he was going and hadn't contacted me in hours; not only that, but he had gone to Eastside. How did he end up here and how did he know about this place?

The strobe lights blind me as I round the corner and it takes a second for my eyes to adjust as I squint and take in the room around me.

Women standing on tables and men drooling over them from ground level finds my eyes. Waitress' in lingerie walk back and forth from the bar with a tray held high on their shoulders. The waitress' and the dancers don't seem to pay any mind to the men that can't keep their eyes off of them, they're only here to get paid.

I'm bumped from behind as an older man with a beer belly walks into me. He jolts my shoulder and I reach up instinctively to grab my arm.

He looks me up and down, making my skin crawl.

"C'mon little lady, I wanna see you up there" he nods his head to the pole in front of us, obviously mistaking me for a dancer. I say nothing but pull my upper lip up in disgust at him before turning away.

I walk over to the bar, assuming that would be the best place to start looking for Hex. 

I guess there's no rule about smoking inside because the air is suffocating and I have to stop myself from cupping my hand around my mouth and nose. A glance up confirms that the ceiling is covered in a thin layer of smoke.

I draw eyes from both men and women as I walk further into the club, my clothed body seemingly unusual. And the more stares I gather, the more stupid I feel dressed in my comfy home clothes.

I take a deep breath and hold my head up taller. I can't be the only wife that's come in here looking for her husband.

"Miss" a shout near the bar grabs my attention. A woman with black hair and colourful make up is staring at me as she cleans a glass – just like I do at Darby's. The lights bounce off her facial piercings that accentuate her features. "Can I hep you?" Her voice is raspy and the closer I get the more scares I see on her face.

Her eyes glare at me when she sees me observing them.

"Uh– Hex Rose, have you seen him?" I question, leaning on the bar so that she can hear me over the loud music. There's two guys on either side of me as I squeeze in-between. They're burly and old enough to be my father. I wouldn't be surprised if I saw my father here to be honest.

"No" she states, her voice rough and I wonder if she's telling the truth or had I pissed her off enough to lie. "Never heard of him."

She holds eye contact with me for a moment before I turn away and give her my back.

My eyes move quickly from every corner of the big room. My anxiety starts to pick up and I want nothing more than to go home. The lights, loud music and people are overstimulating and overwhelming.

I can't see him. But he has to be here because his car is here.

There's curtains on my right that dancers are entering and exiting continuously and each time they open I get a glimpse inside of men in little booths with girls dancing for them. They're not touching but the drool on the mens chins is almost visible from here.

He's not in there, there's no way.

"Out the way, sweetheart" I don't even turn to look as someone takes the space where I was just standing and begins to talk to the bartender.

Booths line the left of the club. They're not shielded with curtains though, instead its a simple sitting area with a small table in the middle.

I sigh and head over to an empty one and take a seat. The seat is leather and sticks to my skin, not because I'm sweating but because something had spilled and hadn't been cleaned up, I cringe in disgust.

I try to feel Hex but I can't. My anxiety levels are too high to focus on our bond at the moment and I know that only something significant will get me to feel him.

I push my hair back from my face and look around. Something catches my attention as I turn my head to look behind me. In the far corner, out of reach of the strobe lights he sits.

He's by himself and already has his eyes on me. Had he seen me the minute I walked in?

A single drink sits in front of him, nearly empty and his right hand holds a cigarette.

My heart rate picks up when his eyebrows furrow and his eyes darken.