Hidebound

Chapter SeventyThree

"Is it... is it just the two of you?" West asks, his hesitance obvious as he tip-toes around the topic of children. He knows my stance on children.

The corners of my mouth pull up when I remember the conversation with Hex wanting children and strangely... I don't panic.

"Yeah, just us" I answer, not going any further into the topic. It feels too intimate to be having with West.

He takes a sip from his coffee and I take a closer look at his appearance. He had grown a beard; although neat and trimmed it changed his entire face and makes him look older. I still can't get over his change in dress sense.

"Have you got anyone in your life?" I ask. He wipes his mouth and sighs as he takes a deep breath.

"Not yet" he rubs the back of his head again, a sign he had always done when he's uncomfortable.

"You don't want anyone? I wasn't that bad, was I?" I chuckle but truly hope I hadn't ruined future relationships for him.

He shakes his head with a smile on his face. "You weren't bad, we had fun. Its just not something I want right now" I nod. I don't voice it but I wonder why, I mean it had been years now, isn't he lonely? Besides he gets to choose a partner now since he's already been through a Darling and a Platonic. "I turned to god and that's all I really want to focus on at the moment."

Suddenly his conservative dress sense makes sense. I'm kind of surprised, West was never one to have faith, if anything he was the most atheist person I know. Or knew.

"Christianity?" I question. I wonder if he had been to the church that holds the book of lovers recently. That's the only church I know of around here.

"Yep" he nods. "I needed something when I moved to Paris. I wasn't in the best head space" my face drops knowing that I was the reason behind it. "No, no it wasn't completely you" he laughs "I just had a hard time adjusting to... you know, a different environment and different people."

I tap my nails against the table knowing that he was trying to sugar-coat it to me. After I walked out of our house for the last time, I left that life behind, he obviously had a harder time letting go.

We talk for a while longer, each topic making me feel more comfortable. It feels like before we were Platonic's, like he's just my friend again and I like it. He does nothing to make me uncomfortable and respects the boundaries I had silently set. It was like we had never dated to begin with.

West finishes off his coffee and looks at his watch.

"Should we get going? I've got somewhere to be in half an hour" he gives me a sheepish look and taps his hands on the table.

"Yeah, I've got things to do too" I don't but I want to get home before Hex does. I breathe a silent sigh and I wonder how the dynamic is going to be tonight between Hex and I. Will he finally tell me where he was or is he going to sleep on the couch again? Because I'm not giving in this time, I've given in too many times and he's starting to take advantage of it.

Its raining when we exit the ice-cream parlour and I cover my face as we speed walk to the car. Thankfully West had parked close. I had been so distracted that the possibility of seeing dad hadn't even crossed my mind, even though his house is just down the street.

"Do you mind if we..." I point in the direction of dads house, my curiosity getting the best of me. He won't recognise this car, not after so long.

"You want to drive past your house?" West asks as he turns the car on.

"Dads house" I correct him "if you don't mind."

"Sure."

I bite at my nails as I see the house come closer. It looks the same as before besides the fact that dad had let the garden get out of control and mums pansies are no longer alive. A red car sits in the driveway, it has a pink license plate and I roll my eyes. Dads car isn't there, he's probably at work. Even his stupid stickers are still on the garage door.

West slows down but I only need a few seconds before I'm done and he speeds up when I look away.

"You haven't been back?" He asks as we exit the street and turn onto the main road that leads back to my apartment.

I shake my head "not since mum left."

Its only minutes later that we're pulling into my driveway and the rain had finally slowed enough for me to open the door and stand as I say goodbye.

"Thank you for driving me. It was good to see you, West" I say as I bend at the waist and look through the door.

"Thanks for meeting with me, I wasn't sure you'd want to but I think we really needed to talk" he looks lighter and I feel lighter.

"I think we did too" I close the door with a slam but still lean in the window.

"It was-" West stops when he looks out the front windscreen, his voice turning hesitant. I follow his gaze and my heart stops in my chest.

Hex stands in the doorway of our apartment. What's he doing here? He should be at work. His arms are crossed and he leans against the doorway, he's still dressed in his work uniform and his hands are still dirty.

"Nice to see you" West says quietly as he puts the car in reverse and I step back.

"It was nice to see you too" I sigh, knowing that tonight is going to be a bad night and it won't end peacefully like I was hoping it would. I can feel Hex's emotions bubbling up inside me, I know he's head is going to the worst place possible, even if its not reasonable.

"Call me if you ever need anything, Poppy" West says as he backs out the driveway. I nod just to get him to leave quicker knowing that I probably won't ever need his help and that there'd be more people I turned to before him.

I take a deep breath and walk towards Hex.