My hands shake and my breathing is rapid as I'm sat in a chair across from Reg. The interview room in Tower One surrounds me yet again.
Hex had been taken into another room in another Tower. I could tell it distressed him to leave me while I'm in such a state but the guard's dragged him away regardless.
Reg's face is stone cold as he takes a seat across from me while his hands link together in front of him. The evidence bags in the corner make me sick with embarrassment as the bright red underwear catches my attention from my peripheral.
Reg clears his throat "Poppy, I'm going to be honest, you are the last person I expected this from" he sighs. I drop my head as I stare at the table in front of me. The disappointment in his tone only makes my guilt worse.
"I'm sorry, Reg" my voice cracks as it trembles.
It's silent for a handful of seconds as he flicks through papers. "The necessary precautions need to be taken" he slides a piece of paper in front of me. I read through it, seeing that it wants all the information between Hex and I and the timeline everything happened.
I freeze, there's no way I can say what really happened between us. Sex inside the prison would no doubt make everything so much worse.
The door to the interview room swings open just as I'm about to lift pen to paper. John walks in, his face flat of emotion as he places a single sheet of paper in front of Reg before leaving.
The lump in my throat grows knowing that John had been the one to take Hex into the other Tower. I wring my hands together as I watch Reg's eyes skim the paper.
What had Hex told them?
Reg releases a breath "Darlings?" he questions.
My breath gets caught in my throat before I hesitantly nod.
"Why didn't you say something? This reduce's consequences significantly" he sinks back into his chair. "Poppy, you were facing jail time" my eyes well again before I swallow it down.
"What am I facing now?" I ask hesitantly, my voice quiet.
"It's not looking good" he confirms. I swallow thickly before asking my next question.
"Will I still have a job?"
"No Poppy" my heart shatters as I grip my chest. My brand ignites at the thought of not seeing Hex daily. I'm sure Reg see's my face pale as a slightly empathic look in his eyes is seen.
"I never meant for any of this to happen" my throat chokes up "I didn't know he was in here, I swear" I plead.
"There's nothing that can be done now, Poppy" Reg stands from his seat, pushes it in and walks out the door.
The first tear drops onto the table in front of me as the door slams shut. My chest feels like it's going to concave, like I can't take a proper breath and even in this circumstance my body yearns for no one other then Hex.
I look down at the piece of paper that had been pushed in front of me. It has tears on it now as I shove it back onto Reg's side of the table. I assume they'll need no more information after finding out Hex is my Darling; that should answer all the questions.
Reg walks back in with more papers "I'm going to need you to fill that out, Poppy. Rose won't talk and we need to know how you hid this relationship so we can prevent it happening again in the future" he gives the paper back to me, ignoring the tears on my face. I wipe them away with my sleeve.
"Will Hex get in trouble?" I ask. It looks like he almost does a double take when I call Hex by his first name.
"He's already in prison Poppy, he can't get in anymore trouble" he answers. I wipe my eyes once more before taking the pen in my hand.
I fill out a brief timeline of main events like when I found out Hex is my Darling at twenty two, the first time I met Hex when he walked into the Rec Room that morning of my first shift and when I realised he was my Darling, all the while keeping any intimate details out of it. Nobody needs to know that besides Hex and I.
I take a final glance at it before handing it back to Reg. He doesn't look at it as he places it in a folder.
"You're free to go now, collect your belonging's and I'll walk you to the front doors" he stands and heads towards the door.
"Wait, Reg" I stand from my seat, my eyes pleading "can I say goodbye to Hex" he opens his mouth to respond "please, please, just a few minutes" I beg. He must see the turmoil in my face because his own tough façade breaks.
"Two minutes" he says before leaving.
Hex is escorted into the interview room moments later, his cuffs and shackles still holding him captive. The guard's close the door behind them, leaving only the two of us together, although the camera in the corner watches our every move.
A dry sob leaves my mouth as I stand. Hex makes his way to me before wrapping his arms around me as his mouth presses to the top of my head.
"What are we going to do?" I weep against his chest.
"Don't cry" he grumbles in the room, just the sound of his voice calms me slightly but not enough. "It's only two years baby, that's nothing".
"It's only nothing to you because you've been here so long" I cry; frustrated "we've already lost seven years". I feel him sigh against me and I wonder if he feels guilty for going to prison and wasting the years we could have spent together as a normal Darling couple.
We sit in silence for a moment, taking in each others presence. Who knows when the next time our skin touches will be. The thought sends a wave of nausea through me; Hex must've felt it because his arms tighten around me.
"I want you to meet my mum" he says quietly. I look up at him as my chin rests on his chest.
"Your mum?" I question as I bring a hand to my face and wipe my wet cheek. He nods, wiping my other cheek.
"Before anything happens" he doesn't say it but I understand. He doesn't believe that his mother will be alive much longer.
"Okay" I swallow the lump in my throat "I'll do that" he leans down and presses his lips to mine harshly, our teeth clashing.
The door opens behind him "alright, your two minutes are up" Hex presses another harsh kiss to my lips as they grab his cuffs and pull him away. The distress that had lessened since he came in the room heightens again, my chest feeling tight.
"Visit me" he looks over his shoulder and finds my eyes once more to see me nod before the door close's behind him.
*
Reg waits outside Tower Three's door as I gather my stuff from my locker and say my goodbyes to Josie and Colin.
"I'm going to miss you" Josie says as she wraps me in her arms. She knew as soon as I walked through the door that something had gone horribly wrong. The tear stains and my distress had given it away immediately. It took Colin a second to realise someone had walked in, his soundproof headphones erasing the sound of the door opening.
"It's okay, we can still catch up outside of here" I say with a sniffle. I unclip my gun and pepper spray and place it inside my locker as I grab my bag and fill it with everything that sits in the bottom of the locker.
"Bye Colin" I'm surprised when Colin stands up to hug me. I had assumed he would think lowly of me for being in a relationship with an inmate considering he takes his job very seriously and professionally. But he also has his own Darling and I wonder briefly if that had helped his understanding of the situation.
I scan the room one last time, making sure I don't forget anything but also to take in the Tower that I had developed a close friendship with Josie in and it was where I first laid eyes on Hex.
I wave goodbye to Colin and Josie before turning and walking to the door.
"Poppy, wait" I turn to face Josie just as I'm about to open the door. She throws her arms around me once more, knocking the breath out of me. "If you and Hex ever need anything, I'm right here" she whispers as she holds my forearms and stares into my eyes. My mouth hangs open at what she's instigating.
"Thanks Josie" I give her one last hug of appreciation before opening the door.
"Got everything?" Reg asks as we walk down the steps. I nod, my throat feeling too choked up to talk.
I keep my eyes peeled as we walk out of the Rec Room for a final time and down the hallway, hoping to catch one last glimpse of Hex before leaving Hellbound forever.
It's no use though; I don't even see another guard or inmate pass us. My hope sinks as Reg scans his keycard and lets us through into the front foyer. I hand back my keycard and lanyard to the woman in the window.
"Poppy, I just wanted to say you were a real honor to work with and I wish you the best for the future; you and Rose both" I give him a sad smile, his words meaning more then he can undertand considering the risk I could've possibly exposed Hellbound to. A guard in a relationship with an inmate is not a title Hellbound needs, even if are Darlings.
"Thanks Reg; means a lot. I'll see you at visitation, I guess" I wave as I walk out the doors and towards my car.
It's drizzling, the heavy rain from earlier not being heard from inside Hellbound's walls. My car has water droplets all over it as I slide inside. The sky is clouded over and I can't help but note the similarities between the sky and my mood.
I take a second to calm myself before pulling out of the car park. My heart feels like it's being pulled in two directions. On one hand I'm sad to leave Hex and on the other I know it won't be the last time I see him, but visitation once every two weeks isn't the same as everyday and I'm scared what it'll do to me.
I look in the rearview mirror as I drive away. Hellbound is big and grey, a dark and scary place but the orange sun set that rise's through the grey skies behind it makes it look like some magical and mystical place. A new beginning.
And suddenly I feel at peace.