I wake up surprisingly early considering I had been up with Hex last night after he stumbled home at three o'clock in the morning. He had clung to me in his sleep and he warmed me to the point of sweating but I had allowed it, he needed it.
I crawl out from under him, hoping he stays asleep and he does. I tiptoe out of the bedroom and close the door behind me.
I look down at my phone as I walk the hallway, looking at all the texts Harley had sent me earlier; asking if Hex had come home and if I had heard from him.
I text her back saying he's home now. Almost immediately my phone starts ringing, Harley's name flashing brightly on it.
"Hello?" I answer as I walk into the kitchen and lay eyes on mum. She hears me and gives me a wave good morning when she notices I'm on the phone.
"He came home?" Harley clarifies. Her voice is scratchy and I can't tell if it's because she's been up all night or if she has just woken up.
Mum grabs my attention as she writes on a piece of paper and I assume she's trying to tell me that she's going on her walk but instead it reads: walk with me?
I nod; it'll be nice to get some fresh air.
"Yes, he's home. He's still asleep" I answer as I pick at a piece of fruit from the bowl mum had sat in front of me on the island. I pop a grape in my mouth before giving mum a thankful smile and taking the bowl into the lounge room for some privacy.
"What happened? Where'd he go?" I hear the springs of her bed creak as she sits up before a door closes as she leaves the bedroom, presumably with Banks inside.
"He, uh" I scratch my head, still shocked that he had gone to therapy "he went to therapy". I hear movement on the other end of the phone cease as Harley freezes.
She takes a while to respond as I munch on another grape "excuse me?" I nearly choke at the surprise in her tone.
"Yeah, that was my reaction" I answer after I swallow my mouthful.
"Hex Rose willingly went to therapy?" She brings light to the situation and a small chuckle escapes me.
"Yes Harley" I confirm. Movement on her end of the phone can be heard again.
"Well... I guess that's good then" she says, unsure how to respond to a sentence she thought she'd never hear.
I chomp on more fruit as I listen to her make noise in the background. "He went to a bar and came home a mess" I inform her.
She doesn't seem shocked by this; almost like this is what she had previously thought would occur instead of therapy.
"Fucking idiot" I hear her mumble. I nod along even though she can't see me. "He better hope Charlie doesn't stop by" she grumbles.
I hum "uh huh, that's what I said".
I finish off my bowl of fruit and hold the phone between my ear and shoulder as I look out the front windows that mum had opened earlier.
"Fuck!" Hex grumbles loudly as I hear a bang and then something fall from the bedroom.
"That him?" Harley asks.
"Yep, I've got to go, speak to you later" I say as I head into the kitchen, placing my empty bowl in the sink.
"I hope he's got the worst headache in history" she mumbles making me laugh as I walk down the hallway. Harley says goodbye and I hang up just as I push open the bedroom door.
The bed is a mess and the blanket now lies on the floor by Hex's side of the bed. The bedside table has been moved and random things that belong on top had been knocked off.
"Hex?" I knock on the bathroom door when I try and then turn the handle only to find it locked.
"Yeah?" I wince, he sounds horrible. His voice is croaky and raspy, a mix between sleep and sleepless. I wince again when I hear him coughing violently and I know he's being sick on the other side of the door.
He probably hasn't had alcohol since he was a teenager.
"Are you okay?" I ask quietly, hoping it helps his pounding head.
He grunts and I take that as a yes and no. I back away from the door and proceed to tidy up the room knowing that Hex will most likely just climb back into bed for the rest of the day.
The bedroom door is pushed open startling me but it's just Teddy. He meows and jumps onto the bed, finding a comfortable position in the bottom corner.
I take a seat against the headboard and go through my phone, waiting for Hex to exit the bathroom.
My phone pings, a text from Josie pops up. It instantly brings a smile to my face. It's a photo of baby Jack. He's lying on his stomach and holding his head up as he smiles with his gums.
I had kept in almost constant contact with Josie. Most of the conversations we have revolve around Jack, something I never thought I'd enjoy. One thing that does worry me though is the fact that Josie keeps mentioning babysitting to me, I don't know if I can do that. It's one thing to look at and talk about a baby and another to care for one.
Hex gets in the shower as I sit on the bed, patting Teddy. He comes out soon after, I think he had thought a shower would help but by the sight of him, it hadn't. He's pale and can barely keep his eyes open, I'm glad I chose to keep the curtains closed.
"Fuck" he groans and lands on the bed, his face by my thigh as I sit up. I rub a hand over his cheek as he closes his eyes.
"Feel better?" I whisper. My fingers snag on his hair as I scratch his scalp.
"A little" he answers. His eyebrows come together "if Charlie shows up, don't answer the door" I chuckle and shake my head in disbelief.
"Hex, I can't do that" I say. He grunts and turns his head away from me and I roll my eyes.
I start to shuffle off the bed before Hex's arm reaches out and grabs my inner thigh.
"Where are you going?" He asks without opening his eyes.
I ignore the heat that instantly ignites inside me. "Going for a walk with mum, I'll be back soon. Go to sleep, you'll feel better" I say with one last stroke of his cheek. He lets me go and allows me to leave him and Teddy in bed.
*
"I'm glad he came home" mum says as we walk down the street, further away from the apartment. She walks by my side and by her form I know I'm going to have to keep up with her if I don't want to be left behind, hopefully I don't get a stitch.
"I knew he would. I was just worried he'd do something stupid" I answer back. It's a cold day, my clothes cover every inch of my body with the exception of my hands and face.
Mum is silent as we pass a man jogging.
"Speaking of stupidity" I exclaim drawing mums attention back to me "heard from dad?"
"I was wondering when you would ask about him" she replies with a quiet laugh. It had been months since I had heard from dad. I hadn't blocked his number and he hadn't made an effort to contact me, not that I minded. As far as I know, he's still living in my childhood home, hopefully sad and regretful of his actions.
"I haven't heard from him" I reply "not that I want to" I shrug. I see mum wince from my peripheral. I know that to some extent she still wants me to have him in my life even after the way he has treated us.
"He called a few days ago, didn't say much. He was mostly civil as we talked about the house and splitting everything... but then he started assuming we'd eventually get back together so I hung up on him" mum recalls the conversation with dad.
I try my best to suppress a knowing smile, of course he's regretful. Mum's the best thing that ever happened to him and he never realised it until she was gone.
"Anyway, enough about him" she waves a hand, almost like she's trying to physically wave him away. "I got a call from the government yesterday" I can hear the excitement in her tone as she talks, a smile showing her teeth.
"Yeah?" I egg her on, urging her to spit the news out.
"They've assigned me somewhere!" She claps her hands. A big smile spreads across my face. She had been waiting for this moment for months.
"When do you find out where?" I ask as we pass two other women talking about a wedding they had attended last weekend.
"They said within the next week. I feel free Poppy, this is the last box to tick and then I'm completely independent" I turn to watch her smile. She never smiled like this with dad.
"I'm happy for you mum, I really am" I wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her into my side, our heads bumping gently in affection.
I release her when it becomes hard to walk while so close together. "But don't ever think that you need to find your own place anytime soon. Hex and I love having you around" I make sure she knows how much Hex and I appreciate her.
"Oh honey, I know but you two need your space. Especially now that you're getting married in a few months, you know what comes after a wedding" she gives me a sneaky smile and knocks her shoulder into mine as she hints at babies.
I shake my head with a shy smile on my face "oh mum" I chuckle "I don't know, I don't know" I rub my forehead, even the thought of babies causes a headache.
"Don't worry honey, you've got plenty of time" She reassures me as she rubs my arm.
She's right, I have plenty of time. "Thanks mu-" someone knocks my shoulder from behind.
Instantly I get flashbacks of Ace, his face, and his hands as they picked up my belongings, the haunting smile that took over his face when I made eye contact with him.
The feelings I had felt rushes back, the sick to my stomach feeling, the panic and the disbelief.
My eyes quickly shoot to however it is as they grab my shoulder to stop me from falling.
"Oh, didn't see you there, I'm so sorry" my eye's connect with blue eyes surrounded by crows feet and wrinkles. The older man is extremely apologetic and has no idea about the fear and panic he had installed within me.
I don't recognise him and neither does mum.
The words get trapped in my throat and mum has to step in for me.
"Don't worry about it" she gives him a friendly smile as he shoots me a quick glance before jogging off into the distance in front of us.
I do my best to shake off the uncontrollable emotions that take over me before mum notices.
"Poppy, are you hurt?" She asks, giving me a look of concern.
I shake my head, partly to say no and also to shake my head from the dark place it had gone. "No, I'm okay, he just scared me" I give her a smile, hoping it helps her concern. It does.
"He scared me too" she chuckles, having no idea that we got scared for completely different reasons.
"Yeah" I agree.