The Driven

Epilogue

Thea

Hank was coming to the city for a visit. Their relationship was sort of a long distance one. Thea still worked at her father's firm but occasionally drove away from the city to visit Hank.

Hank on the other hand was ready to ship his ass back to the city but she always told him there was no rush, he was yet to secure a solid job here and he loved the restaurant too much to leave it for an extended period of time.

He also had Lollipop and Estelle to think about, they were like a family and he often talked about how he had to take care of them. She couldn't really understand why he felt the need to take on such responsibility but there was no denying the connection between them. Even when he visited her, he checked up on them like every other hour.

It was a thing Thea had had to get used to plus Lollipop wasn't problematic so that made things easier. In retrospect, there had been friction the first time they were formally introduced. Lollipop was of the opinion that she broke Hank's heart, she made it seemed like she'd pulled an unsuspecting Hank into her family drama.

Thea could see where she was coming from so she didn't bother correcting the notion. Internally, she disagreed. They had both been played by Jamal and it was a past she had eventually gotten over.

The past six months had been pure bliss. Hank called her every morning and sometimes sent the cheesiest goodnight messages. In someway, they were alike. Both had lacked the proper love and attention while growing up and they made up for it by giving each other enough doses of it.

Thea grinned and stretched before getting out of bed, she went to the window and pushed the curtain aside. She found herself more in tune with nature now. The chipping birds outside her window lifted her spirit as she stared at the beautiful blue sky. She had hardly found beauty in nature before now but recently, she noticed every little detail and appreciated the most mundane character.

Thea sang as she stepped into the bathroom. She got a call from her father as she was about to step into the shower, and she cursed when she realized she hadn't taken a rain check on their Saturday tradition. Thea watched the phone until it stopped ringing and sent a quick message canceling her visitation.

Her father had heard she was dating Hank from Jamal when she'd felt the petty urge to rub it in his face. Lucky for her, he neither approved nor disapproved. He knew she didn't care for his opinion when it involved her love life and he had learned to stay in his lane.

When she heard a knock at the door, she was in a dressing robe and was struggling as she tied her hair. She tossed the scrunchie aside and padded barefooted towards the door, she smiled her wildest when she saw Hank leaning against the door with his bag around his shoulder.

"Baby," she whispered and jumped into his opened arms.

Hank held her lovingly and kissed her neck before kissing her lips. Thea purred like a well fed cat and they both giggled when he rubbed his nose against hers.

"I've missed this smell," Hank said and sniffed her neck. "I've missed you. I'm afraid, terribly," he said all too seriously.

"I've missed you too, mister."

They went to the bedroom and Thea sat on the bed as Hank arranged his clothes in the closet. When she heard him sigh, she knew something was up.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

He looked at her before smiling. "Sure, I'm fine."

Thea chewed on her nails. She'd told him some days ago about how Jamal had told her that he'd paid Hank a large amount of cash so he could leave her alone. He wanted her to know that Hank had accepted it and Thea had informed him that she knew about the situation.