Hellbound

Epilogue

6 months later

"Hopefully she's in a good mood today" Harley exclaims as she focuses on the road. It's the middle of winter and the rain is pelting down on the car, thankfully the road is virtually empty.

"The nurse said she's been taking her medication correctly so she should be alright" I reassure her as we pull into the care home facility. Hex's mum, Wyonna, had surprisingly taken well to me, she forget's my name and who I am every now and then but she's got the glow back in her skin. While I was working at Hellbound she had taken a dive in her health but after a few slow months she began to slowly get better.

"Hi Betty" we wave to the lady at the desk as she waves us through. We had become accustom to these hall's over the last six months, Harley and I visit as often as we can, usually twice a week. The care home is specialised for patients with dementia and Wyonna has even made friends here. Sometimes they forget each other's names but they get along well.

"Mum?" Harley calls as she knocks on Wyonna's door and pushes it open. Wyonna is sitting at her table in her blue dressing gown, reading a newspaper dated from last year.

"Oh hello!" she pipes up "time for morning tea already?" she asks, thinking we're her nurse's.

"No mum, I'm your daughter, Harley, remember?" Harley keeps a strong façade but I know it hurts when her own mother forgets who she is.

"Oh yes, yes" she mumbles as she stands up and presses a kiss to Harley's cheek. "I have two daughters?" she asks as she looks over at me.

"No, that's your daughter-in-law, Poppy" Harley explains as I greet Wyonna.

"Oh, you are beautiful" she presses a kiss to my cheek "come come, sit down, I have biscuit's in here somewhere" we take a seat as she raids the cupboards for biscuit's.

Her room is always kept clean, not a thing out of place. Harley said that Wyonna had set up her room the same way that Hex and Harley's childhood house had been set up. It makes my heart hurt to know that her brain no longer has the ability to make new memories and instead rerun's the old ones.

"Here!" she rattles the tin of biscuit's as we each grab one.

Harley and I still make an effort to update her on everything going on in life, even if she forgets two minutes later. Harley tells her about the new TV that she had just bought for her apartment and the recent drama at the bar she works at as a bartender. Wyonna nods along, asking the same questions Harley patiently answers again and again.

"How have you been, dear?" she asks as she turns to face me. Her eyes see through me, like I'm not really here. The colour reminds me of Hex's eyes and it makes my heart pulse.

I tell her about how I finally found the perfect apartment to move into, something that will be my own and I can finally leave the toxic environment of my parent's house. The government also finally assigned me a new work place, at the same bar as Harley.

"Do you want to take a photo for Hex?" I ask as I pull out my phone. Hex requests a photo of his mother everytime we visit. I don't know how he did it but he got his hands on a phone again and then Josie had given him my number. Josie had taken over my position and is now Hex's new guard, I'm thankful it's her I know he'll be looked after with her.

"Hex! My baby! Where is he?" she looks around the room for him as she remembers she has a son. Harley and I exchange a look. We had agreed to not tell her about Hex's whereabouts. Instead of prison she thinks he's away in the army, that is, when she remembers him.

"No, he's still in the army, remember?" Harley asks.

"Oh yes, lets send him a photo!" she chirps. I set the timer on the phone and stand behind Wyonna while Harley stands on her other side. The phone counts down and then the flick of the photo being taken is heard. I've sent Hex of couple of photo's through the mail of the three of us so that he can hang them in his cell.

We bid goodbye to Wyonna and tell her we'll be back in two days, she agree's as we walk out the door.

I scan the car park warily as we walk outside. The rain had cleared up but the cloud's are still present and the wind whips our hair around our heads.

My phone dings with a notification as we slam the car doors shut.

"What does that dear brother of mine want?" Harley asks as she puts the car in drive.

I suppress my smile when I read the text in reply to the photo of the three of us I had sent him.

How was she?

"He-" I'm cut off by another notification.

Fuck, you look good.

"Maybe it's best I don't know" Harley's statement draws my attention back to her. I do my best to stop the blush from rising any further.

"No, no, he just asked how your mum is" I say but shield away the text's from her eye's. She nods suspiciously.

She's happy. I reply back.

Being in constant communication with Hex puts my mind at peace. Aaron had made a full recovery after waking from the coma and had received a few months of rehab before he returned to Hellbound to finish the remaining year's of his sentence. It was relieving to know Hex won't be facing a murder charge but the thought of him being in there with Aaron scares me, Aaron won't let Hex get away with embarrassing him like that.

Are you happy?

Hex asks me daily if I'm happy and he gets the same reply everytime.

So happy.

I am happy. I'd be happier with Hex outside the wall's of Hellbound but I only have to wait another year and half, we're a quarter of the way there and honestly these last six months had flown by. I had done my best to distract myself from wallowing in self pity and instead put my time and energy into finding an apartment and getting a job. Any of my extra time was taken up by writing letter's to Hex.

There was still one issue that Hex had no idea about, that is kept solely between Harley and I.

"Is he still bothering you?" Harley asks as we pull up outside my apartment and I take a second to take in my surroundings.

"Not lately, it's putting me on edge" I reply as I open the car door.

"Maybe you should go to the police, Poppy" Harley suggests as I grab my bag.

"I've got no evidence to prove it's him" I sigh "anyway, thanks for driving me, I'll see you at Darby's" I smile and wave her goodbye as she drives off, ensuring to see her at work tomorrow.

My hair stands on end as West lingers in the back of my mind.

Always watching,

Always waiting,

And always my Platonic.

******************

*now on Inkitt :)*

*Homebound out now :)*