Homebound

Chapter Five

Its the start of the weekend today, a Saturday. Meaning I don't have work and neither does Harley. I woke up early, ready to arrive at the hospital as soon as the clock ticks 9am and visiting hours open.

I hadn't slept again last night and it was obvious. My eyes are a light red and the bags under my eyes are prominent, even Harley asked to pick me up in fear of me driving but I declined, deciding we'd meet at the hospital. If I couldn't fall asleep in my bed there's no way I'd fall asleep behind the wheel.

The lack of sleep hadn't been a surprise, I knew I'd struggle after going without Hex on speakerphone again but the lingering questions of what he knows about Aaron weighs heavy on me, it was also part of the reason I wanted to get into the hospital so early to see him before anyone else. I have to know.

"You're early, just in time for visiting hours" the lady at the front desk says as I walk past, I throw her a smile.

I stop in place when I round the corner and find that Hex's two guard's are nowhere in sight. I speed up my walk. Had they given Hex a moment of privacy?

I skip up to the door and push it open only to find an empty room. The bed is freshly made and the chairs have been placed back where they were before we had moved them. My heart sinks into my chest.

"Poppy? Where are the guards?" I step back out of the room and face Harley. She notices the somber look on my face and the sadness in my eyes instantly. "Oh my god, did he die?" she asks in horror as her face turns white and her hands rise to cup her mouth.

Died? The thought hadn't even crossed my mind but I'm sure they would've informed me before now.

"N-no, I think they took him back to Hellbound early" I stutter out. It would make sense; he was doing better than anticipated. I definitly would've known before now if he had died, I would've painstakingly felt it.

"Excuse me" Harley stops a passing nurse "the patient in this room, where is he?" she asks as she points at Hex's room.

"Oh, he was released early this morning" she confirms what I had thought; he'd been released back to the prison. We let the nurse go with a thank you.

"I'll call the prison" I say as I pull out my phone and dial the number.

"Hellbound Maximum Security Penitentiary, how can I help you?" I recognise the voice as the older lady at the window.

"It's Poppy Hart calling in regards to Hex Rose, would you be able to tell me if he's back at Hellbound?" I question as I block my other ear from the noise of a screaming child in another room. Harley stands next to me, trying to get as close as possible to hear the conversation between me and the lady.

"Give me a second, darl" she says as I hear the typing of a keyboard in the background "yes he's here, got in around 8am" she confirms.

"You wouldn't happen to know why, would you?" I ask. Selfishly I wanted him to stay in the hospital for another day like they had recommended but at the same time I'm happy he's healing quickly.

"I don't know the answer to that, would you like me to pass you onto Reg?" she asks as the typing in the background stops.

"Yes please" I wait on the hold line as the music starts to play.

"What's happening?" Harley asks when she can't hear anymore mumbled talking.

"He's back at Hellbound, they're putting me through to Reg" I explain.

"Poppy?" Reg's deep voice calls through the phone.

"Reg, hi. How come Hex was released from the hospital early?" I get straight to the point. My legs move back and forth as I shuffle on the spot in anxiousness and wait for an answer.

"As you know he was doing much better then expected and we had to start discussing parole conditions if he's to be out next week" my heart pounds in my chest so hard that I can hear it in my ears. My legs give out as I fall to my knees in the hospital hallway.

"Poppy? What happened?" I briefly hear Harley's worried voice as she grabs the phone off me and holds it to her ear.

I can't stop the tears from falling as I hold my face in my hands. Parole? Hex had been applying for parole? Why hadn't he told us?

"Oh my god" I hear Harley say as she hands the phone back to me and places her hands behind her head, pacing back and forth as she continues to mutter 'oh my god' over and over again.

"Hello? Hello? Poppy?" Reg calls through the speaker as we ignore him.

"He's getting out?" I ask for clarification next week?

"Yes, he's being put on parole for the remaining six months of his sentence. Nobody informed you?" Reg says, his voice indifferent as our shock doesn't seem to affect him.

"No, nobody told us" I swallow the lump in my throat "next week? Are you sure?" I ask again.

"As long as he doesn't cause any trouble, he'll be out next Friday" Friday? Friday is only six days away, less then a week.

"When did Hex find out?" I ask as I stumble to my feet and make my way to Harley who is sitting in a chair with her head in her hands. I lean into her and rub my hand up and down her back.

"This morning" Reg replies. Is he happy and excited? Or is he nervous and anxious of what life will hold for him outside the walls of Hellbound?

I feel like I'm going to throw up or my heart is going to explode, which one I don't know.

"Okay thank you Reg, goodbye" I hang up before he can say another word as I lean back in the chair and try to gather my breath, my head is dizzy, my legs are jelly and my stomach is rolling.

"Holy shit, Poppy" Harley breathes as she looks at me, her eyes shining with tears.

"Holy shit" I whisper.

*

I had been trying to get a hold of Hex all day, texting and ringing him constantly. Either his phone has been found and taken or he hasn't been in his cell all day as they sort the parole conditions out. I hope it's the second option; I can't go a third night without sleep.

Harley and I had left the hospital quickly after; we both needed time alone to process what we had just been told. Harley wanted to go tell Wyonna that Hex is coming back from the army but we decided it'd be better if she saw Hex for herself for the first time in years. Besides even if we did tell her, she wouldn't remember.

I wanted to call and tell everyone I know, especially mum so that she could rub it in dads face but I also knew that there was a chance that Hex's parole could still be taken from him if he acted out and the last thing I wanted was to tell everyone he's getting out and then have to face them by myself while Hex remained in a prison cell.

I finally fall asleep with my phone beside me, the volume turned all the way up so I won't miss if Hex calls or texts me.

I'm half asleep as I reach for it when it starts ringing; I briefly see the time that reads its almost midnight.

"Hex?"

"Hi baby" his voice is quiet and deep, like he's overly tired.

"Reg told me" I whisper as I roll onto my back, a smile pulling at my lips. I hear him chuckle softly.

"You happy?" he asks, the smile in his voice. I squeal in my chest, unable to express the amount of happiness flowing through me.

"So happy" I answer "are you happy?"

"Fuck yes" he grunts as I hear the creak of his cell bed. It won't be much longer before I'll never have to hear it again.

Hex confirms that he spent all day mostly with Reg going over his parole orders and the rules he'll have to follow for the six months, he explains to me what they are but I ask him to stop once they become overwhelming. I didn't want it to put a dark cloud over our happy moods. Even though he's getting out of Hellbound, he still has six months before he's officially free.