Craving Him

“You look lovely, darling,” my mom smiles as she kisses me on the cheek.

“Thanks, so do you,” I return her smile, but all I can feel is the overwhelming presence of Hex behind me. I step off the bottom step to create more distance and slip my shoes on.

“Hex, you look very smart and handsome,” my mom gushes, and I roll my eyes.

“Please don’t inflate his big fucking head any more than it already is,” Hex is big headed; he thinks he is God’s gift and people blowing smoke up his ass makes him even more intolerable than he normally is.

I don’t give Hex or my mom a chance to respond to my comment as I shoot out the door and climb into his dad’s SUV.

“You okay?” Christopher, my stepdad, asks.

“I’m fine,” I bite, a little harder than I would have liked.

“Okay Poppet,” his eyes move from the rear-view mirror as he turns to watch my mom and Hex walk towards the car. “I know Hex can be a little much, and I know you don’t want to be here but if you could just try and get on with him for your moth