My mind raced as I was handed a grayish-white sheet and a pillow. “Hold on to those if you want to keep them.”
The clothing I put on was scratchy against my damp skin.
It was nothing like the movies. There were no calls allowed, no people I could talk to. I was sent to my cell, just given the number and pointed in that direction. A few women rolled their eyes at me and turned the other way when I nodded to them. Instead of engaging, I tried to keep calm and told myself, “One foot in front of the other.”
I’d figure everything out once I knew where my new home would be. Tears sprang to my eyes at the thought. As I got to my cell, the white bars of the door were a stark indicator that this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park.
To think I’d cried over things in my life before being here seemed trivial. All those tears seemed spoiled now. Is this how Izzy had felt all that time in juvie?
Helpless.
Alone.
Scared.
I was older, but the feelings were still there.
I sighed as I saw the empty mattress on the bottom of a bunk.
“If you’re taking that bed, you better not snore,” came a scratchy voice from above.
“I don’t snore,” I quietly replied, not sure I should introduce myself or just make clear what my cellmate wanted to know. I was a quiet sleeper. None of my siblings ever complained about sleepwalking or anything like that with me.
“Good.” Her scrawny legs hung over the top bunk, and she swung them back and forth as she eyed me up. “Last girl here was loud as shit. Happy her boy got her out quickly. What you in for?”
I cleared my throat. “Um… possession of drugs. I need to make a few phone calls.”
“Good luck. Our bitch of an officer hasn’t given us call time all day.”
That’s when I heard a laugh that sounded just like mine. I threw my stuff on the bunk and hauled ass out of my cell.
I rounded a corner and found her talking to another inmate. She laughed at a joke and seemed completely relaxed, her dark hair braided and hanging over her shoulder.
Izzy fit in everywhere, and here was no different. Somehow, she was gorgeous in the orange jumpsuit and happy to be the center of attention.
Her smile dropped off as soon as she saw me, though. “Delilah? What the fuck? Why are you in here?”
“What the fuck? What do you mean,what the fuck?!” My voice came out like a shrill bird squawking at something. She should have been happy to see me. I’d agonized over her being in here alone and probably sacrificed the next few years of my life for her. For family. And on the flip side, she’d put me here by her actions.
My turmoil whiplashed into anger fast. “Why am I here? How about why arewehere?! Should we start with that?”
“I vouched for your innocence in the TSA office.”
“Well.” I cleared my throat. “I vouched for yours.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She dragged a hand down her face. “Oh my God.”
“Um, you’re welcome.” My eyes bulged at her irritation.
“Welcome for what? I’m still here. What you said obviously didn’t work,” she scoffed.
“You!” I pointed a finger at her and took a step in her direction. A few women’s eyebrows rose, and one even mumbled something about a catfight waiting to happen. I took a breath, trying to calm down. “You tricked me into coming back with you, and you were doing this.”
“It’s not a big deal. I’ll get out in a few months. You need to get a lawyer to get you out sooner. Jesus, you won’t last in here.”
“Oh, this is a competition now? Who’s the bigger and badder sister? You’re so immature, Izzy. This isn’t what life should look like.” I sounded like my parents, but I didn’t care.
She stared at me, her dark eyes hard. “I’m sorry I’m not good enough for you.”