The plastic table between us bends, my elbows weighing it down. My knee bounces a bit under the table—this is not a place I ever wanted to return.
I’ve been on Danny’s call list for seven years—ever since I got out. It’s taken most of that time to untangle our messy friendship. Ten years inside gave him plenty of time to screw up, but also to grow. Still, being back here is a mindfuck. I don’t really know what I’m doing—I’m just trying.
Trying to fix things.
Trying to show up.
Last Monday was the first time I’d seen him face to face in years, and the first time I’d stepped back inside this prison since my own release. And now I have to explain why I showed up alone.
Danny asked me to bring Fia when he called last week, which didn't surprise me since she’s the one person he brings up every time we talk. I found out she’s been visiting when she can, maybe twice a year, three if she’s lucky. But her life’s been rough lately. Her car barely makes it across town, and with her classes, her job, and now the pregnancy… It’s a lot.
And today, she’s at home waiting for Penny to storm back through the front door.
“Hey, man, how you’ve been? You look like shit,” Danny starts, and I laugh, looking down at my faded black jeans and dark-green shirt under my old leather jacket, wishing I could shove him like we used to when we were dumb kids. But there’s a whole room full of inmates and guards with eyes like lasers.
I glance at the signs on the wall:No touching. And I try to ignore the metal mesh on the windows. Seeing them makes me feel like I’m back in this fucking sardine can.
But I’m here forhim.
Despite everything.
I forgave Danny because I made a promise to myself to stop living with grudges. They’ll rot you from the inside out if you let them.
I crack a grin. “Nice to see you, too, asshat. It’s been a day.”
“It’s 2 p.m., what the hell could’ve happened so far?” He throws up his hands. “You get a speeding ticket on the way up or something?”
I chuckle and lean back, black leather tugging at my shoulders. Danny’s always been a smartass, but ironically, prison might’ve saved him. He’s sober now, learning to weld, and talks about life afterrelease—five months to go. Not the usual stuff, like fast food or chasing girls. He wants to visit Nan’s grave, volunteer at the shelter with me, and more than anything, show up for his little sister.
“Not that,” I say, tilting my head back. “But I did get accosted. By your sister.”
“Fia?”
My mouth opens, hesitating for a moment. “Your other sister.”
He lets out a low whistle and leans toward me. Amber eyes—the same as hers—watch me too closely. “How…how is she?”
There’s that ache that never healed laced in his tone. What happened with Danny and I fractured his family, the same one that welcomed me with open arms when I was barely sixteen. The same one I ran from, the same one I’m trying to make amends with.
“She’s…” I pause.
She’s Penny. A wildfire. Beautiful in ways she never understood. The girl who considers me public enemy number one. But that’s not what Danny needs to hear.
“She’s good.” It’s a white lie, for Danny’s sake. No need to tell him she was about to decapitate me. “She showed up today, to be with Fia for the holidays, I guess.” I shrug, ready to chat about anything else.
But Danny traces a circle on the table, a mischievous grin on his face.“I’m glad she’s still there for Fia.” He hesitates, hunched over the table. “She seem happy?”
“I only saw her for maybe ten minutes.” I rub my stubbled jaw. “She’s processing a lot. Seeing me. Finding out about the baby…”
The clock on the grimy white wall ticks, and Danny nods slowly.
“Yeah, Fia called me yesterday to tell me about the baby. Still shocked. But that’s a lot for Penny, too.”
“But hey,” I say, straightening my spine, “at least Penny got out of this town and she’s doing what shealways said she’d do.”
Just saying that makes my heart twinge, an old scar pulsing inside my chest.
“That’s what Fia says.” Danny leans back, his smile returning. “Ever think back to those summers, all of us raising hell? We were wild, but Penny always kept us in line. Well, she tried.”
