Second Chance

Chapter 37

Please be Maria. Please be Maria. Please be Maria. I chanted in my head, hoping desperately I could see the beautiful Latin girl again. I missed her very much, and all I wanted was to see her again. And kiss her again. And touch her again....my mind started to wander as the guard led me to a different section of the building that I've never been to before. We were still outside, but there was a gate in the chain link fence that led to a small enclosed area. The guard shoved me into this area, and when I looked forward, I could see someone behind the fence on the other side. It was Morgan. I felt disappointed and relieved at the same time as I walked closer to her.

"Hi, Justin." She said casually. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, just peachy." I said sarcastically, crossing my arms. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, but I'm also on this side of the fence. How have you been holding up? Have you gotten hurt at all? What are the other inmates like? Have you made any....friends?" She interrogated, looking at me in concern.

"I've been doing just fine, Morgan. There's these two brothers who probably want to kill me, and my cellmate is a rapist. So, all things considered, I've been doing pretty damn good." I said impatiently.

Alarm flashed through her eyes, as she stuttered. "Have you been-are you-did he....um...."

"No he didn't, he's straight, and he's my friend. Honestly, he's the only ally I've got, so I don't really want to piss him off." I reassured her, careful not to mention our plan to escape, since I didn't think I could trust her to keep that kind of secret. "What are you even doing here, Morgan?"

"I came to offer you a deal." She said slowly. "My mom has been working on your case, and she is able to pull a few strings. This is the best case scenario; you continue your last month here, then instead of going to the penitentiary right away, you will get another trial. If everything goes according to plan, they will cut your sentence in half. You will serve twenty years in prison, and have the other twenty years on probation. That's the best we can do for now."

"What are the other options?" I asked curiously.

"Well, you can be stuck in jail for the next forty years if you really want that. Other than that, we can try and transfer you to a low security prison across the country, but that will take longer to do, and more difficult to make happen." She offered.

"Is there any chance I can get out of here, like, now-ish?" I asked hopefully, but Morgan shook her head.

"No. For legal purposes you have to stay here until you're an adult." She informed me.

"That's stupid." I muttered.

"That's just the law, Justin." She sighed. "So, are you going to take the original deal, or not?"

I thought for a moment. If we could actually pull this escape off, I'd be a fugitive and on the run for my entire life, which actually sounded kind of fun. That was probably a little concerning, but the idea of that kind of constant adrenaline would be kind of awesome to experience. So, if I agreed to this, then I would have a safety net in case shit hit the fan and our escape plan didn't work out. Either way, it was a win win, and I got a pretty good outcome.

"Sure, deal." I said confidently, reaching my fingers through the fence.

Morgan laughed, then intertwined her fingers with mine. "I know our family isn't super big on this phrase, but I love you, Justin. I really do, and I want you to be okay."

I pulled back, and stared at her in surprise. I never heard her say that before, but that wasn't what shocked me. Seconds after she finished her sentence, a bright light flashed in front of my eyes, and I was transported back into the field. Riley was there with me, and I was holding his hand. He smiled at me, then said the exact same thing. Another flash of light blinded me for half a second, and I was back at Juvie, with Morgan giving me an odd look.

"I love you too." I said faintly, then backed up a few steps.

I then turned around and hurried out of the enclosure, starting to feel woozy again. I stumbled towards the building, then leaned against one of the walls. I felt like I was about to throw up. I slowly sunk down into the grass and closed my eyes, but when I closed them I was back in the field. I clutched my head, trying to focus on getting the vision out of my mind. Another flashed sliced through my subconscious, and that one actually hurt. I snapped my eyes open, and to my relief I was back. That relieved feeling only lasted a moment though, before I felt something dripping onto my hand.

I looked down, and saw a few drops of blood on my hand. I gingerly brought my other hand up to my face, and lightly brushed it just under my nose. When I pulled back there was a smear of red on my hand, and my heart started to race. I had a nose bleed. I have never gotten one of those before, but I did know they were not a good sign.