The Rancorous Heart

I

September 1996

"Since you plead guilty on all charges, you will not be given the death penalty. You are sentenced to life in prison with no parole." 

The judge declared as your face attempted to hide the hard realization that you had just sacrificed your future for your boyfriend's freedoms. The love sick teenager side of you was excusing the gut- dropping feeling with a false sense of hope and love for your boyfriend's.

The orange jumpsuit you wore was different from your usual style of clothing. Your hair was relatively longer than before turning yourself in, giving you a worn look about your youthful face as you quietly took the judge's sentence.

The courtroom around you felt as if it was spinning around fast as you were escorted out of the courtroom and into the county van. You were barely eighteen and you will most likely never live to see freedom again all because of love. The love you felt towards your two boyfriends, Billy Loomis and Stu Macher. 

You knew that they were the ones who killed your classmates. Even the detectives were suspicious of your confession as you described details that only you, your boyfriends, and the detectives know. 

They promised you that they will see you and write to you before the trial, claiming that they will always love you. You kept quiet on the bus, your mind wondering about all of the memories that you had of Billy and Stu as the bus moved out of the cityscape and into the greenery and underdeveloped areas.

It felt like hours being inside a near empty bus before it parked in front of the prison, signaling the start of your life locked up. 

September 2016

It has been officially 20 years since the anniversary of you being incarcerated. Your body was more toned from the countless hours of being locked inside a cell for 23 hours a day, seven days a week for two decades. The life that was once behind your eyes was dead as you lived your life mostly alone. 

You did receive letters from people who were interested in you. Some of them just wanted to know what made you commit the crimes, others were letters of strange people wanting to have an incarcerated inmate as a lover. Solemnly, you get letters from people who actually wanted to get to know you more than your 'crime.'

Your once young body aged with scars and roughness from surviving prison life. The child-like hope you had was completely gone as the years dragged on. Billy and Stu used to write you every week and visit you monthly for the first few years. That was until they ended up moving on from you, eventually marrying other people. 

They simply left you to rot in prison for their crimes. They let you take the blame because you were their pawn to the entire end game. You now realized it and it angered you, you wanted revenge- needed revenge. 

On the outside, nobody could believe that you were able to kill all these people. You were simply a model inmate who always helped other people with school related things. 

But nobody knew about the storm that brewed for the past fifteen years of being left to rot by the very people you loved. Nobody knew about the darkness slowly growing to infect your heart, craving the downfall of Billy and Stu. 

The cell that you called home for twenty years was bare, only having the basic necessities and the letters from Billy and Stu from all these years ago. A few worned books sat on the empty bunk above your bed from your parents throughout the years, hiding a few photographs of your family that kept you sane for most of the years. 

The sounds of inmates yelling and screaming towards each other doesn't faze you anymore, it actually helps keep you from losing your mind. It's an everyday thing for you to endure, nothing groundbreaking.

You sat on the thin mat you call a bed, writing  on a piece of one the stray papers you were allowed to have when your cell door opened and the Corrections Officer stood in front of the door. 

"Inmate (Last Name), pack your cell." 

The man's voice boomed as you looked up at him, quickly packing up your items. You learnt to not question the CO when they give you an order. It's another reason why the CO's had no complaints about you, you stayed out of everyone's business. 

Once you finished, the officer guided you down the loud hallway of the cell block where you reside, unlocking the door as you stood still, waiting for him to open the door. The once white painted brick walls had chips of white paint scraped off from years of worn and neglect. You looked down to the ground, glancing at the scuffed tiles where the officer's polished shoes stood over. 

"Officer, where am I going?"

You asked, confused as to what's going on as the two of you exited the cell block- your possessions cradled in your arms. He turned around, looking at you as he guided you into his office. 

"Please sit down, (Y/L/N)" Dale, your attorney spoke- sitting on the left seat. Dale has been with you since your trial, being not only your legal guidance but your good friend throughout the two decades. You placed your box on the desk, you sat on the leather seat beside him, the Corrections Officer sat in his seat. 

"I got good news for you, you're going to be released." Dale started, drinking a drink of his coffee. 

"There's been an uprising in murders similar to the ones in 1996 and when we tested the DNA on both the crime scenes, they matched. But both DNA results did not match yours. The judge vacated your conviction today." 

Shock flooded your body when you heard the news. You were going to be free. "So I'm free… what do I do next?.." You respond, still not fully grasping the news that was brought to you. 

"Well, we're going to get you dressed in citizen clothes and process you out." The officer answered as he stood up. Both you and Dale got up after, grabbing your box.

Following the officer, you were led to the inmate processing area. The older woman officer sitting behind the glass started talking to you about where to put your jumpsuits and state owned items and the clothes you will change into. 

The process felt like eternity, placing the items in the designated places. You were only left with your books, letters and documents, and the pictures.

Changing into the clothes that were given to you, it felt surreal to see yourself in the same clothes you wore all these years ago. They fit you for the most part, being more fitted from the years of constant exercise and just age in general. 

You weren't the same love sick teenager that you were back then. Prison toughened you up, showing you who truly cares about you and who doesn't give a fuck. 

Getting out of the room, your bag in your hands, you head back to the front desk as the clerk gave you your copy of the release forms you signed and a credit card that had the money that you were sent throughout the years in it.

The excitement of finally being free and the dread that Billy and Stu are back at it again filled your mind as you walked out of the building and into Dale's car. As Dale begins to drive, all you could think about is revenge.