My Prison Pen Pal

Chapter 21

It's Wednesday evening, and I am so hungry driving home. I had my first shift today in about a week and I forgot to pack myself lunch. This morning I was too preoccupied worrying about Braden meeting with Clide at 2 pm today. Hopefully, things went well and we have some more information about how to stop this drug fiasco.

Walking into my apartment, I go straight to the fridge and pull out some cheese and crackers to eat. I unpackage them and sit down on the counter. Scrolling through Instagram, I unwind after my shift. After a few minutes, I hear the door open and see Braden enter looking deflated.

"Hey."

He says, taking off his black raincoat and hanging it on my coat rack by the front door. He kicks off his shoes and walks to stand in front of me.

"Hey, how are you doing?"

I ask and pull him into a hug. He stands in between my legs and lays his head down on my shoulder in a tired way. He doesn't respond.

"I'm guessing things didn't go well with Clide?"

I ask, nervously. He shakes his head and pulls away from my arms.

"Nothing. He gave me nothing. I walked into the steakhouse, cornered him, tried to get any scrap of information, but he sat there in silence. The only word he said was "Vue" and I don't know what the hell that means. There was no trace of the old friend that I used to know."

Hopping up on the counter, Braden sits next to me and sighs. I reach over and make him a cracker with some cheese and ham on it, and hand it to him. Silently, he takes it from me and eats it.

"It's ok. I'm going over to Missy's in an hour. I'm sure she knows more information than us. Maybe "Vue" means something to her?"

Braden shakes his head and turns to look at me. I notice small tears forming in the corners of his beautiful eyes. Bringing my hands up to his face, I cradle his sharp cheeks and swipe my thumbs under his eyes to collect the tears.

"What?"

I ask worried and sympathetically. Braden shakes his head, turns forward, and crosses his arms defensively. I can see him think for a few minutes, trying to get his thoughts together.

"This is my one chance to get out of the Cynicals, so I can continue to be with you, and I'm blowing it. I need to get this information."

I place a kiss on his cheek, comforting him when I realize what he said.

"What do you mean 'So I can continue to be with you?"

Braden clenches his jaw and slides off the counter onto the ground. Furrowing my brow in confusion, I wait for his explanation.

"Lucy, you know I love you. I want to be with you more than anything, but if I get roped back into this gang, I can't see you anymore."

Sliding off the counter to stand in front of him, I narrow my eyes.

"Can't be with me or won't be with me?"

Braden sighs and reaches for my waist, but I step out of reach.

"If I have to continue being in the gang, that means I will be off on dangerous missions with people following me and hunting me. I won't have you get hurt because of me."

Narrowing my eyes in anger, I point my finger at him and poke his chest in emphasis.

"You are not thinking straight. We have been through so much together, and we love each other. Like hell, I'm going to let you throw this away because you are being over-protective. Even if you are back in the gang, we will figure something out. I am not willing to give up on you."