It Goes On - Book l

Lucky Man

Simon's Point of View:

A part of me felt guilty for seeing Baler cry once he realized the extent of his situation, but the other part of me knew that he knew better than to get involved in illegal activities. He had inmates yelling profanities at him, threatening what they were going to do to him, and telling him that he "had a pretty mouth."

One could put together what they meant by that.

He wasn't the only teenager in the Scared Straight program, unfortunately, though if I were to compare, he was still on a better track than the rest of these kids. He almost got involved in drug dealing, and the other kids have done far worse.

Well, technically, Baler did by killing his own father because he beat his mother, but that subject was dropped.

It was because of me that he didn't get charged for that, and I couldn't get him out of it this time if he were to continue in this type of activity.

He got the full experience: handcuffs, booking and processing, court, and confinement, and let's just say that he's not the same kid he was a day ago...

I couldn't help but sigh in relief when I watched him walk through the door towards Kiera and I, waiting on him with a change-of-heart. Well, Kiera had a change of heart, but I was still cautious of him. He had changed out of the yellow jumpsuit that the other inmates wore, sprinting towards me with open arms, and I was thankful that I was off duty because the force his body hit mine was enough to send my gun belt straight into my stomach.

Kiera subtly frowned when he ran past her open arms to collapse into me but broke her gaze to avoid tears as I knew she – again – felt resented by her own children.

Which wasn't the case at all, but she didn't think so.

I couldn't understand it, though. I was always so hateful and hard with Baler, yet I was the first one he ran to when he had his freedom back, but if Kiera was hateful and firm with him, he would call her a bitch.

If I were to foreshadow an event, I'm going to guess that she's going to detach from everything for a while after she has our baby.

"I'm so sorry, for everything." He cried.

"It's not me you need to apologize to, lad."

I felt him stiffen before he pulled himself from me, looking down at his feet as his body turned to face Kiera. "S-Sorry, Kiera."

She wasn't in the mood to correct him, nor did she feel like expressing her feelings. She was fighting back tears, but she didn't let him see it. "It's okay."

"Okay. Are-Are you making dinner tonight?"

She sighed in defeat, "I guess I am now."

"You're not, love. Baler and I will." I intervened. She was exhausted – working almost ten hours every day, tending to our twins when I wasn't around, beating me to do the laundry, satisfying her severe OCD when it came to cleaning, her hips hurting due to the growing life inside of her, mood swings, hot flashes, and constantly enduring the struggles every woman goes through.

It was beautiful, and I knew that nothing I did could compare to what she goes through daily.

I reached for her hand as we made our way back to the truck, opening the passenger side door for her like I always did, except I lingered just a bit longer to make sure she was comfortable before I shut the door. I turned on the heated seat for her, driving at a comfortable speed as we were now on our way to the daycare to pick up the twins.

"Stay in here, love. I'll get them." I assured her, gently squeezing her hand that was cradled with mine during our drive.

"You're right. I'll just slow you down." She frowned.