All Which Remains

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Arron

For some reason, they allowed me to see Ramelan a few days after I started staying at the prison. He isn't scared of me, and he acts like I hadn't just killed someone in front of his eyes. He's sitting in front of me, a screen in between us. I have chains around my ankles and wrists. Ramelan picks up the phone, so I pick up mine.

"Hey," He says.

"Hi," I say. "They said that you wouldn't be allowed to visit me."

"Yeah, but I convinced them that I could help you."

"Help me with what?" I ask, my wrists chafing as I hold the phone.

"Help you get back into the groove of living here." He says, the smile on his face falling a little bit.

"You know about the experimentations?"

"I do now. I promise that I didn't know until I came to visit you." He says, fiddling with the phone string.

"How are you going to help me?"

"Just by hanging out with you and helping you feel comfortable here."

"Alright..." I say, I put the phone down, and ask to be taken back to my cell. The officers take a hold of my arms and walk me back to my cell.

The next morning, Ramelan is waiting by my cell to take me to the mess hall for breakfast. I have to lead him there because he doesn't know the layout of the prison yet. The line is longer today than it usually is. Which means I have to hang out with Ramelan. He won't look at me, He just stares straight ahead. He seemed fine yesterday, but he could have been acting.

"Hey," I say, touching him on the arm. "Are you okay?"

"No!" He whirles on me, I flinch back. "I"m not fucking okay. How could anything be okay?" He's crying. "You killed someone. Yet you seem fine with being stuck in prison. I'm worried about you. I just.. What is wrong with you? How could you do this to me again? To other people who love you? It feels like you're making fun of me." He kneels on the floor and puts his head in his arms.

"I didn't think that you actually cared," I say, trying to be as honest as possible. "It felt like I was the only one that cared about our relationship. When I was with you, it was like I was talking to a wall. Still, it didn't mean that I didn't want us. I just wanted more validation. To feel that you actually cared about us."

"And that drove you to kill someone?" He looks up at me, glaring.

"No," I say, I can't bear to tell him what had happened. How I'd become paranoid because I couldn't always keep an eye on him.

That someone close to me would betray me.

"I— I didn't kill her for a specific reason. She just happened to be there at the right time."

"And that makes everything better? Did you know that our school is being boycotted because there have been so many murders. Everyone's saying that you were possessed by the devil because of your eyes. They're saying that you should die. That there was always something wrong with you. How do you think that makes me feel? To hear them talking about my boyfriend like he's some kind of devil spawn? And yet, I still love you." He stands up, and we move with the line.

"You still mean everything to me, but I don't think that we should continue like this. I've already hurt you enough." It takes all of my strength to say that to him. The thought has been in my mind before I even killed that girl. "You and I both need a new start. My new start will begin here, at this prison. That's why I'm fine, and I think I deserve it. I'm gonna stay here for as long as I'm sentenced for."