Stars Forever Falling

Chapter 3: 28 Minutes

Velvet lay there in the shadow, facing the wall almost still until-

"Hey Vels, are you up?" A familiar voice asked from outside, and she lifted her head. And immediately it fell back onto the pillow, she let out a long groan of annoyance in response to Veneer's presence. He could almost feel her eyes roll at him.

He couldn't quite see her through the tiny window in the heavy steel door, but he could feel the heavy weight of her loneliness on the other side leaking out into the light where he stood, he shuddered at the suffocating aura. To everyone else, she was Velvet. To Veneer, something had changed.

"I'm still not talking to you. What do you want?" She asked with a snarl, her voice echoed in the dark.

Veneer lowered his eyelids and tilted his head like really girl? "OK well you just did- and you asked me a question so it's obvious you're dying for a conversation! I brought your food." He sassed back and then sighed, shoving the food tray through the little latch, he had been advised several times before that he shouldn't volunteer to bring her meals but he persisted and so they allowed him. The head warden and other prison employees had noticed that despite Velvet's aggression and hatred aimed towards Veneer when not in solitary, when he spoke to her through the door she was in her own way calmer. Minus the tantrum like behaviour as that was considered normal for her.

Velvet stretched and jumped up off of the creaky bed, walking but a few steps towards the locked door. Instantly, she threw the tray to the ground like a spoilt brat, the clatter it made frightened Veneer as he jumped back a little. "Do you just come down here to brag about how chummy you're getting with the other losers in here?"

"Well that's just wasteful- listen Vels we need to talk. And I mean talk talk. Not just me talking at you and you getting mad at meee-ah!" He jumped again as he looked back through the door latch and saw Velvet's eyes staring right at him, glowing magenta in the dark. "It's been 2 months! Please."

"Funny. I thought you liked talking!" She retorted and banged on the door with her fist in an inside attempt to ward him off. "If you don't have anything worth saying then why don't you just fuck off!" She shrieked.

Veneer gasped and was about to turn away to leave but then spun his body back around quickly. "Actually no- YOU fuck off!"

"EXCUSE YOU!?" Velvet hissed as her voice grew louder, cracking as it did, her banging on the door subsequently.

The two officers that guarded the entrance to the solitary confinement area both nodded to each other as they heard the older twin start to get agitated and then the younger in return. One placed his hand on Veneer's shoulder to suggest he should leave but he shrugged her hand off of him and closed his fists in protest. "Wait! How long does she have left stuck in there?" He asked looking between both of them.

The officer closet to the office at the end of the block looked back at the wall clock displayed inside, ticking away. "Locked till 7." He said as he folded his arms and sniffed.

Veneer's eyes darted around quickly as he did some quick maths in his head after looking at the current time from afar himself after her release was confirmed to him. "That's 28 minutes- could I not stay and wait with her till then? We can walk back to Block C together-" He asked and then suggested trying to make it sound like he'd keep an eye on her despite being at a loss with how well the staff knew the current status in their relationship was going.

"Your time you're wasting." The key holder allowed him, reminding him that he was now eating into his enrichment time after his day's work was finished.

'28 minutes isn't that long' Veneer thought as he stepped back towards the door, placing one hand on the cold surface. 'I just hope after 2 months, 28 minutes is long enough to convince her...' He shook his head and watched as the guards returned to their posts at opposite ends of the cramped cell block.