Tragic Magic

Chapter Two

I grab my purse and head out to visit with Belle. She lives on the bottom floor of our building, so I only have to walk down a few flights of stairs and I'll be there.

I knock on her door and she answers it quickly, "Juliet! Come in." She hugs me and leads me inside.

Her apartment is very similar to mine, just different colors and furniture.

We sit down at a table in her dining area and begin to talk. "So what brought you to Coppertone, Juliet?" She asks while pouring me a second cup of coffee."

"Oh it's kind of a long story," I say nervously.

"We've got time. And hey, we're friends now. Friends help friends, Juliet," Belle gives me a warm smile.

This makes me feel so much better, so I fess up. "Okay, well first of all you can call me Julie. You know, because we're friends now," I smile at her. "I got here two years ago I guess. I uh-" My words start to become unclear.

"Go on," Belle reassures me.

"I lived with my boyfriend for awhile, but um, he got arrested," I feel myself turning pale. "I had to move up here when he was taken into custody because I wasn't able to support his house, being that it wasn't mine."

"Are you serious? That must have been horrible!" Belle gives me a sympathetic look.

"Yeah, it was hard at first. Now I just go on through life trying not to think about it. He'll be out soon though. It's already been a couple of years. I just don't know when."

"Well damn, Julie. Why didn't you tell me before? I could of helped you through it!" Belle says.

"I don't know, I just knew you as the neighbor at the bottom of my building. I didn't know you were this cool," I casually sip my coffee.

"If you need anything Julie, I'm just two floors down," Belle says warmly.

We talk for a few more hours before I leave around midnight. It's great to know I actually have a friend close to home now. I didn't know how much I craved a real friend until now. I think Belle is exactly who I need to help me get through all of this with Ronnie.

I walk myself back up stairs and crawled into bed. Today was exhausting and I needed to sleep.

I feel like my head barely hit the pillow when all of a sudden my phone starts ringing. I look over at my clock and it says 5:36 a.m.

I groan and roll over to my nightstand to answer the phone.

"An inmate from High Desert State Prison is trying to reach you." These words just go through one ear and out the next before I could realize who was calling me.

"Hey Juliet, baby. I know this is a little much, but can you pick me up?" A familiar voice says.

I groan, still half asleep, "And who is this?"

"How many inmates from here call you? It's Ronnie, babe."