Eddie's POV:
It's been five years since I've seen Gaege. He's been put in prison for something he hasn't even done. He was best friends with this one guy I didn't trust at all. Then he killed someone in cold blood and blamed him for it. He framed him and even called the police on him, and they even believed him. Gaege was thrown in prison for murder he didn't commit. He's not like that. I know he wouldn't do something like that. But he's serving a sentence for murder and his name has been put in the criminal records. Mugshot and all. It looks real, too. When I saw it on the news, I was devastated. I couldn't believe that this guy who was best friends with Gaege got away with murder and is still roaming the streets to this day. He doesn't deserve this. Why should someone do that and not own up to something they have done and blame it on an innocent person who would never kill a fly? It's all bullshit. This world is fucked up. Today is visiting time for the prisoners if they want to speak with friends and family. So I decided to pay him a visit. He wants to see me. And so do I. The prison isn't far from where I live. It's a local one for all the most wanted and dangerous criminals. But not for someone like Gaege. He's innocent. He's harmless. But there's people in there who don't care about anyone else who tried to befriend them. They'll just punch the shit out of you and walk away. Or will threaten to kill you with a makeshift shiv they made from plastic knives they stole from the cafeteria. That's usually how it works. I've seen it in movies. And it's always true. I can just imagine Gaege getting attacked by one of the prisoners and it being in the news. "Twenty four year old Gaege Gibson was violently attacked by one of the most violent prisoners known in the county." I don't ever want that to happen. I'm not so much of a big tough guy like the prisoners, but I can still pack a punch. I've fought before. I go to the gym. So I can punch people. No one has ever seen me do it. It only takes thirty minutes to drive from my home to the prison. Soon as get there, there's a whole lot of people waiting to see their loved ones in prison. I'm just his best friend. No one from his family wants to see him. They all think that he actually killed someone in cold blood. But I'm the only one who knows the truth. I was there. I saw the whole thing. And it wasn't anything like what Gaege's parents think it was. The massive crowd subsides until I finally walk into the main entrance of the prison. I can imagine myself committing an equally horrible crime and walking into here with handcuffs on. It would be terrible. To walk into these doors and never come out. This is what Gaege experienced. The waiting room for the prisoners to talk to their family and friends only is allowed four people at a time. So there's a massive line for it. And of course, I'm at the back. I'm going to be here all day. But surprisingly, it moves quite fast. I mean, you only have five minutes to talk to them, and apparently, it goes by really quick. Before I know it, I'm up next. There's a tall, muscular guy waiting by the entrance. He has a cold expression on his face. Like he hates it here. I wouldn't put it past him. He has a checklist with all the names of the people being kept here. He looks down at me and grunts before speaking. "Name." He mumbles in a low and grumpy voice. "Gaege Gibson." I reply in a monotone manner. He signals me to head through with the motion of his hand. I walk into the meeting room and find him sitting on a plastic chair that looks really uncomfortable. However, I have a chair with some cushioning on it. There's a phone on the side of the wall that we have to communicate through. The glass is bulletproof and very sturdy. I guess so no one can punch through it. My eyes meet Gaege's blue ones as I see them fill up with tears. I grab the phone from the wall, and I'm immediately met with the sound of my best friend's voice. I haven't heard or seen him in years, so this sight was something I thought I'd never see again. "Eddie.. I miss you so much." He whispers practically sobbing. I want him with me in person right now. I want to feel his warm body against mine. But a glass screen is stopping us from doing that. "Gaege. I'm so glad you're okay. I can't stand seeing you like this. In a place so dangerous. I wish you were home with me. Hell, I want you here in my arms." I say, nearly breaking down into tears as well. This is heartbreaking. Gaege is not the sort of person to cry. But when we aren't together for longer than a year, it's bad. He misses me. I miss him too. It's been weird not to have him sitting on my couch with me or not having breakfast with him in the morning. This all seems fake. It feels like a dream. And not a fucking good one. Apparently, all that talk was nearly five minutes already. The guard gets ready to snatch him away in handcuffs, but Gaege quickly stops him as he says some final words. "Listen to me, Eddie. You stay safe. I don't want anything bad to happen to you. I don't want to find you dead in your house or in a hospital bed unconscious. You mean so much to me. I have no one else to lose. But if I lose you, I'll kill myself. And I mean that. I want a reason to still live, and I want someone who will motivate me to keep going while I'm stuck in here. I need someone to come home to. Not an empty house with no one there for me. I need a motive to stay alive. So please. Stay as safe as you can. I don't want you in here, too. Hope you know that. I gotta go now. I love you so much, Eddie." He says before putting the phone down and leaving me with my thoughts and the ringing noise coming from the phone. I slowly got up from my seat and dragged my feet out of the prison until I reached my car. I didn't even hesitate to start my car and get the hell out of that place. This fucking sucks. Gaege is in prison for something he didn't even do, and it's killing me. Slowly and painfully. I miss him so much. He means everything to me. Without him. Without each other. There's no point. I'll bail him out. Eventually. I just need the money. Just hang tight, Gaege. I'll get you out of that hell hole soon enough. Don't worry.
