The Badboy and The Jailbird

Chapter 8 "The unexpected visit"

I wake up feeling groggy and tired. Then I look at my phone an see that it's only Tuesday. Then something pops into my head.
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Jamie gets out today.

A warm, happy feeling spreads throughout my body, and I look at the clock. It's 7:30, so she should be out by now.

I hear a faint knock on the door and race downstairs. I yank open the door and there she is. All hot and sweaty and not to mention in actual clothes, with her prison bag in her right hand.

"What the shit? What did you do, walk here?" I see that she looks depressed and on the verge of tears, so I do to her what she's been doing to me for the past year and pull her into a hug. Jamie immediately starts crying, so I lead her inside.

She sits down on the couch and I go to get her some water.

Then I start with the questions.

"Why are you all sweaty?" She looks at me while taking a sip of the water and starts to cry again.

In between sobs, I can make out some words. "My mother... didn't come... prison... sign... forms but... let me out anyway..... so..... walked here... it's closer than... mother's house. Caleb... says hi... by-the-way..."

My heart drops. Her mother didn't come for her.

"Well, what about your dad?" She looks to me and cries even harder.

"Dead." And my heart plummets again.

"When?" My worried eyes stare into her watery ones.

"Two years before jail." Jay's crying has almost stopped and her voice has taken on a raspy tone.

I sit there in silence wondering what she will do. Where will she go?

"Do you remember your mother's address?" She shakes her head.

"What about your step-brother? What's his name?" She perks up at the sound of her mysterious brother. She rarely talked about him. I didn't even know his name.

"I forgot about him. Taylor. That's his name." I straighten at the sound of that name. Then something pops into my head.

"Jamie? What's his last name?" She has to think about this for a moment.

"Cartel, I think."

"Fuck." I wisher knowing exactly who her half-brother is.

Speak of the Devil and he shall appear.

A sleepy Taylor comes down the stairs yelling. "When's breakfast going to be ready?!" He clearly hasn't noticed his red-eyed sister sitting on the couch.

Once he gets all the way down the stairs without falling, he looks up. I look over to Jamie whose eyes are wider than dinner plates.

Then she looks to me. "Why is he here?"

Before I can say anything, Taylor looks and me and says, "Why is she here?" Then he looks to Jamie. "Aren't you supposed to be in Juve?"

Jay shakes her head. "Got out today. Again, why is he here?"

I decide to answer and explain to both of them what the hell was going on.

"Ok. So Taylor is here because, for some mysterious reason, he needs a place to stay." I turn my head to Taylor. "Jamie is here because of her mom - your mom? - whatever. Because her mom didn't pick her up from Juve to sign the forms, so she walked here."

I look at Jamie. She mumbles an 'I see'.

Jamie has hopeful eyes. "Can I stay here too for a little while then?"