Nobody's Business (BOOK ONE)

Chapter 34

The room is chilly and smells like dust and moth balls. There's a drippy 20 year old pipe that leaks water into a dirty bucket in the corner of the room. Lots of people have come and gone from this room. All the them dealing with very different or very similar situations as Keenan.

"Hey I brought you a book." Rose's bubbly voice fills the room as she walks in. Her heels click against the dirty floor and she carries a Barnes and Noble bag in her hand. Rose has been coming to visit Keenan every day this week to make sure he's stable. Apparently the judges still believe that he may have some mental issues so they prescribed her to be his shrink until he's released.

Rose takes a seat in the chair across from Keenan and scoots closer to the metal table. As she rummages through the bag Keenan notices that she's wearing her hair down today which is different from her usual tight bun. It looks nice on her and doesn't make her look as old as she usually does. He doesn't tell her this though because then she might get the idea that he actually likes her. Keenan knows he's just being bitter because he's locked away but he doesn't care. He just wants this visit to end quickly so he can go back to his cell and sleep. Sleep is the only way he's able to forget about his problems for a while and block everything out.

"Here it is," Rose says pulling out a wide yellow book. She slides it over to Keenan and he glances down at the cover. The silhouette of a pregnant woman walking with a man is on the front under neath the words 'Taking YOUR first steps: What to expect when you're expecting.'

"It's a baby book, I figured you would want to prepare yourself for when you're released from prison." Rose tells him.

"And that would be when?" He asks, glancing up at her expectantly.

"I don't know, your lawyer should be here soon." She tells him while glancing at her little wrist watch.

Keenan looks back down at the book on the table. It's glossy cover looks so happy and inviting compared to the dreariness of the prison. "Thank you." Keenan forces out, not meeting Rose's eyes. He knows that she went out of her way to buy him something that would benefit him and she didn't need to do that. The fact that she did makes Keenan appreciate her generosity but his stubborn mindset won't let him express much more kindness.

She smiles at him, "You're welcome." After a moment of watching Keenan turn over the book and read the back cover, Rose speaks again. "Have you talked to any of your family since you've been in here?"

Keenan thinks back to yesterday. "I called my parents and let them know how I'm doing. We discussed the case and my mom cried while my dad tried to be strong for all of us I guess."

"What about your sister?" Rose questions.

He looks down at the cold table, "She won't talk to me. She's too disappointed." Rose opens her mouth but Keenan continues. "I don't care though, she's has no right to diss me. I'm the one sitting here in cuffs, not her. I don't tell her how to live her life so she doesn't need to stress about mine."

Rose looks at him sympathetically. "Well that is your older sister. She's just looking out for you."

"I don't need her to look out for me. I do what I want, it's my life I live it how I want to." Keenan replies with a sharp tone.

Rose shakes her head in a disapproving manner and sits back with her arms crossed. "Yeah? Well look at where you are now."

Keenan glares at her, hating how smug she sounded knowing that she has a point. Keenan wishes his ankles weren't cuffed to the table that's bolted to the ground, so he could just flip the table and walk out. This is one of the times where he really hates Roses visits. She starts off sweet and understanding before acting like a smart ass and making Keenan feel like someone just slapped him with words of wisdom. He grunts and slouches in his seat, signaling that he's done with the conversation.