Pretty Eyes & Bow Ties

Prisoner #052301

"Get that shit away from me!" Karma screeched.
"It's good for you!" Benny argued.
"NO!" The girl cried, withering away from the boy who held an orange out to her.
"WHY ARE YOU SCARED OF ORANGES?!" Rye yelled over our laughter at the girl's antics.
"I'M NOT SCRAED! THEY'RE JUST GROSS AND SMELL!"

I turned as someone touched my shoulder, finding Eri standing behind me. The boy wore an amused smirk on his lips as he slid into the seat next to me.
"Do I wanna ask?" He chuckled.
"No." I grinned, leaning up to kiss his temple.

It had become our form of greeting. A little peck. Forehead, temple, hair, but never any lower then the eyes.

Along with that I had also began going over to his house after school...to help him and the others with packing. The school year was coming to a close and every day had me filling with dread.
-
"So you're leaving." I mumbled, it having finally hit me the hardest one afternoon as I folded Rosita's dress and packed it into a box. Eri put one of Romeo's toys down and turned to me.
"Y-Yeah."
I sighed through my nose. "I'ma miss you. A lot."
"Me too." He smiled sadly. "I-I'm going to talk to my brother in a few days. I was wondering if you'd wanna... I don't know. Tag along?"
"You want me...to go with you. To the prison?"
He nodded. "Y-You don't have to. It was just a...d-dumb suggestion."
"Alright." I mumbled. "I'm down. Don't see a downside."

He broke into a grin and seemed about ready to cry.
"Great."
-
After a while of bargaining, I got Pops to allow me to go with Eri and Estella to the prison. He made me swear not to tell Dad as to not worry him. It was a long ride and I could just feel Eri fidget more and more the closer we got.

When we got there, Eri took my hand and we followed Estella through the building until we got to the visitor's desk.

"Estella! Eri!" The woman behind it smiled. "Are you here for..."
Estralla nodded promptly and the woman smiled wider. "One second." She said, picking up a phone. She talked to the person on the other line for about five seconds before hanging up.
"He should be ready for you."

Estrella nodded in thanks and lead us away. "Eri I got to talk with the warden real quick. You know where to go."

Eri nodded and squeezed my hand, leading me down a hall way while Estrella went in the opposite direction.

At the end of the hall we took a right and entered a spacious room lined with those booths you see in the movies. The ones with  glass windows separating you from the prisoners.

We passed one holding an older gentleman talking to a middle aged prisoner. Another held a woman balancing two children on her knees while talking to a man who seemed to be on the brink of tears.

Finally we stopped at an empty booth and sat. Through the glass I could see a door on the other side with a red light over it. The light suddenly flashed green and a buzzer when off, the door sliding open to reveal a man in an orange jumpsuit.

The man wore a confused expression for a second before it relaxed into a smile, hard features melting into fond recognition. The man shuffled over and sat opposite of us. Eri took a deep breath through his nose and let it out as a sigh.

The man had buzz cut hair, tanned skin, light brown eyes,  a few scars littering his face, and crooked nose bridge which suggested he had it broken a few time too many.

"Romero." Eri said curtly.
"Eridanus." The man replied.

Both stared at each other for about five tense seconds before bursting out with laughter.

"How've ya been, hermano?" Romero smirked.
"Alright I guess. Went to the hospital a few times in the past couple of months."
"I can tell from the scars. You didn't have those last time you came to visit."

Eri shrugged bashfully.

"It was all their fault." He joked, nudging my shoulder.
The man's eyes flickered to me.
"Who's this?"
"My best friend, Haven."

"Well best friend Haven. It's a pleasure to meet you." The man smiled. His voice was smooth and calming despite his rugged exterior,  much like Eri's.

Romero was quick to turn back to his brother and began firing questions.
"The twin's?"
"Troublemakers like always."
"Diego?"
"Keeping Estrella happy, just like you predicted."
"Papa?"
Eri's smile dropped, his tongue darting out to wet his lips.
"I heard he was in the-"
"He passed...A few days ago. We made up, before he went." Eri interjected.
"Go-od." The man broke off to clear his throat. "Good."

We sat in silence for a few seconds before Romero broke it again.

"So your birthday's in a couple of days."
"You remembered."
"Of course."
"Yeah." Eri mumbled.
"I'm leaving too."
"Right. To Washington for...Diego's new job."
"Yeah."
"You coming back?"
"Maybe."
"Remember that I get out in..." The man stopped to count on his fingers. "I'll be out in time to watch the twins graduation."

"Oh ha ha." Eri smirked. "You got probation in a few years."

The man smiled wholeheartedly. "True."

They continued to talk. They talked for hours. And I was happy to just sit and listen, laughing when Romero would tell me an old embarrassing story about Eri's childhood. 'About the times before their lives went to shit' as Romero had so eloquently put it.

"Eri."

We turned to see Estralla standing in the doorway watching us. She tapped her wrist and nodded her head towards the door.

Eri frowned and turned to his brother, only to see he was being lead back towards the door by a guard.
"Bye Rome!" Eri called, hands pressed to the glass.

The man turned and smiled.
"Love you!" He called before being pulled back through the door.

Even with him gone, the giant grin that had spread across never went away.

And neither did mine.