Lockjaw (Joshler)

3. Visitor

Start the song. It's Last Words of a Shooting Star by Mitski.

Josh stared at the ceiling in his cell. He'd tried reading or drawing or even sleeping, but his brain was on overload. Talking to Debby hadn't helped. He felt sick with anxiety and laden with depression. He didn't move from where he was laying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, until his cell door opened.

"You've got a visitor," a guard with grey hair and a wrinkled face told him with no enthusiasm.

Enthusiasm shot through Josh though as he sat up, climbing off of his bed instantly. His mom was finally here again. He'd missed her. He'd missed having someone talk to him and hold his hand and remind him that there was still life outside these cinderblock walls. He was shaking with excitement as he was cuffed and led to follow the guard to the visitation room. Even the angry shouts of prisoners they passed on the way couldn't bring down his mood.

The smile that spread across Josh's face when he saw his visitor made his cheeks hurt, and tears burned at his eyes. "Ashley!" He said excitedly, making his little sister smile.

"Hey, you," she said warmly as his cuffs were removed.

Before Josh could get insecure about seeing his little sister for the first time in two and a half years, she stood up and hugged him tightly, gently cradling the back of his head in one hand while wrapping an arm around his neck with the other. He hugged her around the middle, beaming when she kissed his temple.

"You shaved your head again," she observed, stroking his buzzed hair gently as she maintained her grip on him.

Josh was grateful that she wasn't ending the hug yet. He'd needed this. He'd needed the contact. "I keep it short most of the time. It's easier to keep it clean in here."

She nodded, pressing another kiss to his temple. "God, I haven't seen you in so long. I've missed you so much. I have so much to tell you. How are you?"

"Better now that you're here," Josh told her honestly, inhaling as much of her scent as possible. She smelled like home, and he needed that more than anything.

His little sister laughed. "Dude, you're jacked now. You're like a freaking body builder."

Josh laughed, burying his face against her shoulder as he did so. "You're so short still," he snickered out. "You look good though. You look healthy. That's good. I like the nose rings. They're pretty cool."

Part of Josh wanted to shut down again when Ashley released him, but he felt better when she grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the table she'd been sitting at, not releasing his hand when they sat down. She kept smiling at him in such a warm and genuine way that he felt like she'd been here forever. He'd missed his little sister more than he had words to say, not that he'd tell her even if he had the words.

"What's new then?" Josh asked her, unable to stop himself from twirling a lock of her auburn hair around his finger for a moment before dropping his hand on top of the table. He knew the rules. They had to be able to see his hands.

Ashley took in a deep breath. "Well, you know I got married. We got a house about a mile away from Mom. Our cats pretty much run the place."

"Jordan sent me pictures of them. They're cute. What are their names?" He asked, hating that he didn't know. Why hadn't Jordan told him? Why would he just send the picture with no information?

"Charlie and India. Oh my God, Josh. I hope you can meet them soon. They're so cute and cuddly. I wish I could've brought them here to meet you or something," Ashley said excitedly.

While it did feel a bit like a knife through the chest that Josh couldn't just go visit her and meet her cats, the fact that she even wanted him to meant a lot. Maybe he would get out and be able to meet them. Debby had seemed pretty confident that he was going to get out this year.