perfect? - montgomery de la cruz

Sammy

Ashley wanted to talk to her brother but the jail that he was staying at scared her half to death.
She was sitting in a small booth with a glass window in front of her and a telephone next to her.

She heard the door open and there he was. Sam. Her big brother. Her big brother that had been there for her since the beginning.

Her brother being 7 years older than her making him 24 years old, had always looked out for her and protected her even since they were little kids. He had always taken care of his little sister when their mom was too drunk to take care of her.

He looked very different when he sat down in the chair in front of her. His usual brown, short hair was now a brown, curly mess. He was usually pretty good at hiding his natural curls, he was always ashamed of them even though Ashley always told him that she thought that they were cute.
His dark circles around his eyes were impossible not to notice and he had a scruff beard that other people would probably describe as 'hot' but Ashley just thought he looked ridiculous.

His brown eyes that he had gotten from their dead father, the glimmer of childishness in them was just like normal. Ashley hated that she didn't get the brown eyes.

He had a long slash over his chin that looked like it was pretty new.

"Hey, sis", he said with a big smile on his face when he picked up the phone.

"Sam", she just smiled at him.

"What happened to your chin?", she asked her brother even though she knew that his bad temper had probably gotten the best of him.

"Ahhh nothing to worry about, it was just a misunderstanding.", he said and scoffed at his sisters raised eyebrows.

"What happened to you?", he asked and pointed to under his own eye and at his chin.

"It was him wasn't it?", he said and looked at his sister.

When she didn't answer, he just punched the table furiously and said "I'm gonna fucking kill him".

"It's nothing, Sam. I swear it's nothing... it was basically my fau-"

"Don't you dare say it's your fault, don't you fucking dare", he interrupted and pointed at her.

When she got quiet, he said with a softer voice "just leave him sis".

"I can't, he'll kill me", she said hopelessly and looked him in his brown eyes.

"Well then I will kill him", he answered quickly.

"Sam you're in jail.", she said angrily.

"You're in jail for drug trafficking, drug possession and being infiltrated with gangs, what the fuck do you think will happen if you kill someone huh?", she added and give him an angry look.

"The attitudes still there", he said and laughed, completely ignoring her furious comment.

"What lie did you tell him today so he would let you go off on your own?", he asked.

"I told him that there was a problem with mom", she answered and looked down at the table again.

"How is mom doing?", he wondered since he hadn't seen her in a very long and since she never came to visit.

"It's bad Sam, it's really bad", she said and immediately got upset.

"She's never home, she's always out roaming around, looking for alcohol.", she added.

He sighed loudly and ran his hand through his brown hair.

"It feels like she's embarrassed to see me", he admitted and now it was his turn to look down at the table.

Ashley looked at him surprised, it was usually her that spilled her emotions on the ground in front of her brother, not him.

"I think she's scared that you've turned out to be someone that's not her son", she said and looked at her sad brother. She wanted to just break through the glass and give him the biggest hug.

"Have I? Have I turned out to be someone else?", he asked and sighed.

"No,", she and smiled, "You're still the same brother that kissed my wounds when I fell off my bike, you're still the same brother that stayed with me for days when my first boyfriend broke up with me".

"And I'm probably gonna be in there with you soon", she added.

"And why's that?", he asked and gave her a confused look.

"The Baker's are probably gonna sue the school since they've got the tapes now and since they're probably going to call the police, saying that I'm responsible for their daughters death", she answered quickly and started fidgeting with her hands.

"Nah, the only thing that will happen is that they'll help you get away from that asshole", he said and chuckled.

"And I know that you said that Hannah didn't mention the abuse in the tapes but if there's going to be a trial, I am a hundred percent sure that they're going to ask about your bruises", he said before Ashley could interrupt him.

"What are they gonna do, huh? They can't help me, I'm fucked.", she said with a defeated voice.

"I don't know what they'll do but I'm sure they'll do something to get you out of this big mess", he reassured her.

They both got quiet for a second.

"I miss you Sam", she whispered quietly.

"I miss you too and when I get out, we're gonna have the biggest movie marathon ever", he said and laughed.

She smiled at her beloved big brother. He was her rock and had always been, but even she knew that he wasn't getting out of jail for a long time.

She always thought about how she could manage her life without him, without going to the jail almost every time she needed to vent about her feeling.

"Goodbye Sammy", she said and gave him a smile.

"Ugh don't call me that", he groaned which only made Ashley smile bigger.

"Goodbye Ash", he answered and looked at his bruised sister.

She put away the phone and told the guards that she was ready to go. She waved goodbye to her brother and then she walked out of the prison.

She took a deep breath of clear air and started walking home, being very relieved after talking to her brother.