Nothing But Trouble (All The Way Home Sequel)

Chapter 37: I'll hold it down.

***ELLE'S POV***

"Please remove your shoes and your jacket please." The gaurd operating the scanner said. I did as she asked and removed everything so she could check it. "Roll up your jeans." I rolled them up and walked barefoot through the body scanner. Once i was cleared she handed me my shoes and jacket and i put them back on. "When you're ready, walk down those stairs and out the door to your left. Go out the gate and walk down the path until you reach the next building. Once you get there, take a right through the lobby and that'll bring you to the visitation room."

"Thanks." I said, rolling down my jeans again. After i was done, i did exactly what she said and took the stairs out of the building. As i walked to the other building, i noticed how nice the grounds looked. The sun was out and shining and there were newly blossomed flowers growing on neatly trimmed bushes along the path. It kind of gave me a glimmer of hope that maybe everything with Ej would be okay.

"Who are you here to see ?" One of the gaurds asked. He was a tall hispanic man with a mole above his upper lip.

"Elijah Banks." I said, looking around the room for him.

"He'll be down soon. Follow me." He led me past a few of the other inmates where there was a small plastic table set up with two chairs sitting opposite of each other. I sat down in one of the chairs and waited for my brother to come.

Two minutes had passed and i was already getting anxious. I was sitting in my chair, bouncing my foot nervously when i heard footsteps approaching me.

"Elle ?"

I turned around and came face to face with my brother. "Oh my god" i gasped as i took in his appearance.  The man standing in front of me looked nothing like my brother. His once caramel colored skin had paled and faded to a dull yellow color. His eyes were dark and empty. His short curly hair was matted and unkempt. His lips were dry and cracked. He looked like a ghost.

"I'm okay." He smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. He pulled me into his arms and i buried my face into his chest and tried to fight back the tears that were threatening to spill out. "Let's sit. We have a lot to talk about" he said, pulling away.

Reluctantly, i sat down in my chair and faced him. "What happened ?" I leaned foward in my chair, making eye contact with him.

"A lot." He looked down, avoiding my gaze.

"Explain."

He looked up at me and sighed. "Alright." He leaned forward. "There's this nigga in here named Blaze. He traffics drugs in and out of the prison. Everyone is in on it, even the gaurds and the warden. He owns this place."

"What did you do ?" I sighed, knowing this story was about to take a turn for the worst.

"He asked me to work for him and i said no." he shrugged. "Apparently,  he didn't really take too kindly to me refusing his offer and he got me thrown in SHU over some bullshit. Literally..." He told me about what happened in the bathroom but i could tell it wasn't the full story.

"So you got thrown into SHU because you refused to do your work asignment ?"

"Yeah." He shrugged.

"You know i always know when you're lying so why do you even bother ?" I shook my head. "Tell me the truth."

"Fine." He folded his arms. "I was beaten defenseless and then they dragged me into a dark room with no light, no bed, no sink, and no toilet. For two weeks they left me in there, covered in shit and vomit, with no food to eat. I slept on the cold floor that was covered in dried up piss and shit that had been sitting in there for months. I have rat bites on my legs and sores from sleeping on the concrete. That's what happened to me." A tear fell from his eye and he quickly wiped it away. He folded his arms and looked down at the floor.

"They've broken you." I said in a whisper. Just looking at him, i could tell my brother would never be the same. "Look at me." I said in a hard voice. He slowly lifted his head and met my eyes. "Don't give up on life. Not now. I understand what you went through was horrible... i know exactly what it's like to be beaten and starved and locked away like an animal... i understand but listen to me..." i grabbed his hands. "I need you to get it together. You can't give up in here, Too many people need you... Ej, Lee's pregnant. "

He stood up straight in his seat and stared at me in state of shock. "What ? I'm gonna be a father ?"

"Yep. She called me yesterday and told me. You're going to be a father Ej, that means you need to keep yourself focused on what's important. Your family. Don't let this place break you because if you do, there's no hope for you or our family. You have to stay strong in here. No matter what."

"I will. For my family" He nodded with a fierce glint in his eyes. "I promise."

"I know you will." I squeezed his hand.

"what do i do about Blaze ? I already know i'm on that nigga's shit list. He hates me because i refused his offer. He says i disrespected him. And now, nobody will fuck with me. I'm a pariah in here. Niggas won't talk to me, they gaurds fuck with me on a daily, and i'm constantly having to watch over my shoulder. All because of some fuck shit !"

"Do whatever you have to do to survive. And i do mean whatever. If you're going to survive in here, you're gonna have to get grimy. Put your fucking game face and show these niggas who the fuck you are."

"You're right." He smirked. "I'll do what i have to do."

"You better." I looked at him pointedly. This was a make or break situation and I needed him to pull through. "You keep shit together in here and i'll hold shit down out there until you get back."

"Visitation is over is three minutes." A gaurd called out across the room.

"Alright. Give me a hug ugly." he said standing up. I stood up and wrapped my arms around him tight, not wanting to let go. "Thank you." He murmured.

"For what ?"

"For riding for me. For always having my back and my front. You always hold shit down Elle. Nobody can do what you do." He looked at me with a serious expression on his face.

"You're my brother. It's my job." I joked.

"I know. I love you kid." He smiled, wrapping me into another hug.

"I love you too." I hugged him back.

"Alright, Banks. It's time to go." The hispanic gaurd said, walking over to us. I walked Ej over to where some of the other inmates were waiting to go back upstairs and we said our goodbyes.

"Take care of Lee for me." He called out as the gaurd escorted him back upstairs.

"I will. I promise." I whispered to myself. He was already gone.

I left the prison with my talk with Ej weighing heavy on my mind. What he experienced brought up a lot of painful memories for me. Memories that i thought i'd buried with my old life. All the shit i went through... being raped by father and kidnapped by his murders... that shit took years to get over. I'm still not completely healed. If i was still suffering from all the things i went through back then, i knew he would be too. As his twin sister, i felt like i was responsible for him. I felt like this was my fault. I needed to fix this. I needed to fix my family.

***A/N: can yall imagine August being in prison ? Lawd i would just cry ! Yall, visiting people in prison suuuuccckkks because you can't take them home with you. Anyways, this book is about to get hella real. Like, 0 to a hunnid nigga real quick. Just give me like two more chapters before i drop the bomb. Oh and shout out to Tylaya for looking real cute today

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