New Beginnings

Out of the Fire and into the Fire Again

Cheryl and Toni hopped out of the taxi cab Cheryl kindly offered to pay for and observed the dreary and unpleasant building in front of them.

Just the mention of prison triggered both girls to the core, but it had taken a lot for the both of them to be here today, and Cheryl wanted to support Toni through and through.

She looked down at the pink haired girl and observed her apprehensive and anxious look that donned her face. It was unusual to Cheryl. She was normally so fierce and bold, rarely showed her emotions and let things bother her, so seeing her girlfriend so vulnerable in that moment, made her heart break.

She took hold of Toni's hand and squeezed it tight.

"Are you okay?" Cheryl asked

Toni snapped out of her daze before answering. "Yeah. Yeah I am, just a little nervous. Not sure why though, it's not the first time I've been here. Sure it won't be the last." She mumbled the last part. Her father had been in and out of prison more times than she could count ever since she was a kid.

"Nerves are normal. You just don't know what to expect I guess." Cheryl explained.

She placed her arm around Toni's shoulder and they both walked in together.

They approached the main door and were faced with metal detectors and burley yet serious prison guards, not that the two of them weren't expecting it, they were in a medium security after all.

Cheryl wasn't going to go along any further as the prison were strict on visitor numbers and the people listed on an inmates visiting list, and seeing as it was only Toni her father was expecting, Cheryl stayed behind.

"Good luck!" Cheryl called to Toni before she disappeared around the corner, being directed by a guard to the visitor boxes.

She sat at the assigned box and lifted the phone to her ear, waiting for her Dad to come out on the other side.

She observed the area and paid attention to the other cell mates and their visitors while she waited for her Dad to come out. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a guard on the other side of the glass yell out "Topaz!"

She heard her Dads footsteps slowly approach before he finally got to the phone.

There he stood with that infamous scowl on his face, his prison uniform  rolled up his arms showing some of his many tattoos, one including Toni's name and his unbuttoned uniform exposing his white vest underneath.

He grinned at his daughter on the other side as she gave him an awkward and anxious smile.

He picked up the phone and spoke. "What happened to your hair? Almost didn't recognise you." He asked curiously.

"Just fancied a change." Toni answered with a little shrug of her shoulders

"How's things at home?" He questions

Her eyes widen a little and she gulps, tightening her mouth a little. She was supposed to be living with her uncle but she has yet to tell her father about the situation at hand. She didn't want to cause any drama, her family had been through enough. She hadn't even told him that her grandfather was back in town.

"Yeah, it's good. Uncle Ray's an idiot who can barely cook an egg but what else is new?" She joked

He unconsciously leaned further into the window, as if she could actually hear him through the glass. "And the gang? Business?" He asks

Toni narrowed her eyes and scoffed. Of course he had an ulterior motive behind his visiting order.

"Is that why you wanted me to come all the way down here?" She whispered angrily, trying not to draw the attention of the guards surrounding them.