Fae and Gabby

Chapter 9

The following day, the Freeman family, Fae, Gabby, Tom, and Jazmine went inside Woodcrest Prison visitation room. Jazmine looked around, seeing inmates talking to their visitors between glass windows with phones near their ears. She held onto Tom. "Daddy, this place don't look fun," she said. Tom chuckled. "Of course it isn't, sweetie. But not to worry. As long as we don't get sent to prison and get anally raped, everything will be all right," he reassured.

Fae and Gabby sat on the empty two chairs in front of the glass window, as others stood behind them. One of the guards yelled, "Walker! You got visitors!" An African-American/Hispanic man came from the back and walked in the room. Once he saw Fae and Gabby, he looked shocked.

Gabby quickly took the phone. "Dad! Dad, it's us!" Vincent Walker sat down in his seat and took the phone. "Faith? Gabriella? Is that you?" he asked. "Yeah! We came to visit you. It's good seeing you again, Dad," Gabby said, tears forming from her eyes.

Vincent smiled. "Gabriella, I'm so glad you're safe after all these years." He saw Fae glaring at him. "Faith..." Gabby gave the phone to Fae. "Here, Fae. Talk to Dad." Fae took the phone while she stared at him. "Dad." "Faith...you've grown so much, hija. How have you been?" Vincent asked. "Do you really want to know what's inside this head...this heart? Do you really?" Fae responded. Vincent blinked at her words. "Oh...I guess not," he said, "I'm sorry."

Fae looked down. "Why'd you do it, Dad? Didn't you love Mom?" she asked. "Of course I did, niña. I'm telling the truth. I've always loved your mother. It's just when we lived in The Hood, we were struggling. Every little thing gets worse and worse and we were so angry, we took it out on each other. And me being in the gang didn't make it any better. It kills me inside remembering what I did to her...and to you girls. I never got the chance to say I love her."

Vincent looked down, as Fae stared at him through the glass window. "Te eche de menos. (I missed you.)" he said. Fae sighed. "Te eche de menos, también. (I missed you, too.)" Vincent looked at everyone else that was present. "Who are these people?" he asked. "They're our friends. One of them suggested that we come and visit you after all these years," Fae explained. "They're not sending you away, are they?" Vincent asked, concerned. "No, they promise they won't and we trust them. It was difficult at first, but we told them everything that happened," Fae reassured.

Suddenly, Riley took the phone. "Dayyyuuummm, nigga. Shooting your own girl. That's real deep. She must've really pissed you off to pull the trigger." That's when he saw Fae glaring at him. "I mean...you sick! Killing an innocent woman. You is a dog, nigga! I won't be surprised if they make you stay in jail for the rest of your miserable life!" That's when he saw Gabby looked down. "I mean...it's all good, though. It ain't like you did it on purpose. Accidents happen, man. Free my nigga, Walker!"

Suddenly, Huey took the phone. "Mr. Walker, don't listen to him. My name is Huey Freeman and I eventually found out about the past between you and your girlfriend. At first, I was thinking about turning in your daughters to the police, but knowing about this, I have no reason to do that." "Oh, Huey. Please, take care of my daughters. I want to be reassured that they'll be safe," Vincent pleaded. Huey nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

That's when Gabby took the phone. "When are you gonna come out and take care of us again?" she asked. "I have to stay here for another two years," Vincent informed. Gabby looked down. "But I promise after I get out, we'll be a family again. It won't be the same without your mother, but at least we'll have each other. As of now, I have to go."

Gabby looked at him. "You leaving already?" "I must. My time is about to be up. You be a good girl, okay?" Tears flowed out of Gabby's eyes, as she put her hand out of the window. "No promises, Dad," she said, "I'll see you later?" Vincent also put his hand on the window. "Of course you will, Gabriella."

That's when Fae took the phone. "So I guess this is it. You're leaving now?" "Yeah, but things will get better. I'm sure of it," Vincent said, "Take care of your sister, okay?" Fae shrugged her shoulders. "Don't I always?" "Goodbye, Faith." "Goodbye, Dad."

With that, Vincent put back the phone and left the room. Fae and Gabby watched him walk away, as Granddad put his hand on Fae's shoulder. "Are you girls ready to go?" Fae closed her eyes, as she took a deep breath. "Yeah, we should start leaving."

All of them head out of the prison in complete utter silence. Riley noticed Gabby looking down with tears in her eyes. "Ay, quit your crying, Lil' G. Niggas don't cry," he told her. "I know. It's just I really miss him," Gabby said. "I know that, but you still got us, though. Hell, you got me: your own nigga." Riley stopped her, as he took her hand and wiped her tears. "Look, as long as you with me, you ain't got nothing to cry for. You my homie now and homies stick together no matter what. Remember, I'll always be there for you. A'ight?"

Gabby smiled, as she nodded. Riley turned around, as he saw everybody looking at him in shock at his sudden consoling. "What? The fuck y'all looking at?!" Everyone continued walking.

Jazmine noticed Huey looking at Fae while she looked down. Jazmine spoke up. "You know what makes me feel better when I'm upset, Huey?" "No and I don't care," Huey said, looking down. "I would like it when a friend comforts me and say nice things to me," Jazmine told him. "What's your point?" Huey responded. "You have to comfort Fae. Go talk to her," Jazmine advised, pushing Huey toward Fae. Huey bumped into Fae, which caused her to look at him, confused.

"Sorry," he apologized. Fae looked away. "So...uh...are you...okay?" Huey asked. "No," Fae responded, "But then again, I was never the type of person to be okay." "Don't worry. Everything will be all right in the end," Huey told her. Fae looked at him. "Really?" "Nope," Huey admitted, "But you'll be fine. I'll make sure of that."

"All right. We've already saw their father. Now all we have to do is...see their mother," Tom reminded. Granddad turned to look at Fae and Gabby. "You sure you girls wanna do this? It's hard enough as it is for you to take," he said. Fae looked at Huey. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to." Fae looked at Gabby, who was looking down, then back at Granddad.

"Let's go."