"Thirlwall! Mail's here!" I hopped up from my desk and retrieved the mail from the slot quickly. Mail was always the highlight of my week. Whenever my sister writes to me I feel a little bit better about where I am.
I tore the envelope open and started reading.
Dear Jade,
Hi! I miss you so much and Karl says he does too. I also really liked the picture you sent me last week. Can you draw me next time? I want to show my friends.
Daddy and Karl were arguing about you yesterday. I tried to listen but Karl made me go back to our room before I could really hear what it was about. I tried listening at the door but it wasn't the same.
Karl also said not to mention this but daddy hit me the other day. He said it was an accident and Karl said it was because he drank a little too much of his juice. Whatever that means. But because Karl said not to mention it I thought I should probably tell you.
Since you're always sending me art, I drew you a dog because you like them. I also drew you our room because you haven't been home in a long time and I thought you might miss it. Oh and I drew a picture of Karl and I because we miss you.
When are you coming home? You've been away at school for so long and I want you to come home and visit.
I love you,
Jayla
Behind the note were various drawings from my 10 year old sister. While she was no Picasso, it still made me smile.
"Thirlwall! Cuff up it's your therapy time," My eyes widened. I didn't even realize what time it was! I quickly threw the letter down on my desk and went to the door, not particularly prepared for therapy after what my sister wrote about in her letter.
~~~~~~~~~~
Another thing I learned I miss about not having a cell mate: I didn't have to worry about people going through my stuff.
As soon as I came back to the cell, Perrie threw my letter back down and sat at her desk, eyes wide from being caught. As much as I wish I could have rushed and snatched it out of her hands but I had to get the hand cuffs off first.
Perrie offered me a sheepish smile as I glared at her from across the cell. As soon as the cuffs were off I grabbed the letter my sister wrote off my desk and looked at her for an explanation.
"Sorry Jade I shouldn't have looked at your letter without your permission, it's just that I've been here for a month and you've told me nothing about your family so I kinda just assumed they were dead but then I got curious about who was writing to you and I read it and I'm really sorry," My eyes flickered between Perrie and the letter and I sighed, flopping down at my desk next to Perrie.
"You always have questions. Fire away." Her eyes widened.
"Are you sure?" I shrugged, "Okay um, why doesn't your sister know where you are?"
"When I was arrested she didn't know what was going on. She was scared because a bunch of cops were grabbing me and in her eyes I could never do anything wrong. My older brother saved her impression of me by telling her they were from some prestigious art school across the country and I had to leave immediately."
"How old are your siblings?"
"Jayla is ten and Karl is nineteen,"
"What's the deal with your dad? I can kind of kind of tell a couple of things based off of what your sister wrote but I want to hear it from you." I sighed and stayed silent. I know Perrie means well with all of her stupid questions but I don't exactly want to get into this. On the other hand, I've been told that I bottle things up inside too much. And despite Perrie only being here for a month, I've kind of grown to like the girl. I sighed.
