Page 59 of Caged In

Izz jerkshis head to the side to see a guard standing at the end of the table, blue eyes squared on Izz in a stern no arguments kind of way.

Visitors?

Izz trails along behind the guard, trying not to get tooexcited. He doesn’t want to build his hopes, only to discover it isn’t his mum and little sister.

It’s easier said thandone. By the time he finds himself outside the visitation room, he is practically jumping out of his skin.

“No touching,” the guard barks before shoving Izz through the door. Izz has to hold out his hand to stop his face from crashing into the door. Even the guard’s rough treatment doesn’t dampenhis eagerness.

The guard strides off to stand with the other guards, talking about whatever—probably ways to torture the inmates.

Izz grins at the sight of his family seated at one of the small plastic tables scattered through the room. Other inmates are here too, with their own visitors. But none of them matter, there are only two people in this whole room he cares about. And they’re both smiling at him, even before he weaves his way around tables to get to them.

Izz’s sister jumps up to grab at him, and he wraps his arms around her. Which earns him a reprimand from a guard, and a ‘point’—whatever the hellthat means—he’ll ask Reni later. It was worth it, he wouldn’t have taken it back for the world.

“I love you, brother,” Lucia snivels, wiping at her red teary eyes. Her wavybrown hair sticking out at random angles, like she was so excited to come here she forgot to brush it. Or there was a tornadooutside she had to battle through to reach the prison visitation door.

“I love you too, little sis,” Izz pats her head, stepping back before he pisses off the guards’ more than he already has.

The plastic chairs are comfortable, compared tothe cafeteria seats, and that is saying something, consideringthese chairs are hard as rock with zero support for your ass bones. By the time he’s freed, he’s not going to remember what a normal chair feels like.

“What’s it like in here?” Luc jumps right in with the questions, while their mum sits quietly, blinking rapidly, trying not to cry.

“Well, little darling sister of mine. They have very loud alarms here, to wake you up, and very small beds, the size ofyour doll house beds. And the rooms are smaller thanyour doll house.”

His sister giggles, “that’s just silly. You wouldn’t fit if they were that small.”

“Oh, it’s very true. Teeny tiny barbie beds. The first day here I was not expecting the alarm, it scaredme so much I fell right off the bed. Just splattered on the floor, like a human pancake.”

His sister is laughing now, a huge smile splittingher face in two. His mum on the other hand, is wearing a mask of sorrow, a dark look in her eyes. Like she knows it’s bad inside and this fake charade for Luc is just that. Fake.

Sitting quietly in her chair, his mum does not speak. Izz wants to reassure her he really is okay, but can’t do that in front of Luc, without upsetting his sister. She’s an innocent child who doesn’t need to know how dangerous it is in this cage.

He tries his best to convey what he’s thinking to his mum, willing her to see it in his eyes. He’s not sure the message is being received or believed.

“I drew you this, Izzy,” Lucia announces, thrusting a page into his chest. His breath huffing out with the impact—his sister is surprisingly strong.

He looks down to find a drawing, containing a little house and people—the three of them. Their home.

I will not cry.

That will seriously downsize his reputation. Not that he could possibly have a tough reputation. He probably has a crappy rep’ after that fight. The corridor had been filled with other inmates by the end. And even if there had been only one, gossip in prison spreads faster thanina girls’ dorm. He’s sure everyone in this cage heard about him getting his ass kicked within five seconds of the start of the attack.

“In case you miss us, so you don’t forget what our home looks like.”

Izz fights back tears, he doesn’t want to killthe moment by turning on the waterworks. “Of course I miss you, Luc, and I’ll never forget any of it. This is perfect. I love it. It’ll give me something to look at other than the brick walls and my cell—roommate’s—ugly face,” he tries to make her laugh, to lighten the mood.

Luciasighs in frustration, crossing her arms over her chest. “Why do you have to stay here? Why can’t you come home already? You’re a nice person. You’re the best. Nicest.”

How to explain it? The reasons he’s here are not for Luc to know. It is not her fault she became sick and the doctors charged so much for her life-saving treatment. You would think keeping people alive would be a higher priority thanmoney—it is not. Never had been. Taking and taking—from those who have nothing left to give.

Izz chose to do what he did. That’s on him, not little Luc, who never choseto getcancer. Never has a choice in the treatments that saved her life. It isn’t fair that someone so young—a child—had to go through all those tests and treatments just so she could live a normal life. A life the other children around her take for granted, they don’t know the harsh reality of life.

Of course, he would not wish his sister’s illness on anyone, he just wishes she never had to suffer it and could live like the other children in the neighbourhood. Free of sickness, free to live their childhood without worry.

“Because I broke the law, Luc. I have to make up for it. So I have to stay here until I make it right,” Izz smiles at her. He hopes his smile doesn’t convey the sadness trapped inside his heart, the grief for the sister he loves dearly.

Izz sits back and listens to the stories his sister recites. Her best friend’s new crush. The homework from school being hard and taking her forever to complete. A new girl who’s moved into the neighbourhood with curly red hair, who never stops talking,and is staying over to have a movie night on the weekend—reminding Izz that he has no idea what day it is today.

---