Page 43 of Fall onto me

13

FOSTER POV

Her face and the shock that contorted it will haunt me.

I hope she knows I didn’t do this, that I would never be wrapped up in drugs, and I would especially never have her around them.

I’m sure she doesn’t think that at all, but it’s quiet and loud here, deafening and sporadic. No distractions, no escape.

Normally, I would call her, text her, if I was feeling some type of way. But having that option ripped away, no contact with my girl, is hell on literal earth.

They took away my clothes and jewelry and threw it into a bag. I have on a navy-blue jumpsuit and the shittiest flip flops I’ve ever seen. It’s night, and I’m going to have to sleep above a man I don’t know. Tomorrow, I’ll have to go into general population with more men I don’t know.

Barnes is here, on guard duty. He’s walking down the line, cracking jokes with the inmates as he checks that everyone is in their cells. I sink back, trying to hide my face as he passes. “Santiago,” he calls out.

My cellmate raises his hand from the bed. “Here.”

“Jenn …” Barnes pauses. “Jennings.” He tries to hide the surprise in his tone but fails miserably.

I turn to face him, and the look that encompasses his features is pure disappointment.

Here is how it was always meant to be, him out in the world, and me behind these bars. I don’t need a glimpse into my future because I’m already here. “Come with me. Need to do more paperwork on you,” he says as calmly as he can, but there is not an ounce of calm in his tone.

We walk into the larger area, where a few inmates are mopping the floors. There’s a small desk with a computer behind it, and this is where the guards do most of their duties from. “I just got here. What the fuck is going on?” He keeps his tone low, pretending to be doing something on the computer.

“I was arrested earlier today,” I say with a blank expression.

“How come you didn’t call me?”

I shrug. “I knew you’d come to visit.”

He slams his fist down onto the table, making me jump a little. I need to keep my emotions at bay, now more than ever. “This isn’t a fucking joke, Foster.” He sneers, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself down.

“I know, man.” I run my hands through my hair. “I know.”

“What are you here for?” he asks as he looks over my paperwork, his eyes growing wider with each felony he reads. “You can’t …” He doesn’t want to say it, but he does. “You can’t come back from this. How could you do this for him?”

“I wasn’t doing it for him. I was taking Skyler on a fucking rental.”

“He found out then, but why would he want you here?”

“My guess is as good as yours. I must have done something to piss him off and he doesn’t need me anymore.”

He nods, typing things in. “I’m going to try to get this sorted out.”

I scoff, “Don’t risk your job.”

“Your life is at risk here, Foster. Do you know the men they keep here? And this is a federal crime. Once you’re convicted, you’re gone. I don’t give a fuck about a job.”

It’s nice to hear that someone’s in your corner, but the truth is what needs to be said. “You’re not going to do anything. You’re going to put something in the system that explains why we’re talking. Add in that I have allergy; I need Benadryl or something. Then you’re going to return me back to that cell and treat me like everyone else. There is no coming back, there is no fixing this. My life is over, and you’ll ruin yours trying to save it.”

Barnes gives me an earnest look. “I have to try; I have to help.”

“You can help me by getting Skyler to understand what I’m telling you now.”

He shakes his head. “No.”

“Barnes, I will punch you in the face right now and get assault on an officer if you don’t listen to me. She cannot come here, under any circumstances. Her name cannot go on the visitor sheet.”

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