desiree walked behind him with her head down holding onto her pinky. she wished a wave of emotions were flowing through her but she felt nothing.

she was happy to see her family but just couldn't find a way to show it. she was just there happy in spirit.

"how long have you been here?" the man asked taking a glance behind him. he noticed she was three steps behind him to be exact. since he started walking she was always three steps behind.

he just started working at the facility today but he was thinking about quitting already. the vibe in the place wasn't what they advertised so he was thinking about bailing once he gets to the gates himself. this place was giving prison and he wasn't feeling it. he was too young to be working a job like this anyway.

"3 y-yea-ye-" she stammered but couldn't get the word out. ever since coming here her word count completely fell. she couldn't say anything without croaking or stuttering she hated speaking.

"I understand what your trying to say." he softly said opening the doors for her. he let her walk in first. she stepped to the side instantly after walking through the doors so he could continue leading.

he glanced at her quickly before leading her to the final doors. he was definitely leaving right behind her. if anything she was a lesson to get the fuck out now. he knew himself and knew that the shit they got going on in here would probably kill his soul.

"this is it your family is right through this door." he said looking down at her. she was too looking down fixating on her pinky.

"delani?" he softly said hoping to get her to look up. she looked broken but fine at the same time. he wanted to see her eyes. he could tell a lot about a person just by a glance he just wanted one. she was looking at him for a split second in her room but it wasn't enough and he wasn't paying attention then but he was now.

"m-my n-na-nam-e is de-s-ss- desiree." she stammered keeping her face down.

"desiree, well i'm not familiar with this place and this will be my last time being here can I ask one thing of you?" the boy said holding his hand out in front of hers.

desiree looked down at his hand, it looked soft and clean. she hasn't had any actually physical touch in years. she wasn't even sure if she was capable anymore.

"take my hand.. please?" he said.

she held her hand up hovering over his. was this against the rules? she had never touched any of the helpers before was this the same or different.. would she get punished for doing this?

before she could continue thinking his hand grasped hers softly. he bent down to her ear and calmly spoke in the softest tone he could muster.

"desiree don't let this place define you or bring down the person you wanna be. be better than who you are now, when you walk out those doors forget about delani you are desiree! create a new person that you can be proud of. if you don't think anyone is rooting for you trust that I am. even if we never meet again i'll tell you my name for a keepsake. Jaquil"

he stood to his complete length not waiting for her answer but he hoped she would take his words into deep consideration. he didn't know desiree from a can of paint but something really seemed wrong and he just wanted to help what little he could.

she paused looking at the palm of her hand his kind words replaying in her mind like some kind of melody. she smiled hearing the ringing of her own given name and not her middle name that legally isn't even hers. jaquil flowed through her mind like an endless river flourishing the drought of seas and thoughtless thinking she had been doing.

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