A Flower in War

Chapter Fifty-Eight: Lord of the Flies

"How're you doing?" Cal asks softly.
"As good as I can be doing in a juvenile detention center." Robby sighs.
"Did you get the books?"
"Yeah, thank you. Not much else to do here."
"Did you get the picture?"
Robby smiles, nodding to himself, "Yeah I got it. Look at it every morning when I wake up and every night before I go to bed."
"Good. When you get out we can work on getting your GED. The books will help, they're required reading. I'm hoping to come visit you soon... if that's okay? There's some paperwork that may take a little bit but I'll be there as soon as I can be."
"I'd like that a lot flower."
"Keene, ten minutes are up." One of the guards says.
"I gotta go. But I'll talk to you later."
"Okay. I love you, stay strong."
"I love you too flower." Robby sighs, hanging up the phone.

Cal looks around the dojo at her makeshift room, sighing softly before she starts cleaning up the space to look even semi-presentable. Her phone rings right as she gets in the car to go to the laundromat, Sam's name and picture flash across the screen. She has half a mind to decline the call but opts to answer, just in case something bad has happened.
"Cal?" Sam asks worriedly.
"Is everyone okay?"
"Are you?"
"What?" Cal asks.
"Are you okay? We haven't seen you in a few days. I was worried something happened to you. I tried calling but you never answered..."

"Yeah, I know... did you know what your dad was going to do?"
"Turn Robby in? No! I mean I thought maybe but I figured if anyone could talk him out of it, well it'd be you."
"He never told me so I wasn't able to."
"Oh god... I'm so sorry. I know how much you love Robby and this is just another betrayal from my family and I'm so sorry Cal."
"Well, you're the only one."

"That's not true. My dad tried to call you but it just goes straight to voicemail and all his texts never deliver. You blocked him..."
"Yeah, I did."
"Why... why didn't you block me too? After everything I put you through with the drinking, and the kissing, and the fighting... why not cut me off?"
"Because... because despite my best efforts... I still see you as a sister. Just a shitty one."
Sam chokes out a chuckle, "I deserve that."
"Yeah you do."

"Are you safe at least?" Sam asks softly.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Just... alone... again."
"You don't have to be though. You can come home."
"I don't have a home anymore Sam. You guys made sure of that."
"We fucked up Cal. I know that and I'm so sorry, but you do have a home. We may screw up but that happens with families. You're safe here. I don't want to hurt you, no one does, you tried to be the neutral party, the one that understood all sides, and I blamed you for not taking mine and I know I was wrong. I will never like Tory and I will never trust her but if you do - that's okay. We don't have to like the same people we just have to listen to each other and take their thoughts and feelings into account. We can do that. I know we can. I will work every day to earn your trust back. I just ask that we don't talk about Tory because it never ends well when we do. Can we do that?"

Cal sighs, putting her head to her steering wheel, "Okay. We can do that."
"Thank you." Sam says with a sigh of relief.
"Will you come back? Please?"
"I'll... I'll think about it. I just need a bit more time alone. But tell your parents I'm safe. I don't want them to worry."
"I can do that. Thank you. I promise things will be different when you get back."
"I just want things to go back to how they were before all this but I recognize that won't happen, so Ill take different. Hopefully good different."
"It will be." Sam smiles.

-

The next day Robby is sat on a bolted down table reading Lord of the Flies.
"Officer Williams to rec center." Sounds over the PA system.
"Angel. My sweet, sweet Angel." One of the bigger boys starts, two cronies flanking his sides as they come closer to the unsuspecting boy playing solitaire.
"The care package your mom sent was dope. Empanadas? Next level shit right there. Be sure to thank her for me, all right?" The boy stays silent, something that clearly irritates the aggressor.
"Still... empanadas, no empanadas, this is our table, homie." Silence from Angel only leads to laughter, "Shit. Kid must be deaf." The boy sucks his teeth.