A secret is a secret | ONC 2024

15 | The visit

For the first time in my life, I sit at one of the tables in the room where the prisoners meet with their family, friends, or partners. During the past few weeks, I had a lot of firsts, like seeing a person pass away instantly, being called for an interview at the police station, telling a secret from my family, and lying to the police, the list is endless.

I have been bouncing my right leg at the mental surface underneath the table for the past few minutes. My eyes were deeply focused on the white door where the guards alongside the prisoners come and go. The sound of the door opening reached my ears. A male police officer walked out first and then my boyfriend walked out.

His eyes landed on me, quickly making his way towards me. "Hey, Lena." Alfred greeted me, sitting down in front of me.

I scanned my boyfriend with my eyes, checking if he was doing well. It didn't go past me, how he was looking a little bit tired and how he had dark spots underneath his eyes. A red flag lit up in my brain, telling me that he didn't sleep well.

"Hey Alf, are you okay?" I asked him, looking back at him wearing a concerned expression.

As his hand went through his hair, he looked around us before he focused on me once again. "Lena, baby, yes I am okay. As I expected, the bed's mattresses aren't as comfortable as the one in my dorm room. I just need to get used to it but I am glad that it is me and not you in this position."

My heart warmed at the last words that left his mouth. It is definitely one of the worst places to be romantic. However, that doesn't stop him from being his usual romantic self.

I was still looking at him as a soft smile made its way onto my lips. "Alf, I love you and your words you know I do. But I can't believe that you are being your romantic self while you unfortunately are stuck here in this place while Beck, Cyrus, and I are continuing to live our life out of here."

My boyfriend's expression softened as a big smile appeared on his lips. "I love you, baby. And Lena, I know this is the last place to be my romantic self but that doesn't mean I will stop being romantic toward you. I don't want either Beck, Cyrus, or especially you to feel guilty about me being here in jail. These are the consequences of my actions and I am responsible for paying the price. I will stop to protect Beck, Cyrus, and you and I will do it again in a heartbeat."

"Well in that case keep being romantic, I love it." The smile on my lips grew wider with every word that my boyfriend said about me and our best friends. "Onto a serious note, our best friends and I are feeling guilty about you being here. The four of us were at the beach when you know what happened and we think it is not fair that you're the only one who is paying the price. Don't worry, our best friends and I will figure out something that will get you out of here and then you can't return to your normal life."

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Like the good roommate that I am, I was standing in front of the stone cooking dinner for Beck and me. At the same time that I am cooking, I am listening to music from the speaker that my older sister gifted me for my birthday last year. For today's dinner, I am cooking white rice, black beans, and chicken. This is a meal that both of us loved to eat each Saturday. Beck and I love to have a routine and we try our hardest to keep up with our routine.

The front door of our dorm room opened and my best friend walked in wearing her purse over her right shoulder. "Hey, Lenora, I am home. It smells so delicious, this is making me more hungry." She closed the door behind her and then she set her keys down on the entryway table.

I closed the oven first before turning to face my best friend. "Hello, Beck, how was your day? I know right, I am the one who is cooking and my stomach is growling at me."

"I had a good day, best friend, thank you for asking. How was your day? Everything did go well at the visit to Alfred at the prison?" Beck took her purse off her shoulder, set it down on the kitchen counter and she sat down on one of the barstools. "Speaking of stomach growling, Lenora, do you need help with dinner?"

"I'm glad to hear that one of us had a good day. Visiting Alfred did go well, he and I were able to talk and catch up for thirty minutes before sadly the visiting time ended. Actually, Beck, I am very worried about him, he is all alone in there for who knows how long." I set down my hands on the kitchen counter, looking at my best friend with a worried expression on my face. "Thank you for offering your help, Beck. The food is almost done, we only need to wait a couple of minutes until our dinner is done."

Beck set her arms down on the kitchen counter and she looked at me. She had a worried expression on her face, she was probably worried about Alfred which is fair because I am very worried about him.

"I am glad to hear that you and Alfred had time to talk, I am sure that both of you needed that. Speaking of Alfred, how is he doing? You're not the only one who is worried about him, I am worried about him as well." Beck started talking, showing me a small happy smile. "You're welcome, Lenora. I can't wait to taste and eat your delicious dinner."

"I am glad that we had time to talk, I could tell that he needed that. Well for a stranger, he would look like he was fine. However, I have known him since our freshman year so I can pick up on his physical and emotional state. Alfred had told me he was okay but I could tell that he had trouble sleeping because he told me that the mattress wasn't as comfortable as the one back at his dorm room. I just wish that there was something that we could do to get him out of there and back here with us." I started speaking, I went ahead and turned off my speaker before walking towards the other side of the kitchen counter and sat down on the bar stool next to Beck. "I can't wait to see what you cook for us tomorrow. Thank you, I know that I am a great cook."

Like the good best friend Beck is, she looked at me as she listened to every word I said regarding my boyfriend. Beck is such an amazing listener. "I am hoping that Alfred can sleep better until he is no longer inside of the prison. Cyrus, you and I will think of something to get him out of there and back here with us."Beck spoke, helping me calm down my worries. "You know tomorrow is my turn to cook us dinner so you get to relax and watch a movie or TV show or read a book."

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I have reached the third and final milestone of this contest and only six chapters until this book is over :(

Final chapter word count: 1,266

Total book word count: 20,298