Arrest Me (Mature ZM)

Chapter 82

"Yeah, I do..." I sighed.

"That's not very convincing..." He chuckled and I rolled my eyes with a smile.

"I'm nervous, that's all," I said and Zayn reached over and took my hand.

"You can leave at any point. You're not forced to be there and see them. You're doing this because you're such a great person and you'll probably be the only one who visits them. You're doing them a favor, love," He smiled and kissed my cold hand for a few seconds before resting it in his lap. "I'm here for you if you need to come running out. You have my unconditional support."

"You're too good for me," I sighed and leaned my head on his shoulder. Hearing the words made everything more realistic. I knew that he would be there for me and that he wouldn't leave. I was certain.

"You deserve it," He kissed my head before turning back to the road. We sat mainly in silence for the rest of the ride mainly because we both didn't know what to say. I didn't want to talk about my parents but it was the only thing on my mind. Instead, we listened to a playlist Zayn had made. He hummed along with every song and I found it very comforting.

He had a great voice, even though I don't think he knew it. One day, I would coax him to sing for me. One day.

Before I knew it, we turned onto a road that had the name of the prison on a large sign. My heart rate increased and I sat up straighter. Zayn held my hand as we drove down the long road. At first, there was just bare land until the high fences with barbed wire at the top started. They seemed to go on forever as we drove.

In the distance, I could see more fences and a small building which must be the prison. Zayn slowed down suddenly and I looked in front of us to see a gate and a guard. "Name."

"Ava Burns," Zayn smiled to the officer. The officer flipped through a sheet of paper and stopped at what I assumed was my page. He handed me a badge that had my name and 'visitor' printed on it. "Go straight ahead for about half a mile and park in the second parking lot you see on the left hand side. Have a nice visit."

"Thank you," Zayn smiled. The officer went back inside his guard house and lifted the metal that blocked us from entering. Zayn drove slowly past and then continued on down the road.

As we neared the building, I realized it wasn't small at all. The building was massive and had grounds around it where people were hanging out in their jumpsuits. We passed the first parking lot that had a bunch of big trucks in it which were probably there for supplies. A few minutes later we pulled into the second parking lot. There were a few other cars in the parking lot, but not many. This was only the visitor's parking lot so most of the employees probably parked somewhere else which helped account for the lack of cars.

"I'm scared." I said when he finally parked the car and turned it off.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to," He took my hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "But I think that this is a great opportunity for you."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a minute to try to calm myself. "Will you be here the entire time?" I questioned and he nodded.

"You can leave at any time because I'm just going to sit right here." He leaned forward and touched my cheek softly. "You can do this." He kissed me softly before pulling away. I looked at the clock and realized that I had better go inside and deal with this instead of avoiding it. "I love you."

"I love you too," I smiled weakly before climbing out of the car and shutting the door. I didn't dare look back at Zayn as I walked because I probably would've had the urge to run back to him.

When I finally made it to the doors, I pulled them open and was stunned to see a lot of men in uniforms inside. "Name?" A tall guy with a thick mustache asked me.

"Ava Burns." I stated. He asked me a few more questions about whom I was seeing and why I was there before having me take off my jacket. I put everything in a plastic bucket and had it go through the metal detector. I myself walked through the metal detector and I was glad when nothing went off.

I grabbed my stuff and I was directed to some sort of bland waiting room that looked like a prison itself. There was a middle aged woman with a bunch of tattoos sitting across from me and an older man to my left. I sat there in silence for about 15 minutes before my name was called and I was directed to a woman behind glass.

She handed me sheets of paper to fill out and sign. They basically stated how I couldn't give the inmates anything; I couldn't bring anything with me; I had to dress according to the dress code; I couldn't be under the influence of anything and the list goes on. I signed and dated everywhere I needed to before bringing the sheets back up to the woman.

My papers had to be processed or whatever that meant so I had to sit in the room for another half an hour. By the time my name was finally called, a whole different set of people were in the room with me. I followed a corrections officer down the hallway and he gave me a bin to put all of my things in.

"Can I keep my jacket? It's cold in here," I asked him. I was wearing a sweater but my nerves most likely made me feel colder. The officer nodded, picked up the jacket, checked the pockets, and then gave it back to me. I pulled it on quickly and thanked him.

He led me to another room where a lot more people sat. Families with young kids, grandparents, and the two people were dispersed in the room waiting to see their loved ones. I sat down and waited for what seemed like an eternity.

My heart was thumping loudly in my chest as I waited and waited. Each time a name was announced, I felt my stomach drop even though it wasn't mine. The walls and harsh light offered no comfort to my anxious mind. I felt as if everything was getting smaller and smaller.

Of course I didn't want to have a panic attack in front of everyone, so I put my head in my hands and closed my eyes. I could leave if I wanted to. I didn't even have to see them. I came this far and I could abandon them.

A name was called and nobody came up to confirm that they were that person. I felt bad for the inmate who had possibly been excited about seeing someone, but that person never came. I couldn't do that to my parents, could I?

The intercom turned on again, "Ava Burns."

It was too late to leave now.