I'm Here to Fix You - Broken Souls Series #2

I said I was here to fix her

I realize it's progressing slowly, but I'd rather make it more realistic than rush to get it done.

CHAPTER 65 - I SAID I WAS HERE TO FIX HER

JAKE'S POV

"She's making progress, slowly but steadily."

I heaved a sigh of relief. Thank God. For once Mister G is doing His job. If the 79 days I've spent in prison have been worth it, it was all to hear this news. Silvia is nearly there, close to waking up. It could seriously be a matter of days now. It sucks that I won't be there when she does, but, like I said, I sent a good enough replacement. "Thank you, Ryan."

He scoffed. "How come, no nicknames?"

I rolled my eyes, ignoring the line of other inmates behind me, all waiting to use the phone. "I really am thankful."

"I'm here for her, Jake, not for you." Ryan pointed out, bitter. I didn't miss the resentment right there. Of course he blames me for Silvia's predicament, and he's right, it is indeed my fault, so I didn't even bother getting offended.

"Still, you keep me informed." I call his phone every single day. One call I have a day, I use it to call my girlfriend's ex, can you believe it?

He heaved a deep sigh. "Colin says you might be out sooner than expected."

"Hardly. The lawyer's fighting to cut off the jail time and make it probation, but it's more likely that I'll do the full 12 months." I sighed, tired, my head dropping against the wall. It's been only two months and a half, more or less, there's still a lot to go. "Hopefully she'll be awake by then. Will you look after her?"

"Jake ..."

"The same way as you entrusted me your girlfriend once, I entrust you mine now, Ryan. Look after her while I can't."

"Why me? Why not your best friend or your sister? Even Tess is-"

"You love her." I cut him off, which caused him to choke on air. "More specifically, you love her like I do. You're the only one that can replace me, Ryan, because you're the only one that knows how it feels like to love her."

He remained silent for a long minute, while behind me the other inmates were annoyed, but didn't dare say anything. 2 months and a half in this shithole, you think I wouldn't assert my authority? Told you, jail is like playground, either you become the bully or you get bullied. Truth be told, this is nothing like Rikers. I mean, it's max security versus minimum security, so it's not that hard here. In Rikers I had lunch amongst murderers and mob bosses, here the most I've seen are burglars and white collars. It's fairly tranquil if you ignore the occasional fistfights amongst inmates.

"I could take much better care of her than you ever could, you know." Ryan finally spoke, as sour as an aunty acid. "I mean, I would have loved her and cherished her until the rest of my days. I would have married her, we'd have lived together one of those cliché lives you so hate."

I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose, my migraine restarting to mount. These headaches keep on coming, each worse than the other, and I think it has a lot to do with my past injuries, but also with the fact that I don't even sleep anymore, I just think. "Is there a point to this rant, Ryan? Or are you just gonna rub in my face that you were the perfect boyfriend while I was the scumbag that nearly got her killed?"

"I'm just saying, I've never hated anyone like I hate you, Jake, let's be honest."

I scoffed. "Well, the feeling is mutual, buddy, but meanwhile-"

"I hate you, and I hate myself for basically throwing her into your arms. I thought you were her only chance at happiness. But now I realize, I made a huge mistake. Maybe I couldn't have given her what she needed, but at the very least I wouldn't have gotten her killed."