"The tragedy of life is not death ... but what we let die inside of us while we still live."
Adalynn Stanton is accepted into one of the highest competitive schools in her state, the Greenhouse Academy. At first, all she thinks she will have to do...
"An ache So deep That I Can hardly breathe This pain Can't be imagined Will it ever heal? Ooh... ooh..."
~ I want You Here by Plumb
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Adalynn leaned her back against the cold concrete wall and jiggled her knees around nervously. Her clasped hands bounced up and down against her legs. She closed her eyes, then opened them again, her gaze darting to and fro across the cold, dank waiting room.
A soft, slim hand was placed on her arm and Adalynn looked over at Hayley, who was sitting next to her.
"Relax," she whispered. "Everything's going to be okay."
Adalynn heaved a deep breath. "You better hope so."
"I know so."
Suddenly, a loud buzzer went off and a barred and secured door on the other end of the room swung open. A police officer stepped out and looked Adalynn directly in the eye. "Jackie's ready to see you now."
"Go on," Hayley encouraged.
Adalynn sighed and got to her feet. She allowed the officer to lead her through a winding maze of concrete walled cells and through multiple iron grates before they finally arrived at Cell Number 142. The officer swiped a key-card through a nearby lock-machine and pushed open the door. "If anything goes wrong there's an emergency button on the underside of the table," he told her.
Adalynn nodded, knowing she wouldn't need it. "Thanks." Then, she stepped into the small cell.
A bedstead lined one of the walls, a tiny table graced with a touch-lamp and two benches sat opposite. A bedside table with a few books stuffed inside was situated near the bed. A partially opened bag, filled with clothes and other necessities lay sprawled on the floor.
Adalynn took all this in with one sweep of her eyes and then paused. Sitting at the table, her hands chained up to the wall, was Jackie.
"Jackie!" Adalynn burst into tears as she rushed forward and enveloped her friend in a hug. "I am sooo sorry."
Jackie smiled as she shoved her away. "Stop touching me, seriously. Okay, so, have you found out anything else about Ryan that I need to hear?"
Adalynn gaped at her. "Are you serious? You sitting in a prison cell in chains and you wanna know about Ryan?"
"Yes."
"Well, if you must know, I found out who signed off on the case."
