A Liberated Decision - COMPLETED!

Chapter 9

And, because the other chapter was so dang short --- Here's a much LONGER chapter for you ;)

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Ashley didn't know what she was thinking, but she needed an escape. She needed to talk to someone who was outside her normal circle of acquaintances. Someone who – in a way – would understand her point of view in her time of need and who had no need or desire in sharing what she had on her mind with others. She forced her beating heart to calm down as she entered the prison doors.

"Maybe this was a bad idea." She spoke under her breath, but she knew that she really didn't have a choice. Her life was heading nowhere but to destruction. She needed a new outlook on life. Her nerves felt all bunched up with all of the cops floating around her. She felt out of place and uncomfortable. Slowly and hesitantly, she weaved her way up to the front counter. She quickly hid her fear, a mask of respect quickly taking its place. She waited for the officer to look up at her.

"What can I do for you, ma'am?" He asked her calmly and peaceably.

"I'd like to talk to someone that's being held here, if I could." She said as purely and innocently as she could.

"What's his name?" He asked her patiently as he became ready to type the name into the computer system.

"Dominick di'Liardo." She did her best to pronounce his name as eloquently as possibly. She had the disadvantage of not having the correct accent to give the name the right vocalization as it needed, but she tried anyway.

The officer typed in the name. "Why do you want to see him?" He asked nonchalantly to her.

"To talk to him." She said quietly, but the hairs on the back of her neck rose and butterflies flew around her stomach. Her nerves were bunching up again too.

"About what?" He looked up at her.

Ashley was at a loss for words. "I... I don't know." She looked down at her hands on the counter. Her face revealed her perplexity of why she was there. Why can't he just let me go in and talk to him now? Why all these questions?

"Umm... okay." The officer replied. He seemed unsure of what to say. He quickly regained his composure and pointed to a door that opened up. "Follow that officer and he'll take you to where you need to go."

Ashley looked up at the officer by the door and nodded her head. "Okay." She looked back at the officer of whom she had been talking to. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiled at her before resuming his paperwork.

Ashley glanced at the ground and walked toward the door. She walked through it as she followed the officer. The door coldly slammed shut behind her. The sound sent a shiver down her spine and a fear through her mind. She didn't like being in a prison. It felt cold and lifeless to her and, quite frankly, it scared her.

The officer led Ashley through several doors on their way to the room he was taking her too.

"Right this way, ma'am." He told her as they rounded a corner. He pointed to a doorway. "Go to the fourth space down." He directed her.

Ashley looked into a room of many windows, phones, and dividers. It didn't seem all that private to her, but she was too desperate to walk away. "Thank you." She mumbled quietly her appreciation. Self-consciously, she walked down the isle to the fourth divided off window. She slid quietly into the chair and placed her head in her hands. Her elbows rested on the little slab of a counter that she had in front of her. Time ticked by faster than she had anticipated. A noise pulled Ashley's head up and out of her hands.