Third Person
A Few weeks later| December 23, 2020,
True to his word, the next time Ryan saw Karma after she found out, he went into detail and told everything. He answered every question that she had.
He had told her about Joseph being Jesse' Godfather. Something that shocked Karma entirely. But she was even more surprised when she found out that Giovanni was Jesse's biological half-brother rather than his God-brother.
Ryan had told her about the night Jesse found out that Jonah and Joseph were conspiring together to take out both Jesse and Karma at one point.
He told her about the plan they had to take both Jonah and Joseph out once and for all and explained where everything went left in Jesse's arrest.
When it was confirmed that there was a rat in the gang, Cyrus and Ryam used multiple tactics to scare each member into confessing and only one person ended up coming out and admitting to having sold Jesse out to Joseph and the police.
Rico, a member of the gang, ex-member now, had confessed to everything. He explained that Joseph had came to him promising to take care of him and his family financially and take care of any and all of their expenses. Including the tuition for his daughter's first year of college. His daughter, Claudia, had been accepted to Princeton and wasn't sure how to pay for it and decided not to go until Joseph had offered Rico money to practically give her a full ride.
He also offered Rico a partnership. Promising him that if he could help put Jesse in jail, Joseph would let him be co-leader of Joseph's group.
However, if Rico truly knew the kind of man Joseph was, he would know that Joseph has never been one to share.
All of Joseph's promises were empty and now that Joseph had died, Rico wasn't going to see a dime of that money.
Of course, when Jesse caught wind of his daughter's situation, he told Cyrus and Ryan to write a check for $200,000 for Claudia to do whatever she wanted with it. Jesse didn't trust Rico with handling the money so it had been arranged that Claudia would meet Cyrus and take the money directly from him.
He didn't want to punish the poor girl all because her father was a snitch. A selfish and ungrateful snitch.
Jesse's suspicions about there being a rat came in handy because he hadn't told Rico about the hidden sniper that took Joseph out.
Karma remembered who Rico was. In fact, the morning after she and Jesse met, Rico had walked in on her changing before Jesse pulled him out of the room.
When it came to Jesse's arrest, after looking at the gun Jesse's fingerprints were on, They knew that Jesse hadn't killed Joseph seeing as the entire clip of the gun had been full. However, he confessed to attempted murder whilst Joseph was wearing his wire.
Another issue that came up was the bank that the gang had robbed months prior. Although they covered their tracks well, it was a heist that the whole gang knew about, including Rico, and he sang like a canary when telling the police everything. He even went on to show proof of diagrams that had been drawn that detailed their plan.
As for Gio, Karma made sure he was still going to the daycare and he was. His home life improved now that Joseph was gone and it showed with how much happier he seems in daycare. Karma had spoken to the lady who owns the daycare who had fired her due to Jesse's impulsive trip he took Gio on. The lady understood that Gio felt the most comfortable around Karma so she let her have her job back on one condition. Jesse never goes back there again especially now that he had been arrested.
Gio's mother and Karma had finally met when she picked him up from the daycare one day and Karma practically threatened that she wouldn't hesitate in calling child protective services if Giovanni showed any signs of trauma again in her care. That same day Karma had asked her if she would like to get coffee. His mother, Gianna, had confided in Karma, almost sobbing while admitting that she knew about what was going on with Joseph and Gio but after the first time it happened, Joseph assured her he'd never do it again. This was a lie, he would always hit Gio in an effort to get Gianna to back down in an argument. He felt that Gianna should kiss the ground he walked on since she had cheated on him and he stayed with her and provided for a child that wasn't his.
After Jesse's arrest, Karma had initially refused to go see him in jail.
All of the things he kept from her didn't even need to be kept secret in her eyes.
She was disappointed in him beyond belief.
She decided that after a month, she would go visit him but only because she was tired of Ryan complaining about how Jesse was going to kill him since she hadn't come with Ryan or Cyrus to see him once.
With it being winter now, She was irritated that she had to come here in the cold.
He couldn't have gotten arrested in the summer? she thought
She wore a black puffy winter coat, with matching black sweatpants and black uggs. She was in a very irritated mood and she wanted her fashion choices to show that.
Ryan had come with her for moral support but he told her that she can go inside by herself while he waits in the car.
When she walked inside the facility, she provided her ID and the name of the prisoner she was going to meet. The fact that she truly had to identify her boyfriend as a prisoner had her choking back a sob that she wanted to release, Her emotions hitting her all once as she's surrounded by grey walls and sad facial expressions worn by some visitors and even other prisoners.
When she gets to the room, she sits down at the small desk. A bulletproof glass wall acting as a barrier between her and the man she hadn't seen in a few weeks.
She was absolutely stunned when a few minutes later, Jesse had been escorted inside by a guard as he wore an orange jumpsuit. His hair had grown within the past month, his hair always grew pretty fast which is why he'd get hair cuts very often but he stopped cutting his hair to the point that he could tie it into a small bun at the back of his head.
A light mustache could be seen and a scowl graced his lips as he kept his head down. He looked back up, his eyes widening when he sees Karma sitting on the other side of the glass, his lips parting in shock as the officer relieved him of his handcuffs.
He strolled over to his seat on the other side, sitting in it eagerly. He couldn't believe she was here. He thought it was another visit from Ryan. He grabs the phone hanging on the wall and puts it to his ear, waving at her slowly through the glass.
Karma stares at him solemnly, sniffling due to the cold weather and the tears she was fighting to keep at bay. Her own phone hanging on the wall as she continues to take him in.
'Pick up the phone, baby' She sees him mouth at her through the glass and she sighs before opening her purse to grab disinfectant wipes, something she always carried during the winter because of how easily she would get sick.
She takes a wipe and grabs the phone with it, grabbing another one to wipe the speaker part of the phone.
Jesse watches her do this in amusement, a light smile on his lips not at all surprised about her germaphobic behavior.
She puts the phone to her ear and stares at him, rolling her lips into her mouth.
He licks his lips quickly, "Hi."
She clears her throat, "Hi."
Sighing scratching the back of his neck, "Thank you for meeting me. I didn't know you were coming."
She nods at him looking down at her lap not really saying anything, not knowing what to say.
"You look beautiful. You always do," she mumbles a small 'thank you' in response
He nods even though she's not looking at him, "I love you?" he moves closer to the glass to look at her and he watches her grip the phone tighter as she releases a breath, waiting for her to say it back. To say anything really.
"Do you?" she says looking back up at him sharply and he jerks his head back in surprise
"Yes. Of course, I do. You know I do." he says back
"No, I don't. I don't know. I don't know a lot of things." she sighs, "Like I don't know why you lied to me over and over again."
"I did what I had to do to keep you safe."
Gritting her teeth, she says slowly, "When we were at that math event. And I praised you for telling me the truth, or so I thought, I asked you if you would ever keep me in the dark and what did you tell me?"
Jesse sighs shaking his head looking down he says, "I said I wouldn't keep you in the dark."
"And what did you do, Jesse?"
"I kept you in the dark." he looks at her pleadingly, "I thought that If I held back some small details that you wouldn't feel the need to worry about the future of our relationship. You'd feel safe. You did feel safe!"
"I felt safe up until the moment I found out my so-called 'protector' had been arrested and is being kept in jail for the next five years for robbing a bank, you didn't even tell me that that was you, and for attempted murder!" she whispers into the phone for him to hear, her anger evident in the way she keeps clenching her teeth together
"Oh! And small details? Like Gio being your brother? Your dad sleeping with your Godmother? You didn't even come to me. You didn't even confide in me. Your best friends knew and meanwhile, you didn't even tell me that Joseph was your Godfather. You also left the small detail out that Jonah was conspiring against me with Joseph to kill me. And when it was confirmed that Gio was being abused you kept it completely to yourself." Karma laughs sarcastically, "I'm starting to wonder if you ever told me the truth about anything at all because everything seems to be lies and secrets."
"After what happened with Justine you started worrying more about us! I didn't want there to be any more doubt for you!"
"So you go and get arrested? Yeah, my faith in you has definitely been restored." she rolls her eyes and Jesse's chest feels a twinge of pain at that remark.
"It's only five years, Kar," he says and her eyes widen to look at him in shock, "We can get through this."
She looks down at her hands and says, "Only? Five years is a much longer time than you think. A lot can change in five years, Jesse that's half a decade."
"Yeah, some things will change that doesn't mean that we have to." Karma rolls her eyes at that, "We can still make this work and when I get out we'll be stronger than ever."
Karma rubs her temples with her other hand that's not holding the phone, "All this 'we' you keep talking about, Jesse. There is no 'we'!" She says and she realizes how harsh that might've sounded when his shoulders drop and his lips part
"What do you mean?" he says
Quietly she says, "Jesse, my parents saw your mugshot on TV. Things will never be the same again."
"You'll be a full-fledged adult in five years, your parents can't tell you shit." Karma laughs at that
"I'm sorry, Jesse have you met my parents? You smiled in your mugshot too, idiot. That made them hate you more."
Jesse purses his lips, "I was trying to make you laugh, but I guess I can see how problematic it was now in hindsight."
Karma sighs and shakes her head, "Jesse. I wish things were different but my parents will never approve of you ever again. I think it's just best if we take a break." she looks at him solemnly
Jesse nods and says, "Yeah. If that's what you need then fine. We can do a long-distance kind of thing, you come here maybe once a week and--" he pauses when he sees Karma shaking her head.
"Once every two weeks? Three weeks? A month?" Jesse asks and Karma stays silent, "Baby, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lied I know, I fucked up and I accept that. But you can't deny what we have. You can't seriously be giving us up?"
Karma shakes her head firmly, "I didn't give anything up. You did." she says, "Thank you for treating me as best you could. You always made me feel like a princess and our first time will be imprinted in my mind forever. I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful relationship I just wish there weren't so many lies hidden underneath." tears begin to stream down her face as she speaks to him.
"Karma. I'm not just rolling over and dying like that. I'm not forgetting you this easily and you can't forget me. You know you can't." Jesse says looking at her sadly, gripping the phone tighter before a male guard calls his last name
"Duran! You have 60 seconds left with your visitor."
Jesse sighs and looks at Karma who's tears are falling at a faster rate than before, looking at Jesse sadly, "Baby, even if you don't come back here to visit me that's fine. But know this, this is not the last time you'll see me. As soon as I get out, you're my first priority. Just like you always have been and always will be. You said it yourself, I'm practically engraved in your mind. Stop underestimating the fucking chokehold you have on mine. I'm not settling for anyone else."
Karma looks at him tearfully in silence, her eyes red with fresh tears brimming at the surface not knowing what to say so he continues, "I love you. Merry Christmas, Doll." he says before he's forced to drop the phone. As he stands from his seat, staring at Karma wishing he could wipe the tears off her face, while a guard comes to place him back in handcuffs, leading him back to his cell.
Karma licks her lips and drops the phone onto its hook, releasing the breath that she had been holding whilst Jesse was talking. Finally allowing herself to cry properly after spending most of her time holding her cries silently, covering her eyes with her hands trying to control her breathing.
He always knew how to make an entrance...and an exit.
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[A/N] This might be the saddest chapter I've written don't forget to read the author's note after this <3