The room is chilly and smells like dust and moth balls. There's a drippy 20 year old pipe that leaks water into a dirty bucket in the corner of the room. Lots of people have come and gone from this room. All the them dealing with very different or very similar situations as Keenan.
"Hey I brought you a book." Rose's bubbly voice fills the room as she walks in. Her heels click against the dirty floor and she carries a Barnes and Noble bag in her hand. Rose has been coming to visit Keenan every day this week to make sure he's stable. Apparently the judges still believe that he may have some mental issues so they prescribed her to be his shrink until he's released.
Rose takes a seat in the chair across from Keenan and scoots closer to the metal table. As she rummages through the bag Keenan notices that she's wearing her hair down today which is different from her usual tight bun. It looks nice on her and doesn't make her look as old as she usually does. He doesn't tell her this though because then she might get the idea that he actually likes her. Keenan knows he's just being bitter because he's locked away but he doesn't care. He just wants this visit to end quickly so he can go back to his cell and sleep. Sleep is the only way he's able to forget about his problems for a while and block everything out.
"Here it is," Rose says pulling out a wide yellow book. She slides it over to Keenan and he glances down at the cover. The silhouette of a pregnant woman walking with a man is on the front under neath the words 'Taking YOUR first steps: What to expect when you're expecting.'
"It's a baby book, I figured you would want to prepare yourself for when you're released from prison." Rose tells him.
"And that would be when?" He asks, glancing up at her expectantly.
"I don't know, your lawyer should be here soon." She tells him while glancing at her little wrist watch.
Keenan looks back down at the book on the table. It's glossy cover looks so happy and inviting compared to the dreariness of the prison. "Thank you." Keenan forces out, not meeting Rose's eyes. He knows that she went out of her way to buy him something that would benefit him and she didn't need to do that. The fact that she did makes Keenan appreciate her generosity but his stubborn mindset won't let him express much more kindness.
She smiles at him, "You're welcome." After a moment of watching Keenan turn over the book and read the back cover, Rose speaks again. "Have you talked to any of your family since you've been in here?"
Keenan thinks back to yesterday. "I called my parents and let them know how I'm doing. We discussed the case and my mom cried while my dad tried to be strong for all of us I guess."
"What about your sister?" Rose questions.
He looks down at the cold table, "She won't talk to me. She's too disappointed." Rose opens her mouth but Keenan continues. "I don't care though, she's has no right to diss me. I'm the one sitting here in cuffs, not her. I don't tell her how to live her life so she doesn't need to stress about mine."
Rose looks at him sympathetically. "Well that is your older sister. She's just looking out for you."
"I don't need her to look out for me. I do what I want, it's my life I live it how I want to." Keenan replies with a sharp tone.
Rose shakes her head in a disapproving manner and sits back with her arms crossed. "Yeah? Well look at where you are now."
Keenan glares at her, hating how smug she sounded knowing that she has a point. Keenan wishes his ankles weren't cuffed to the table that's bolted to the ground, so he could just flip the table and walk out. This is one of the times where he really hates Roses visits. She starts off sweet and understanding before acting like a smart ass and making Keenan feel like someone just slapped him with words of wisdom. He grunts and slouches in his seat, signaling that he's done with the conversation.
About two hours later, Keenan waits in another small room for his lawyer to come in. He scratches his nails on the table for entertainment as he thinks about how he would do pretty much anything to be home right now enjoying some of his moms cooking.
The door creaks open and in walks his lawyer, along with a police officer and...Janine? Keenan watches as the officer drags Janine into the room and forces her to sit down in the hard metal chair. He cuffs her kicking foot to the table and glares at her as she elbows him roughly in the chest.
"Don't touch me!" She yells at him. He rolls his eyes before walking out the room. Janine sighs and brushes her hair out her face, then turns and locks eyes with Keenan. "Looks like Sevyn ratted us both out. What are the odds we'd end up at the same prison?" She chuckles.
Keenan can't believe how lightly she's taking this, speaking as though this is al fun and games. "Sevyn didn't rat you out dumb ass. I did."
"What!?" Janine snaps, narrowing her eyes at him. "I thought we were cool Keenan."
"Man I ain't takin the heat for you. I did my part but I'm not rotting in this jail for your part too. Hell nah,"
Janine glares at him, all the hate she felt for him when he broke up with her comes back. "Damn, you must really want to get back to kissing Sevyn's ass huh? You'd do anything to get back in Sevyn's presence." She says bitterly, "Good luck getting her to even glance in your direction..." Janine leans over towards his ear. "Rapist."
Keenan lunges for Janine and she screams as his hands come close to wrapping themselves around her neck. Luckily the cuffs on his ankles stop him. "You know damn well I didn't rape her. What the hell kind of drugs were those anyway?" He shouts at her, steam nearly pouring out his ears.
Janine grins deviously, "Thats for me to know and you to find out."
"Date rape drugs." Keenan's lawyer walks into the room and sits down across from Keenan along with another man. "Keenan this is Mr. Bennett, he's Janine's lawyer."
Keenan nods in the mans direction before looking back at Mr. Warner as he pulls out a Manila folder. "The tests came back with a match, Sevyn was drugged with Ketamine, other wise known as the date rape drug."
Keenan cuts his eyes at Janine and she scoffs, "You have no proof that I gave those pills to him. Where's the evidence?"
Mr. Warner nods his head, "The only evidence we have that determines that you gave Keenan the drugs is what Keenan has told us. But you were also involved in spiking Sevyn's drink."
"Proof?" Janine asks with a doubtful expression.
He reaches into a black back and pulls out a plastic Baggie, the kind someone would wrap a sandwich in. He places the Baggie on the table and Janine blanches. "Does this look familiar?"
Keenan stares at the diamond studded flask in the Baggie. "That's what she gave me to pour into Sevyn's drink."
"Thanks alot Keenan, you couldn't at least hide it?" Janine snaps at him, tears pooling in her eyes. "This is bullshit."
Her lawyer hands her a tissue as she cries, "We'll talk more in private Mrs. Westbrooke, but for now I need to know whether or not you plan on pleading guilty."
Janine doesn't say anything, she puts her head on the table and covers it with her arms as she sniffles. Keenan doesn't even feel bad for her, he figures she should suffer the way he is now.
"So what does that mean for me now that we have more evidence?" Keenan asks.
"Most likely less jail time." His lawyer responds.
"So when will I be getting out?" He asks urgently.
Mr.Warner thinks for a moment and looks up at the ceiling as his mind calculates all the new factors of the case. "I say an estimated 2 and a half months."
To Keenan, that sounds like a long time away. He glances over at Janine who gives one long sniff before lifting her head and wiping her eyes with the tissue. Keenan rolls his eyes at her dramatics and looks down at the table.
Part of him wants to ask about Sevyn. How is she being effected by Saturday night? How is she handling everything? Is she healthy? Is she eating? He remembers that her eating habits would change when she's sad or worried about something. He just wants confirmation that she's doing ok.
Another part of Keenan wants to know how Aubrey is doing. He's only been gone for three days but anything could have happened to her and the baby between that time span. He thinks back to the book that Rose gave him and wonders who's there to support Aubrey and give her pregnancy books too.
"She's doing fine," Janine tells him and he gives her a questioning look. Janine taps her nails on the desk. "Aubrey is doing ok. She's coping with her pregnancy like a big girl. She's ok."
Keenan's searches her face for any explanation. It's almost as if she was reading his mind. "How did you---"
"I can see the worry on your face." Janine's replies. "When I would cry in your arms...you used to look at me like that."
Keenan stares at her without being able to form a single sentence. Even though she's done some spiteful stuff, Janine is still the first girl he ever loved. Same big brown eyes that are faintly rimmed red from crying, same plump lips that whispered all her secrets to him and that same hard expression that she would wear around everyone except Keenan. She may have a foul mouth and stank attitude now but she gets him the way no one else ever has. Even Sevyn couldn't read him as well as Janine does. It's probably because they act just like emotionally. They don't like showing their true emotions much which makes it so easy to read into each other.
The creak of the door opening makes Keenan remember that there are two other people in the room. A prison guard stands in the doorway glaring at them, "Lets go, it's lunch time." He orders.
"ACHEM," Janine glances down at the cuffs on her ankle. The guard sighs and walks over, grabbing her tightly by her arm before crouching and unlocking her ankle cuffs.
"I'll keep you updated with the case." Mr Warner tells them. Keenan nods as the guard does the same to him and escorts them out the room and towards the cold eating area.
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