“I didn’t come here to fight with you,” she said, before looking down at her hands. She remains silent for a few moments then lifts her head and I see the tears making their way down her cheeks. It’s agony watching her cry. Pure fucking torture.
“Look, whatever you came here for doesn’t matter,” I respond, while gripping the edge of the table. “You need to leave.” I push back my chair and mentally prepare myself to walk away from her again.
“Anthony there is something I have to tell you,” She cried. Like full fledge crying. I didn’t get up like I planned, instead I remained perfectly still as I looked at her expectantly.
“Yeah … what’s that?” I said, irritated that I was still there watching her cry.
“I’m pregnant,” she whispered, closing her eyes unable to look at me.
It’s the strangest thing, because for a split second I’m elated and it’s as if I’ve waited my entire life to hear those words come from her mouth. Then I realize she’s not having my baby, and that realization hits me harder than anything ever has before, it breaks whatever’s left of my heart.
“I didn’t want you to hear it from someone else,” she whispered sadly, wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands. “It wasn’t planned,” She continued, trying to ease the blow of her carrying another man’s child.
I’ve really lost her.
“Please say something,” she begged as she stared at me.
“What the fuck do you want me to say? Congratulations? You really didn’t have to drive all the way here to tell me you’re knocked up.” I pushed my chair back for real and stood up. I stared down at her thinking it wasn’t all that long ago that I wondered what A would look like pregnant. Looking at her now had exceeded anything I could’ve ever dreamed. My eyes drift down to her flat stomach and tried to picture what she’d look like in a few months. I opened my mouth to tell her that she was going to be a great mother, but I quickly closed it giving her one final look, taking her in one last time before I walked away from her again. The difference this time; it would be the last time I walked away.
“Anthony…,” she pleaded as I walked passed her straight towards the metal doors. The C.O. buzzes me into the hallway and I hear the doors slide close behind us as we walk the long way back towards my cell.
Adrianna’s pregnant. How was I ever going to wrap my head around that?
I stepped into my cell just as the officer locks me up. I turned to him and grunt,
“You want to make money? Bet on me.” Almost feeling sorry for my opponent as I grab the tape and prepare to tape my knuckles. The need to punch something or someone consumes me. I want them to feel what I feel. I know that when I put my gloves on I will be fighting for all the things I let slip through my fingers. My opponent doesn’t stand a chance, he will suffer the wrath of me losing the love of my life for good.
Poor Bastard.
Chapter One: 8 Months & 6 Days Later
I stepped outside the barbed wire gate for the first time in three years, wearing the same clothes on my back as the day I arrived. I’d bulked up during my stay in this shit hole so they were a bit snug. I walked out of there with a check in my pocket worth a hundred and twenty six dollars – the balance left in my commissary account. Aside from the check, I also retrieved my personal belongings, all of which fit inside a manila envelope, which was tucked under my arm. I lifted my head as I stepped into the parking lot searching for my ride, wondering who Victor would send to pick up my sorry ass. As far as I was concerned, he should’ve been there to pick me up, since he was the reason I had wasted three years of my life – but of course he wasn’t.
Jimmy Gold was leaning against a Cadillac Escalade, a cigarette dangling from his mouth and a few more gold chains hanging around his neck since the last time I saw him. I guess the boys got fat while I was away – and by fat, I meant their wallets grew large.
“Free at last, thank God almighty he’s free at last,” Jimmy sang, pushing off the truck as he flicked his cigarette onto the asphalt. “Only you would come out of the pen looking like a fucking GQ model.”
I laughed for lack of a better response. I wasn’t in a jovial mood, in fact, I was feeling all sorts of bitterness, but I’d have my moment. I’d get my due word with the boss, so, I decided to play nice with Jimmy in the meantime. I didn’t want to piss off the crazy bastard, he’d likely leave me on the side of the road.
“Not much to do here other than work out,” I said, climbing into the truck. “Got some new ink too.”