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Chapter Seven
Emily
I can hardly believe the sex Lom and I had the other day. Even now, when I walk around, I can still feel him inside me. If that isn’t the hottest thing in the world, I don’t know what is. I just wish I wasn’t heading where I am right now. I’m currently walking into a Fulton County correctional facility where my aunt will be for the near future. I swallow hard as I walk into the fence-lined area and pull open the door to their front entrance.
The building is made up of brick, and it looks like it’s been here for many, many years. My heart pounds in my chest as I nervously head inside. I did all my research before even coming here. I found out what I could and couldn’t bring and what sort of identification I’d need to properly see my aunt. I read blog after blog, seeing how some visitors were subjected to strip searches while others were slammed against the wall and detained. I didn’t want to experience anything like the things I read about, so I made sure to do all my research before coming here today.
As I walk through the door, everything is as the blogs described it would be. A somewhat large waiting area, with metal scanners at every entrance and officers behind the bulletproof glass. There are small circular areas where the people on the other side can speak to the officers, but it’s so cold and dark in here. I step in line behind an elderly woman who turns to look at me after a couple of minutes.
“Is it your first time here, sweetheart?” Her hair is curly from what I’m sure is a perm, and she has glasses sitting on the middle of her nose. They even have those bedazzled strings that go behind her ears, so she doesn’t drop them.
“Yeah, is it that obvious?” I ask her nervously.
“A little bit. All you newcomers have a nervous look about you. I promise it isn’t as bad as those online forums say. The first time I came, I made the mistake of looking it up online. The forum I read told me people were thrown against walls when they didn’t listen to the guards or that you might have to be strip searched if you so much as brought scissors. I’ve never had anything like that happen to me, and I’ve been coming here to visit my son for the last ten years.”
I can’t begin to describe the waves of relief rushing through my body right now. I imagined the worst of things after I read those blogs. They pretty much scared me half to death. “I went online to research what to do and not do and ran into stories like that.”
“They’re riddled with them. I think sometimes the posters of those things just want to scare us.” The older woman laughs, then extends her hand. “I’m Marge, by the way. It’s very nice to meet you…” she pauses, and I take it she wants me to tell her my name.
“Emily.”
The woman smiles brighter. “It’s very nice to meet you, Emily.”
“Likewise, so does this process normally take a while, or not really?”
She shrugs her shoulders and smirks. “It usually depends on who’s working and what sort of mood they’re in. I will say it’s nothing like you’ve read online, so don’t be too nervous. Okay?”
“Thank you,” I tell Marge, and the two of us chat as the line gets shorter and shorter. Eventually, I make my way up to the officer behind the window and let him know why I’m visiting. He takes my identification—I have to sign in—and then asks me a couple more questions. Within thirty minutes, I’m told to leave my cell phone, purse, and any other personal items with him, and then I’m taken back to the visitation room. There are about fifteen circular tables, and only a few of them are filled. There’s an inmate in an orange jumpsuit sitting across from what I imagine are friends or family members.
The guard escorts me over to the table I’ll be sitting at with my aunt, then I take a seat, waiting for him to return with her. Or maybe someone else does. I’m not really sure. As I glance around the area, everyone seems to be happy to be here with their loved ones, but I can’t say the same. I’m dreading the moment I see her because I know this isn’t going to be a good visit. Her phone call prepared me enough for that. She has no good intentions, and I’m sure that I’m going to find out exactly what she wants here today.
A few more minutes pass by, and then I see her. Her hair is tied back in a bun and the guard walking next to her seems annoyed as hell. The guard brings her over to the table, and after she sits down, he hooks her cuffs to a metal piece on the table. He walks off without saying a word, and I glance over at the clock just so I can remember how much time I spend with her.
“You look great, Emily,” my aunt tells me, and my stomach feels like it’s being tied in knots. I know not to expect anything good from her right now, not with the way she spoke to me earlier this week.
“You don’t look too bad yourself,” I say, hoping the compliment will ease whatever’s about to happen between us.
“Why, thank you. I actually spoke to your mother yesterday. Being in here has made me realize how important family is, so I’ve been working on repairing the relationship I have with my sister. In the process, she told me how proud she is of you with your new job and all of that, but as she kept talking, I kept wondering if she should really be proud of you. Especially after the secret you kept from her.”
I suck in a sharp breath, knowing I can’t hide the fear written all over my face. I should’ve known she’d use this against me one day, but I didn’t anticipate it. I thought I could trust her, but now she’s here using my secret as ammunition for whatever she wants.
“What do you want?” I ask, trying not to let my voice inflect with any sort of emotion. I don’t want her to know how much she’s getting to me right now.
“I want to remind you that you owe me, Emily. Your careless actions resulted in you coming to me at a desperate time of need. You had pre-marital sex, which is a big no-no in my sister’s faith, is it not? She would’ve been disgusted if she knew that you had given up her grandchild for adoption. I doubt she’d be as proud as she says of you if she knew about your secret.”
“What is it you want? Obviously, it’s something. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have called me the other day, and you sure as hell wouldn’t be trying to intimidate me right now if there wasn’t something you wanted.” I cut straight to the chase, and my aunt’s smile grows from ear to ear. I can’t believe I trusted this woman to help me find a suitable home for my daughter. Sure, she was unplanned, but I wanted the best for her… and her going with a family who was prepared to take on a child was the best thing.
“It’s simple, really. If you don’t load five hundred dollars into my commissary account every week, I’m going to tell my sister everything, and I mean everything.” My aunt blinks at me as she allows the reality of what she’s saying to settle in.
“You have some nerve trying to blackmail me,” I hiss at my aunt and rise from my seat. I don’t want to be sitting here across from her any longer. I don’t even want to look at her face.
“Emily, you don’t have much time before I make my move, so I’d think about all this very quickly.” My aunt cackles as I walk away, and I head for the doorway.
The guard lets me out, and then another escorts me back down the way I came. Once I’m back in the place where I met Marge, I sign out, get my personal belongings, and then head to my car. I can’t believe this just happened, and I mean that. I seriously cannot believe she’s trying to do this to me. I slam my hand against the dash of my car in complete and utter frustration. I trusted her in a very dark time with something so precious, and here she is years later, trying to use her knowledge of it as some sort of currency. What a fucking bitch!
My hands begin shaking as reality settles in, and I don’t know what to do. I really don’t know how the hell I’m supposed to handle this. I pick up my phone and scroll through my contacts until I find Lom’s name, then I call him. I bring the phone to my ear, and it rings a few times. I’m worried he’s not going to answer when he finally picks up.
“Emily, I was just thinking about you.”
