Page 86 of Birdy

Not when we’ve gotten this far.

Not when I didn’t think we could’ve gotten this far.

“How is it nuts? You’re getting out in five months, baby.Five.Release day will be here before you know it,” I toss back, bringing her hands up to my lips.

She’s silent for a beat, regarding me with a keen eye. More still when I set a kiss to her knuckles.

“For the record,” she starts, cheeks heating all over again. “I likebebébetter.”

“So, does that mean I finally get to have you?”Please, God, do not play with my emotions right now.

Feels like I’m on cloud-fucking-nine, and she hasn’t even given me a firm answer yet.

“We’ll see what happens over the next few months. A lot can change.”

“Nothing,” I pull her closer, close enough that I can almost taste the sweetness of her lips, “And I meannothingis going to change. If I have to come back here every weekend to prove it to you, I will. I wanted you then, and I still want you now—for me, and only me.”

Pulling her hands free from my grip, she takes my face in her hands and sets a chaste kiss to my lips. “I’m pretty sure you’ve had me all along.”

?It’s All Right - Sam Cooke

Five months later: Release day

If you had askedme a year ago whether or not I’d be walking out of here early, I would’ve told you no. I was more than positive I’d be serving my full, seven-year sentence when it felt like everything I did to work toward early release was never enough. But then it finally happened—I got my wish, what I’d worked so hard for, and it was during the same time Andrés came into my life. I’d never been one who believed in the saying, “Everything happens for a reason,” but I do now—because it’s true.

Everything happens for a fucking reason.

Ángel, my arrest, being in prison, Andrés—all of it was with reason, and while a lot of it was beyond unpleasant, they were life lessons that helped me grow into the woman who’s getting to walk free today.

Today.

CO Walker already informed me he’d be taking me down to discharge in half an hour.

This is it. Thirty more minutes, and I’ll be walking out of those doors with Andrés, never once looking back again, only forward. To answer the obvious for you—yes, Andrés and I made it through the last five months. Between calls and bi-monthly visits, it was easy to fall into a new “routine” of sorts and build up an actuallegaland legitimate relationship now that he’s no longer a CO. He made sure I had enough money in my account, too, so I could check in with Noely and Ma. I wish I had better news on that front, but as you probably know, cancer is an aggressive beast, and without the medication she needed, it’s pretty much eaten her alive. Her time is coming, and quite soon, unfortunately.

All the more reason to be thankful I’m getting out of here.

Even if it’s one last time, at least I’ll get to see her before she takes her final breath and finds peace on the other side.

Ambling into my cellfor the last time,I take in the small space that’s been my home for the last almost five years. I’m by no means going to miss it, but this little box does hold some good memories, one of them being Lena. Running my hand along her old bunk, I sigh wistfully, refusing to let the emotional deluge bubbling just beneath the surface take over. It’s hard, though, ‘cause I’ll never get to see her again. They moved her to a different block after a two-week stay in Seg following our fight, and I haven’t seen much of her since, except for a few times in Chow Hall in which she wouldn’t even look at me. I’ve had several kites sent out to her with some of the C Block girls, too, but haven’t gotten a single reply, either. I guess being in the hole for two weeks finally made her hate me. Devastating, I know, but that’s the name of the game around here sometimes. Life goes on, and sometimes, although it may not be what we want, people move on too.

Selena aside, she’s not the only one who got moved. Koko was actually transferred to another prison altogether. Turns out, shedidrun her mouth, just not where I was concerned. Franca’s threat made it to Warden Kent’s ears, and when Kori expressed she truly feared for her life, he shipped her off to New York. Word through the blocks is Franca now has a lovely seat on death row, though I’m sure her crazy ass couldn’t care less. Lifers typically don’t. They’re going to die in here anyway, right?

“Knock, knock,” Mari’s soft voice has me spinning around in two seconds flat to find her at the threshold with Gia and Quinn right behind her. “You ready to get out of here,mami?”

I nod, but for some reason, seeing my girls stalking in herefor the last timehas me feeling a certain type of way. I’m not the only one, apparently. Mari’s lip quivers as she approaches, swallowing me in a bear hug.

“No empieces,”she chides.Don’t start.“Otherwise, I will, and no one wants to see that shit.”

Squeezing the life out of her, I bury my face in her shoulder and focus on breathing, but those damned tears spill free anyway, soaking into her uniform. “I’m gonna miss you, so fucking much.”

The woman like a mother to me, how could I not?

“Same.” She squeezes me harder. “But I don’t wanna see your ass back in here, okay? Never again.”

“Never again,” I agree, clamping my eyes shut.

When we pull apart, it’s not just me who’s caught in the emotional web. Mari has matching streams sliding down her full cheeks. So does Gia, and Quinn—poor girl is trying her damndest not to.

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