Page 52 of Pen Pal

I turned my head and retched.

“Fucking disgusting,” he shouted, getting off me as my vomit trickled toward him on the floor. I immediately snapped my legs shut as I vomited all over the floor.

Mark stood, jerking his prick as he stood over me, and before I knew it, he was spraying me with his semen.

“We’re going to have so much fun,” he laughed as he grabbed me by the hair anddragged me up the stairs.

Outside, a dog barked, and a car honked. The world was still moving, unaware of the hell I was enduring.

The ceiling blurred, and the cracks blurred together.

I let myself sink into the abyss, letting it take me in its cold embrace. Because at least Mark couldn’t follow me there.

19

Enzo

Mail call came and went, and there was no letter from Amara. It had been a few days, but my court date was approaching. Maybe she was preparing, but usually, she set up a lawyer visit beforehand.

My little pen pal always wrote back, and she never missed a single day. I got her most recent letter, and I immediately replied.

Amara,

27 days until you’re divorced, but not until you’re a free woman. I’ll never let you go, my little pen pal.

-Enzo

I read her last letter, searching for any hidden signs of her pulling away or being upset with me. But our letters were short and sweet, and I foundnothing unusual.

She wouldn’t just stop writing to me out of nowhere; I was sure of it. The only reason she stopped years ago was because Mark kept my letters from her.

Hot rage trickled in my veins. Someone or something was keeping Amara from me.

The correctional officers left the wing, and I dialed my brother-in-law on my cell phone.

“Ricci?” he startled.

“Yeah, listen, how is my sister?” I wondered.

“Fine, why? What’s going on?” he pressed.

“I need you to get my guys on my lawyer, Amara Branson. She hasn’t answered my letters or made any appointments, which is unlike her. Can you check on her?”

“Not me personally, no, but I can send some guys out her way,” he conceded. “I’ll text you if I have something.”

I hung up the phone as I heard a guard drag another inmate inside, throwing him into solitary confinement. I quickly hid my phone, putting it on silent so the guards wouldn’t listen to it when my brother-in-law textedme.

The man shouted obscenities at the guard before he left, and when the door thudded closed, Vitali burst out laughing.

“What the fuck is so funny?” Luca snapped.

“It’s fucking Durante,” Vitali laughed.

“Fucking hell,” Luca groaned. “How you been, crazy?”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,idiota,” Durante snapped. “Bet you didn’t give each other shit when you first got locked up.”

“Just never thought I’d see a cop behind bars,” Vitali laughed. “They did you a favor by putting you in here.”

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