Short Stories to Ponder on a Rainy Day

How many times did I look at the sluggish hands through the fractured yellow clock face merely to see barely three minutes go by since the last time I glowered at the infuriating thing? Since breakfast began not too long ago, I’ve searched it out a multitude of times looking for a different conclusion and not receiving one. I know I can hear the tick tick sound each hand clanks out at a stuttering pace every time it moves, even though yesterday all that resonated with me were the chomping and nasty slurping from the people I’ve been incarcerated with for the past year. I long to hurl one of these rotten apples the state expects us to eat at the ticking time bomb that won’t quiet down even for a minute. I close my eyes to see if I am able to stop my mind from everything building inside and wanting to explode. A cold chill sweeps down my body and my mind and body twist back together in knots of anxiety and expectation. I snap my eyes open instantly in case the shadow is a threat. I turn to see who I am facing down and let out a breathy sigh after seeing the culprit. Kane is standing extremely close to me and his heat burns into my skin while giving me a sour demeanor as he towers over me. The first time I noticed the guard was about two months into my incarceration. I got hit with involuntary manslaughter while working the dullest, most demeaning job I can imagine. Though my awareness of positions is quite slim as working the eleven in the evening to nine in the morning shift at Pro-Property Maintenance picking up other people’s trash wasn’t the most prestigious of jobs. I let myself into one of the tiled staff rooms and dusted the counter and cleaned the already spotless microwave and fridge. Next, I grabbed my broom to sweep any dust so I could mop. I had a cheap headset on listening to whatever atrocious music I could find so my ears wouldn’t bleed from the harrowing silence from the building. I was doing my mundane task, from the only place that would hire a street kid, when I felt a heavy hand grasp me at the nape of my neck. My instincts, from living on the city streets, kicked in and since I was pretty lanky, I spun myself around, tangling hair from my head in the process, seeIng who grabbed me. The face didn’t register in my memory so I took it as a threat. I had the broom in my hand so I batted the guy over the head with it. Once he was down I pushed it onto his chest as hard as I could. I saw the puddle forming around the handle I still held. I didn't know the force I exerted into his body. I was scared and knew no one should be in the building during that time so I used the line in the staffroom to call the cops because my prints would be everywhere and I thought, foolishly, the courts might take into consideration that I was alone and the building ought to be empty. My life changed dramatically after that night. The court decided on twenty months for involuntary manslaughter. The max here for the crime is 24 months. They were lenient, they said. Yeah, sure. The most disturbing thing about the whole situation was that the man who would have attacked me was wanted for breaking into a couple of other buildings in the area and violently beatIng anyone that got in his way. Now when I get out of prison I have no place to live and no place to work. My girlfriend won’t be around when I get out because from what I heard she overdosed about a month after I got locked up. Now Kane is hovering and brooding while glaring daggers at me. So two months in, Kane shows up during the night shift since he was new, to make sure all of the inmates are where they should be at this time. Kane did his rounds or whatever, then when he was done he took note I was wide awake still. I still couldn't sleep that well because of the situation and being caged made me paranoid. He came over to my cell and we talked. Kane wasn’t much older than I was. We didn’t have a lot in common as he grew up with his folks and I got bounced from foster to foster home and finally at 15, enough was enough and left. I took off far enough away where the system probably thrilled, not to have to deal with a hellion like me. Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months just talking and laughing with Kane and not being so alone. The way he talked seemed to lead me to the conclusion that he was lonely as well. One night Kane asked me if I wanted to get out of my cell for a bit. I told him in no uncertain terms I couldn’t get into any trouble because I wanted to get out on parole as soon as I could. He said that is understandable and we continued talking during the evenings. A few weeks later Kane brought me a contract of sorts saying he would never mention me leaving the cell and if we got caught he would be the one to take the blame. I couldn’t figure out what his angle could be. After reading the paper a couple of times I stared at him for a moment and inquired why me? He curled his mouth and quietly stated he would love the company while having a drink. This drink better be water or something, I pondered, as I am still underage and not sure about all this. I told him to give me a few days to think about it. He did, no questions asked. Later that week Kane came around and I agreed, with a quiet fear. He quickly and quietly opens the rickety cell door and whispers into my ear to follow him. I do. I end up in a part of the prison I have never seen. Confused, I quietly ask where we are. I find out that the section has been closed for years because at some point it was going to be renovated. But after an initial inspection, the cost would be astronomical and it would cost less to add. Kane found it a little bit after he started working at the prison and decided to have his breaks there until he started to talk to me. Now I am here. For a few weeks, we talk, he has coffee and I drink water and he brings these unbelievable pastries from an independent Italian Bakery. He insists I have something every night. One evening we finished early so I got up from kneeling on the floor to get back to my cell and stumbled back a step or two, though I did not fall I landed on Kane’s chest. He wrapped his tanned arms around my waist, not to harm, but to get close and as he did he placed his nose to my throat and breathed in my scent. Before I could move away I felt the tip of his tongue gently lick the crease. I shivered from the cooling sensation from the wet nip mingling with the stuffy air in the closed-off room. He took that as permission and kissed my neck softly. My body felt like it was betraying my mind. I was limp but my head kept saying move. This is a dude. He felt warm and safe. After a few minutes he asked, a little out of breath, "Are you okay?" I shook my head no but moved closer into him. I heard him chuckle. In my ear he said, "Let me get you back before anyone notices we are both gone." I nodded and followed him back to the cage. Every night he took me on his break. Coffee for him and water for me. The pastries changed countries more and he held me and gently kissed me. He undid me. I was not the same person I was when I entered the system. Most guys get tougher. I fell into a bliss I never had before. Yet, anxiety filled me as the days turned into months which turned back to days before I was going to be released. My last night caged. I waited for Kane. He never came. A new guy showed up to make sure all the ducks were in a row. As dawn neared, I felt hopeless. Why would he do this to me? He promised me so many things. Things I thought I would do with my girl. Breakfast came. I couldn't eat. My stomach churned like I wanted to be sick. Two hours after breakfast, all the items I had on me when I first got taken to prison were returned. Everything was accounted for. Big deal. An empty wallet, a cheap ring, and a pair of fingerless gloves. I put the gloves on, but the left one had something shoved in it. I waited until I was outside the prison walls to see what I forgot I put in it. I pulled out a piece of paper, filled with something. Inside was fifty dollars, ai didn't have on arrival and a shiny silver key. On the paper a short letter was written. "Here is some money, get a decent meal. Afterwards go to 571 Broad Drive, apt 2 and let yourself in. I got a new job so I could work days. I will see you around 4:30. ❤️ Kane"