Welcome To My Life

Prison was even worse than I expected it to be. Thankfully, the other inmates left me alone, but being locked up in here almost made me miss Jack's parents house. I had been appointed an attorney who I had met with yesterday and who was now trying to build a case. She had explained to me that I would most likely be charged with battery and that I could get up to a year of a jail time, depending on the seriousness of the crime. A whole fucking year! She told me not to worry because she didn't think they'd actually put me behind bars for a year because there were quite some mitigating circumstances such as him bullying me, and Jack's injuries weren't permanent. I still wasn't completely reassured it was going to be okay though.

I tried to stay away from the other inmates, as I didn't feel like getting in trouble with anyone. I would just have to stay out of trouble and serve my time. So far my attorney had been my only visitor. I had to admit I was kind of disappointed Alex and Jenna hadn't come by but I wasn't sure if they even knew which prison they took me to either, so there was probably an explanation for them not showing up. I was surprised that my parents hadn't shown up either. Surely Jack's parents must've told them I was in jail? Not that I wanted to see them, though.

When I walked back inside after getting some fresh air for a moment, I walked past the telephones and suddenly I had an idea. I had memorized Alex's phone number because I had nothing else to do when I was in the hospital. I hadn't expected it to actually be useful. After the phone had me say my own name, it dialed Alex's number.

Alex's POV
Jenna and I were sitting in the cafeteria, not really talking much. I generally haven't talked much since Liz was arrested two days ago and I didn't think Jenna really felt like it either. It was nice to have each other's company though, because Jenna was the only person who understood how I felt. I hadn't talked to Jack, Zack or Rian and whenever I passed them in the hall, I'd ignore them. Rian and Zack had tried to talk some sense into me, to get me to come back to the band, but I hadn't let them get to me.

Just as I was about to take a bite from my sandwich, my phone started ringing. It was an unknown caller, but I decided to pick up nonetheless, to hear a pre-recorded voice.
"This call is from the Baltimore City Correctional Center. You have a call from inmate Liz Barakat. If you would like to accept this call, press 1"

"It's Liz!" I quickly told Jenna, and I motioned for her to follow me outside because it was way too noisy in the cafeteria to answer a phone call. We quickly gathered our things and rushed outside, while I pressed 1 to accept the call.

"Liz?" I asked quietly.
"Hey" I heard her familiar, soft voice reply. I put my phone on speaker so that Jenna could listen as well.
"Jenna is her as well" I informed her.
"We've been wanting to come visit but we didn't even know where they took you and the cops at the station weren't exactly useful either" Jenna explained.
"It's okay, I figured." Liz replied.
"But now we know you're at the Baltimore City Correctional Center. I'm guessing you don't have much time to call?" I asked.
"I don't even know" Liz replied. "Probably not".

"So, how are you?" I asked, even though I wasn't sure I wanted to hear her answer.
"Well, I guess it could be worse. The other prisoners leave me alone and I try to stay away from them, so no problems so far, but it's just... this place... Being locked up, having to stick to a schedule everyday, no free will... I've only been here for two days and I feel like I'm going crazy. But hey, I bet your lives are more interesting than mine in here, so what happened outside prison?" Liz changed the subject. I wanted to know more about how she was doing but I figured she didn't really want to talk about it and we had to respect that.

"Alex quit his band" Jenna said.
"What, why?" Liz exclaimed.
"Why do you think, because I don't want to be in one room with those douchebags" I groaned.
"Did I miss what Zack and Rian did to you?" Liz asked.
"They agreed with Jack" I answered.
I heard Liz sigh. "Look Alex, I appreciate you choosing my side, but you love being in that band..."
"Not anymore" I said.

"So, have you met with an attorney yet?"
"Oh, yeah. I did yesterday. According to her I will probably be charged with battery, which is a year jail time, tops" Liz answered.
"A year?" Jenna exclaimed unbelieving.
"Yeah, but she didn't think I'd be getting that long, since Jack isn't severely injured and he had been bullying me. She's working on a case. I gave her your names, in case she were to need any eye witnesses. I hope that's okay?" Liz explained.
"Yeah of course, if it helps your case, anything" I replied.
"Good" Liz said. "Okay, I don't know how much time I have left, so... I miss you guys and I don't want you to worry about me, okay?"
"How can we not?" I sighed. "We'll try to come over asap, I promise."
"Yes, please do, I can't..." Liz started, but then there was a click and then a beep. Her time was over.

Jenna and I stood outside in silence for a moment.
"Well, at least she doesn't sound completely depressed?" Jenna tried to lighten the mood.
"Yeah, or she is just keeping up appearances so we don't get worried.. Just imagine if she has to stay there for a whole year!" I said.
"I don't want to imagine that. But you heard what she said, she probably won't have to serve a whole year... We'll just have to wait and hope for the best." Jenna muttered.
I shrugged. "Yeah".

"So when are we gonna visit her?" Jenna asked.
"After school?" I suggested.
Jenna nodded in agreement. "Yeah, okay. I'm getting cold though, so I'm gonna go back inside..."
I nodded and we both went back inside, only to be stopped by Zack and Rian.

"When are you going to stop trying to make me come back to the band?" I groaned. "It's not happening."
"We can't perform at prom without you and you know that" Rian says.
"Yes, I do, but I don't see how that is my problem" I replied. "The sooner you realize I'm not coming back, ever, the better."
I pushed past them and walked away, with Jenna right behind me.

"Are you really gonna give up on the band over a girl?" Zack asked.
"A girl? A GIRL?! First of all, Liz is not just 'a girl'. Secondly, Jack put her in jail. IN JAIL! This is not about Liz, this is about Jack. I don't ever want to have anything to do with him again! The only way I might think of rejoining the band, is if Jack were to quit. Am I clear?"
Without waiting for them to reply I walked away, followed by Jenna.

Notes

I have obviously not been in prison, especially not in America, so I don't know exactly how the American system works. My knowledge of America prisons mainly comes from Pretty Little Liars and Prison Break, so yeah.

Title credit: All Time Low - Bail Me Out