DIRTY

30 SAM

Two Weeks Later

BANG. BANG. BANG.

The sound of the guard's baton banging on the iron bars rang in my ears. I continued my push-ups as he stood looking at me.

"Trial day Jessup, get ready and I'll come back and collect you" the guard said.

"Why do I need to get ready?" I asked as I continued my push-ups. "I'm not changing clothes and I can't take a shower beforehand".

"Don't get cute okay I'm just doing my job, and my job was to tell you to get ready and after you're ready bring you to the courtroom you jackass" the guard growled.

"Fucking kids" he mumbled before walking off.

I got up from the floor, walked over and sat down on the bottom bunk. When I first got here I had a cellmate, but we got into it over who would get the bottom bunk. We got into a scuffle, which resulted in him losing a lateral incisor, retinal scarring and trauma and a concussion. They removed him from the cell first morning, and my knuckles were split open and sore for three days. I guess you could say I didn't play well with others. I looked out the barred open window at the clear, warm, sky.

I knew my chances of winning my case was slim today, but I was really hoping that something would give. Other than the one or two collect calls, that her dad is going to kill me about, I didn't talk to Bayleigh much and when I did it was only for an hour. One good thing about today, I knew I would see her at me trial. I grabbed my bright orange prison shirt and pulled it over my head and over my white tank top. I grabbed a cigarette from under my pillow and tucked it behind my ear. I had few stashed there that I'd won in a card game in the yard. I also grabbed a toothpick and put it in my mouth.

I put on my black and white slip-ons and exhaled as I ran my fingers through my hair. Just then the guard returned with another guard, each of them holding handcuffs and foot shackles.

"Assume the position Jessup" one of the guards commanded.

I could hear the attitude in his voice as he looked at me. I held out my hands, wrists touching, and then spread my legs. One guard immediately began doing the shackles around my ankles, while the other guard put the cuffs on my wrists, and connected a chain to both. He narrowed his eyes at me over the bandage on the bridge of his nose.

"What the hell are you looking at?" I griped.

"I hope they give you life you little shit" he growled.

"Are you still mad about me punching you the other day. Awww. I hope you don't expect me to apologize" I grinned, as i chewed my toothpick.

"You're nothing you know that?" the guard growled as he finished the last handcuff.

"Really, because that's not what your wife said last night" I replied with a sly grin.

The guard growled loudly and launched his fist into my abdomen. I let out a groan of pain as I bent over lightly. The other guard gathered me up and they escorted me from my cell. After a few moments of riding in an excruciatingly hot van to the courthouse I was more than ready to get out. As we made our way inside, all I could think about was how I let my mom down. Graduation day was that Friday and here I was in jail. I knew I had to come to the gut-wrenching realization that I'd lost my chance of getting custody of Cera as well.

I'm usually not this sloppy when I do something, I don't know when or why I'd become like this. We made our way through the back of the courtroom and I could already hear chatter on the other side of the door. There wasn't a jury so I was wondering who all had showed up for my hearing. As the guards and I stepped out of the doors I spotted, Lynx, Dom, August, Cera, Gladys her foster mom, our social worker, Bayleigh and her dad.