Another longer chapter just cause I love y'all. Let me know what you guys think, and Happy Friday lovelies!
xoxo

Dante

When Sammy pulled into a large partially vacant lot, at first I wasn't sure where we were. It was the ginormous words on the side of the building that said Rikers Correction Center, which really connected the dots... created more dots, I really wasn't sure.

"Is this a... prison?" I asked Sammy, as he threw the car into park.

"Yeah, sorry I promise it's just one of a few stops. You can stay in the car if you'd like, I'll leave the keys." Sammy replied.

I must admit, I contemplated it for a minute... but the rapidly developing curiosity to see who Sammy was meeting here far overpowered my uneasiness that came with prisons. "It's okay." I nodded, following in suit as Sammy got out and locked the vehicle behind us.

It wasn't even noon yet, and the sun was already out here with a vengeance. I barely made it to the entrance of the correction facility with those harsh rays beaming down on us from the sky. My face was already dripping with sweat.

Luckily, Sammy seemed to know his way around the facility quite well. I followed him as he lead us to a different wing of the building. We had to check in with security, but it was less extensive than I had imagined. The armed workers were actually surprisingly friendly when they set our possessions in a safe guard, until after the meeting.

The way Sammy addressed one of the guards made me assume they must have known each other more personally.... but then I got that feeling of familiarity from almost everyone he interacted with here. It made me wonders how often he came to visit this person.

"We're just heading through here. If you don't mind taking a seat over there against that wall, I'll try to make this quick." Sammy's voice cut through my thoughts.

I hadn't even noticed we had entered a different room. This one was quite large, and divided. There was a large thick glass that covered almost the span of the room. On one end was the visitor area that consisted of booths up against the glass. Inmates moved freely on the other side of the glass.

Sammy pointed to one of a few chairs that were lined up against the back wall. I took a seat, and watched as he made his way to a booth that hadn't been taken. There wasn't anyone seated across from him at first, but seconds later, a different inmate entered the room.

This man was completely impossible to miss.

Literally.

When he walked in, he had almost a head on every other inmate standing. He was big, but in a ultra ripped kinda way as broad shoulders were met with a toned toso and massive hands. It was hard to see his lower half from where I was sitting, but I imagined it accompanied his upper half.

There was a part of him that very slightly resembled Sammy, although It was difficult to be completely sure. Unlike Sammy's dirty blonde locks, this man's hair was jet black- the same color as his beard, that was grown out long enough to touch his chest.

I couldn't help but look back and forth between Sammy and this man.

Who the fuck was this?

Sammy

"You look like shit."

"I could say the same about you."

Jimmy's face remained hard for the longest.

Whenever his jaw clenched, you could physically see each individual muscle contract.

I've sat right in this very seat across from this very man for years now... and every time I saw him, a shiver ran down my spine. It was like seeing a ghost.

My father's ghost.

After seconds of practically staring each other down, Jimmy's face broke out into a grin. It happened so quick, even his facial muscles were delayed in their reaction.

"Who roughed you up?" That voice was cold, a complete contrast to the smile he had on his lips.

"Some kids in Hunts Point. Long story for another day." I replied quickly. I wasn't here to talk about that.

"All these days keep coming less and far between." Jimmy noted.

I knew he was pissed off at my lack of effort to come see him.

And maybe I was a shit person for ignoring the only family I, myself, still had.

But Uncle Jimmy was bad news. Uncle Jimmy had always been bad news.

"Fight Club is getting busier and busier. It's hard to keep up with everything." I lied. There was some truth to that lie, however. Fight Club had indeed gotten busier, and management did get more complicated. I just had a plethora of other reasons for not wanting to pay Jimmy a visit.

All he did was gruff at that response.

"I'm not sure why you waste your time and talent with that bullshit gym. Work for me, and you'd never be strapped for cash again. You know that Sammy. Family takes care of family."

I grimaced at the not so fond memories which resurfaced with those words. It took more than usual to shove those memories back into that box.

"I like the work I do." Was all I replied with.

So many emotions flashed across Jimmy's face, I really thought he was going to stand up and leave. Instead he took a more disastrous approach.

"You would really turn your back on your only family?" He asked me in that same heartless tone. "After all I did for you? I'm in here because of you."

That last part triggered something in me.

Anger I hadn't felt in a very long time.

That last part pushed me over the edge. "You are here because of your own actions." I spat at him through the phone that connected this conversation. "If you ever chose to burden me with your actions again, I will leave you here to rot."

His facial expressions never changed (they very seldom did) but the look in his eyes said it all. We both knew he hadn't meant those words, but they had been said... and for that, this meeting was now officially over.

I stood up abruptly, all but slamming the phone back on its stand, before I turned to leave. There wasn't a way to hear Jimmy from behind the glass, but I could hear his heavy fists pounding on it, before an officer went to detain him.

I didn't bother to look back once as my hand found Dante's and I pulled him out of that room.

-

I didn't stop moving until Dante and I were seated comfortably in my Chevrolet. As soon as my hands rested on the steering, I felt all that building anxiety start to melt.

Deep breath in... deep breath out...

Deep breath in... deep breath out...

"A-Are you okay?" Dante whispered. His voice sounded startled, yet hesitant. I chastised myself immediately for scaring him like that in the first place.

"I'm sorry- I shouldn't have pulled you out like that-" I began to apologize, but Dante cut me off.

"Are you okay?" He asked again, a little bolder.

Even with the shittiness of this entire situation dawning on me, I couldn't help but offer him a small smile. "I am now, thank you."

He gave me an understanding nod, yet remained quiet for a moment. That was the thing about Dante, it was painstakingly obvious when he was trying to chose his words correctly.

"I know it isn't really my place to ask-" he started. I cut him off before he went further into that nonsense.

"I brought you here. I promise, you have every right to ask."

Dante nodded slowly again. "Who, um- who was that in there?"

I let out a sigh I didn't even know I was holding in. "That man in there is Jimmy, my uncle." I explained.

Dante's eyes grew large, but he tried to mask most of his surprise with another nod. You could almost see the next question formulating in that handsome head of his. I knew exactly what it was, but even when he asked it, I still struggled to digest it.

"W-Why is he in there?"

What a loaded question, I thought to myself.

Deep breath in... deep breath out...

"Besides the drug possession, illegal firearm possession, and countless assault charges... my uncle was also convicted of emptying a clip into my father."

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