SANTIAGO'S POV

"There's a spring in your step today boss? Any particular reason?" Julius asks as we hang out in my cell.

The kid is becoming attached, practically moved cells but I don't have it in me to send him away. I know for a fact that he gets picked on when we are not together. He's not strong enough to fight back so I always have him by my side when we are not working.

"My brother is coming to visit." I reply bouncing a rubber ball off the wall and catching it.

"The famous Diego, I think the one person you talk more about is your ex-cellie Deshawn." Julius replies.

"I don't talk about them. I barely talk at all." I retort.

I learnt to keep my mouth shut the first week I landed in prison. Just as I am taking Julius in, Moreno did the same for me and trained me on how to survive in prison. He made sure I knew to blend in on the inside and he is the only reason I have survived the last three years without any scars.

"Exactly, which means that when you do talk it means a lot more." Julius comments.

He gets up from the chair he was perched on and starts roaming around my cell. I don't like it when som ieone snoops around my stuff but again there's not much to see.

"Boss you've been holding out on me. I thought you said you didn't have a lady on the outside." Julius comments.

"I don't." I grumble.

"Then who is this?" He asks turning around to show me photo of Hannah I had pinned to the wall.

The image of Julius holding one of my most prized possessions has me losing focus. I fail to catch the ball, so it falls out of my hand and rolls to the floor. I jump off my bed and snatch it right out of his hands.

"That is not for you to toy with." I growl.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know it was that important to you." Julius apologizes.

"Well it is. You've been here long enough. Get out." I demand.

"Sorry boss. I didn't mean to cross any boundaries." Julius mumbles.

"Just get out kid. I'll see you later." I reply dismissively.

Julius bows his head in shame and leaves my cell without another word. The kid was just being his usual curious self but Hannah's picture and her letters are the things I treasure most. Seeing his dirty hands all over her beautiful face rubbed me off all wrong.

Instead of pinning the picture back on the wall, I put it in between my diary together with the two letters.

It takes a minute for me to calm down as I focus on waiting for Diego to arrive. I'm looking forward to our visit because I want to hear all about him meeting Hannah. I'm not even sure if she went but I know that she is a woman of her word so if she said she'd be there then there is no reason to doubt her. If I'm being honest with myself, I am a little jealous of Diego. He got to meet Hannah before I did and spend time with her. All I can hope for is that their meeting went well for people who are complete strangers. It broke my heart that I could not be there for Diego but I took solace in the fact that Hannah, my sweet Hannah was there for him.

I still remember the sound of her voice when we talked on the phone a week ago. It's been etched on my mind ever since and I can't seem to get over it. She was like a siren who lured me in with her addictive song and now I am hooked. If I thought her letters and picture had me reeled in then her voice was my undoing. I was in deeper than ever and I hadn't even meet the woman.

"Delgado you have a visitor." Callahan yells banging on my cell doors.

I immediately get to my feet knowing that Diego has arrived. I am not a violent inmate but protocol dictates that Callahan has to cuff me. I let him do his job as my feet and legs are bound together before being linked by a chain.

"You've been a good boy so today you get the segregated visitation room." Callahan says as he leads the way.

This makes me smile because it means that Diego and I will have more time together and privacy. I'll also get to lose the cuffs so we can have physical contact. This privilege is only reserved for married inmates and their spouses but I've earned merit points so I'm being awarded. It does pay to keep my head down.

Diego is patiently waiting for me in the fifty foot square room tapping his foot restlessly with a backpack on his lap. His eyes light up as soon as he sees me and he gets up.

Callahan takes off the cuffs and ushers me forward. Diego lunges at me and I catch him in time to return his giant hug.

"Hello baby brother." I mumble my voice clogged with emotion.

"Hi Santi." He cries his face buried into my neck.

We hug for a whole minute since its been four months since we last saw each other. Diego needed time to concentrate on his last semester in highschool so I'd banned him from coming to see me. I didn't want him distracted and it has worked seeing as he graduated top of his class getting into multiple colleges.

I set him down on his feet and hold him at arms length to get a good look at him. "Have you grown taller?"

"Two inches." He nods smiling at me.

"It suits you. Soon enough you'll be as tall as me." I reply.

"I hope so."

"Let's sit. I want to hear all about you. How was graduation?" I ask ushering him to the steel bench attached to the round steel table in the middle of the room.

"It was awesome. Hannah was amazing." He gushes.

"So she did come?" I ask relieved to hear that my girl didn't fail me.

"Yeah and she brought her friends with her. They made a fuss when my name got called and I was so confused at first since I didn't know who they were but it felt really good. She introduced them to me after and took me out lunch at this fancy steak house. We ate and talked for three hours, grabbed some ice cream before she took me home." Diego explains getting more and more excited.

"She was that great huh?"

"You have no idea. She's beautiful, funny and so kind. Did you know that she's a trauma nurse? She's so smart." Diego rambles on.

"She is also seven years older than you but that didn't stop you from crushing did it?" I tease bumping his shoulder.

Diego blushes and I know I made a good decision asking Hannah to go. All I'd asked for her was attendance but she had gone the extra mile inviting her friends and taking him out for a nice meal. If the smile on Diego's face is indication enough then Hannah is as amazing as I thought she would be.

"I'm happy to hear that you and Hannah had fun."

"We did, thanks again for the car. It was a day late but still the best surprise ever." Diego says giving me another one of his loving hugs.

"You are welcome. You'll have to get a job to maintain it was because it's not covered in the trust I set up for you. But I think it'll be good for you to learn some responsibility." I reply.

I had quite a bit of money saved up from all my years working with the cartel so I knew that Diego would be okay financially if anything ever happened to me. I couldn't let him have free reign over my bank accounts so I set him up with a trust fund that's restricted on how much he can withdraw.

"I don't mind working." Diego says with a smile.

"Good, so tell me more. What's in this bag of yours?" I ask him.

Diego grins as he reaches for the backpack opening it to retrieve his graduation cap and gown.

"Put them on." I request urging him on.

Diego stands to put on the gown which I have to admit suits him very well.

"You look very handsome." I compliment.

"Thanks. Hannah took pictures. She printed out a couple and asked me to bring them to you." Diego says retrieving an envelope from his bag and giving it to me.

I check inside to find there are a couple of photos and a folded writing paper, similar to the ones tucked into my diary in my cell. Letter number three. It feels wrong reading it infront of Diego so I fold the envelope to await till I'm alone in my cell.

"We were supposed to take photos but I know they don't allow you to bring your phone in here so how are we gonna do that?" I ask Diego.

"I already thought of that, that's why I brought a camera." Diego replies getting it from his bag.

"Smart boy."I compliment patting his back.

We request Callahan who has been quietly watching us from the corner of the room to take a couple photos of us which he agrees to begrudgingly since I'm very convincing when I want to be.

"So are you going to tell me about what's bothering you?" I ask Diego after we are done taking photos.

"How are you always so perceptive?" Diego asks folding his gown.

"It's a hidden gift, so what's up?" I insist.

"I've been thinking about which college I wanna go to. At first I wanted to go to a state college right here because I wanted to be closer to you but Hannah and I talked ..."

"You and Hannah talked huh?" I tease.

"Shut up. Yeah we did and she gave me some perspective. Said that the only way to honor your sacrifice is by following my dreams and make you proud so I'm going to Brown on a full ride. They gave me an academic scholarship." Diego explains.

My heart swells with pride as I look at my baby brother talk about the bright future ahead of him.

"Hannah is a smart woman so you did right listening to her though I do remember telling you the same thing over and over again." I scold playfully.

"Yeah but you are my big brother. You are supposed to say things like that. I think it felt more real coming from a different person that's all."

"Seems like I did the right thing sending Hannah to you then." I say with a smile.

"Yeah you did. It was great. I hope you don't mind that I told her what really happened. She asked why I was holding back from going to Brown and once the dam broke I couldn't stop." Diego apologizes.

I put my hand on his shoulder and urge him up to look at me.

"Diego our story is as much mine to tell as it is yours so if you deemed Hannah worthy enough to listen then that's okay. I probably would have told her myself at some point." I assure him.

"What's your relationship with her anyway?" Diego asks.

"That small bro is none of your business, just be happy she was there for you." I retort.

"You like her." He grins shoving me playfully.

"She's very likable." I admit.

"That she is but she is also out of your league."

"I definitely know that but it's not like I am planning on pursuing anything with her. We are friends and that's about it. I am a criminal and she is an angel on earth." I confess sadly.

"Santi, I didn't mean it like that." Deigo mumbles looking at me with pity in his eyes.

"I know hermano but it's the truth." I reply.

It's no secret that Hannah is out of my league. She deserves someone who is fully devoted to her which I can't be behind bars, a man without a criminal background like myself, someone who can't treat her like the queen that she is. With two years remaining to my sentence there's no way I can be all that for her.

"Summer plans?" I ask Diego for the sake of changing the topic of conversation.

"Sofia is going to Yale so we plan on spending as much time together before we part ways. I also want to get a job, I don't want to live in a dorm so I wanna save up for an apartment." He explains.

"That's some smart thinking right there. Just be safe while having fun with your girl and make sure you get a legit job." I advise him.

"I will Santi, don't worry. I learnt my lesson." Diego assures me.

"I know." I say smiling at him.

Diego and I spend another half hour together before our time is up and he has to leave.

"You be good out there." I whisper as I hug him goodbye.

"Always, take care Santi. I'll be back soon."

"Yes you will but focus on you and your girlfriend this summer." I demand.

"Yes sir." Diego grins at me teasingly.

I flick his forehead for his smartass mouth before stepping back to let Callahan do his job and cuff me. Diego manages to sneak in one last hug as I'm led away back to my cell with the envelope in my pocket.

Walking away from Diego after spending time together is always the hardest part. Looking forward to his next visit is the only thing that keeps me going. I know we will see each other again soon but it doesn't make saying goodbye any easier.

"You know the drill, hands on the bars. I've got to search you." Callahan says when he walks me back to my cell.

I do as he says so that he can search me. When he finds the envelope, he looks through it and when he sees nothing but photos and an envelope, he gives it back to me.

"See you at dinner." Callahan says before he walks away leaving me to enter my cell.

The first thing I do is pee and wash my hands before settling on my bed to read Hannah's letter. I've been anticipating this moment from the second Diego showed me the letter and now I finally have the time and privacy to read it.

The letter has Hannah's sweet scent as always, her handwriting capturing my attention from the word go. I try to imagine what she was doing as she wrote the letter to me. Probably squatting on the floor, in a fluffy robe or a matching set of pajamas, a steaming mug of coffee next to her or a glass of wine. She'd bite the tip of the pen in between paragraphs as she thought of what to write next. The image is so surreal in my mind that I have to shake my head and blink repeatedly to clear my thoughts.

Dear Cesar,

Hello, how are you? Is it too forward if I admit that I have missed you. If it is then forget I even said that. I haven't thought about you in months. But I sincerely hope that its a mutual feeling because I have missed you.

Anyway onto the purpose of my letter. I'd have called but then again its not like you have a personal phone in there so sending a letter it is.

Diego is a gem. We had so much fun on his graduation and my friends adored him. I hope you don't mind that I asked them to tag along. Actually I only asked one of them and the rest invited themselves but Diego seemed happy once we introduced ourselves.

I really like Diego and spending time with him was an absolute delight. I printed out a couple of photos from his special day so you can see how happy be was. I know you are very proud of him because I am even though I've only known him for a couple of days.

The car was a nice touch, Diego loved it. I took a video, didn't know how to send that but Diego has it in his phone so if there's a way he can show it to you, you'll see how over the moon he was. The photos will give you a clue though if you don't get to see the video.

One of the photos has nothing to do with Diego, I just felt compelled to send you a photo of me. Toss it in the trash if I'm being too forward but deep down I hope you keep it and keep thinking about me because for some reason I can't stop thinking about you.

There I am being too forward again but I can't help myself. I know our correspondence ended and this was supposed to be me repaying a favor but I can't help but hope that you will write back. I want to keep talking to you and get to know you better. It's probably all wishful thinking but part of me doesn't want to let go of you just yet.

So here is to hoping that you feel the same and will be reaching out again soon.

Take care of yourself Cesar. Till next time.

Yours truly,

Hannah Claire Johnson.

After reading the letter I retrieve the photos and instead of focusing on my brother my gaze is stuck on the two photographs with Hannah in them. In one of them she has her arm wrapped around Diego's shoulder wearing his graduation cap, with him in the gown as they both smile at the camera. It looks like it was taken in the restaurant they had lunch in from the background of other patrons enjoying their food.

In the other one she is eating ice cream with a bit smeared on her nose making her look adorably beautiful. How can one person be so gorgeous? And she wants me to throw it away. I'll be a fool to. It is officially my new favourite photo of her.

In the letter she expresses that she missed me and wants us to maintain our friendship. That means more to me than she will ever know. Of course I missed her as well. She is all I have been thinking about aside from Diego that is.

She keeps doubting herself for being too forward but that is one of the things I like about her. She's bold and shy at the same time which is a heady combination.

I definitely want to keep talking to her. I was afraid that I would be bugging her but now that I know she feels the same way, I'll definitely take her up on it.

Hannah Claire Johnson, you have no idea what you have just signed up for.

I consider sending her a letter in reply but that will take too long so I decide to wait until tomorrow so I can call her instead. I want to talk to her again. I am in need of my next fix of her addictive siren song voice.