Christian

I followed Brad as he made his way inside. With every step I took closer to that building, all I could think about was just how creatively our parents were going to kill us, when they found out about this. It wasn't the possibility of if... but most definitely, rather, the inevitability of when.

Our mother would be the first to have a go at us for this absolutely terrible idea... but once Slav finds out, then it will really be a wrap. Brad looked tense as he walked on ahead of me. I think he was also thinking about our unavoidable death.

The doors to the facility were unnaturally weighted when I pulled on them. I took this as another sign from God, telling me to take our idiotic asses the fuck home. Of course that didn't stop Brad, and in return, it didn't stop me either...

... But I got this feeling that it should've.

That I should've turned us back around.

Then there was also that feeling of understanding. Understanding that this was something Brad felt that he needed to do. He had asked me to be here for support, and I decided that was the least I could do.

We passed through a seriously packed parking lot. For some reason, I expected it to be close to empty this time of day. That assumption made little to no sense considering I had never been to a correctional facility before. I just did my best to follow Brad's lead.

Once we entered the large building, we were met with an immediate wave of security. There were guards checking in and out of two main doors stationed at the very front of the building. The two doors looked to be heavily guarded by even more security. Some guards stopped what they were doing, to glance our way, but it was only momentarily before they continued on with their work. I was sure not one soul had recognized me here, and my narcissistic self didn't know how to feel about that.

There was a woman sitting at a desk between the two guarded doors. When she caught sight of us, she gave us a polite smile. "Good morning. How may I be of assistance today?"

I glanced down at the name plate on her desk. It looked like her name was Stephanie. I opened my mouth to reply, but Brad cut in before I could get a word out.

"We're here to pay a visit to an inmate." He replied. "I had called in earlier this week to set up an appointment." My head whipped around in Brad's direction immediately. When the hell had he done all that?

"Oh I can absolutely assist with that. May I just see a valid ID from the both of you, to get you two checked in?" She asked. Brad and I nodded, digging out our wallets to hand her each our drivers licenses. She got to work, click clacking away as her long manicured nails tapped against the keys on the keyboard.

I glanced around at my surroundings. The building felt very soul sucking, but I guess that was fitting for a prison. Stephanie handed us our ID's back in what felt like record timing, before she handed us two visitors badges. "You'll need to be checked in by security, which will be through that door on your right. Once you go through this process, two guards will escort you to the visiting area. It looks as if you are here to see inmate 61846-026- Vadik Ivanov. Is that correct?" Stephanie asked us.

Brad and I both nodded.

"Perfect! Those doors should be open now for you. Have a great day!" She called out. We each gave her a polite smile, before entering the door she had jerked her head in the direction of.

Behind this door, was yet another large room. There were two guards there, stationed with bins on a conveyer belt, as well as a full body security scanner.

"Good morning. Please remove all belongings in your pockets and place them in a plastic bin here. We also ask that you remove your shoes and place them in a separate bin. Next, we'll have you step right up into this chamber." The first guard directed. Brad and I did as we were told.

The scan took literal seconds before the second guard directed me gave me the OK, and let me through to the other side. "We'll hold on to your belongings until the visit is complete. You can place your shoes back on, however. Just walked through this door at the end here and two guards will escort you to the visiting area. They will also lead you back through this way, once the visit is complete. Take care." The second guard spoke.

"Thank you." Brad replied. I followed his lead as we made our way through the door located at the end of the security check in. Just like the guards had told us, there were two guards waiting by the door.

"Hello. Just follow us." One of the guards practically grunted. He was the larger of the two men, and seemed a little rougher around the edges. Nevertheless, we walked closely behind him as he took us down a series of winding hallways and doors.

I understood why we were being escorted there now. This building was practically impossible to maneuver on ones own.

It wasn't long before we reached another door. This one opened up to a room with tables and chairs. There were a few inmates seated with visitors, speaking quietly. The guard that had lead us here, directed Brad and I to a specific table located towards the back corner of the room.

"Please take a seat. Inmate 61846-026 will be in shortly." The larger guard spoke. He didn't even wait for our reply before he turned around and took off the way he came. I glanced over at Brad, as we both hesitantly took a seat.

"What are you..." I started to say, but sort of drifted off. "What are you planning on talking to him about?" I finalized.

Brad's eyes remained glued to the second door in front of us. It was the door I was assuming Vadik was going to be let through.

"I'm-I'm not sure. Tons of questions have ran through my mind about what I should ask him, but nothing seems right. I guess one could argue that nothing should seem right, in a situation such as this one." He replied.

I gave Brad a nod. "All I can say is, is don't hold back. I can promise you this will be the first, and most likely the last time you'll have this opportunity. Make sure you don't waste it."

He glanced over and gave me a small smile. "Thank you for signing your life away with me, my brutha."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Let's hope Slav makes it a quick death."

Slav was most likely going to hang us by our own throats.

I felt slightly hypocritical keeping this information from our parents, considering I was preaching about truth and transparency not even more than 24 hours earlier... but I knew our family. I knew there was no way in hell mother and Slav would have sanctioned this visit. My father had been clear on where he stood with Vadik, and all he would see this as, would be some very blatant disobedience.

Before Brad could go in for a rebuttal, the door in front of us opened.

Immediately, we were met with a pair of familiar eyes. The same eyes I saw at the Gala a few weeks ago. The same eyes as my mothers, and eyes strikingly similar to Brad's. It gave me this almost identical feeling of nauseation. The same feeling I felt the first time I saw him.

Vadik had somehow looked to have aged years since the Gala. His beard had started overgrowing, and the bags under his eyes indicated sleep hadn't found him for a minute.

I watched as his face went from one of confusion, to realization. It was disgusting how it lit up as soon as he saw Brad. I was doing my best to put myself in his shoes, but all I wanted to do was hurl.

I was starting to second-guess whether me coming was such a good thing. With every breath I could confirm Vadik was taking, I felt my blood boil. Putting this horrendous actions to a face, made wanting to pummel his face into this cement floor, all the more appealing.

"Brad?" Vadik spoke, as soon as those eyes registered who he was staring at.

The door he came through, shut hard as it slammed against the frame. This caused me to jump slightly. Vadik walked hesitantly over to us, and took a seat at the chair across the table. When he spoke, I visibly cringed. It made the skin on my arms crawl.

There was a moment of silence before Brad managed to get words out.

"Hi... dad." Brad settles on finally.

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