Jailbreak

Jail's a lot less glamorous than the movies make it out to be. Even with just me and Ty here, there's barely any room. The officers in the station just seem more tired than imposing, like they're just annoyed that they have to do the paperwork, not that we did anything wrong.

"I didn't do anything too bad, did I?" I ask Ty, still trying to piece together the events from the previous night. I remember hanging out with the others on deck... Sienna wanted to play a drinking game... I think I made out with someone... Wait, no, it was a mannequin. Where did we get the mannequin from?

"Puked, fell over, called a cop something in French, he seemed to take offence." He explains, looking tired and irritated at the current situation. "I called Poppy when they brought us here, she's gonna grab your parents to come and get you."

Fuck, Mama's gonna be pissed, especially after she helped us plan all this. "Sorry I dragged you into this, seemed like you and Pops were having a good night, I hope I didn't spoil anything." I apologise, fully aware I'll have a lot more forgiveness to beg for before the day is done.

Ty allows a brief smile through. "Nah, we erm... We said we'll hang out properly next week." He informs me, seeming genuinely happy with the idea of a real date. "It's not your fault, I just... I hate this place."

I suppose being known as one of the town hooligans will draw unwanted attention from the police. It seems safe to assume this is far from Ty's first visit to this place. It doesn't seem fair, him and Echo suffering for their mothers' sins.

"How about Echo and Andi? What happened with them?" I ask, giving up trying to **** my memory back into my head.

Ty looks to me in surprise, before coming to a realisation. "Ah, so that was your doing?" He confirms. "They're... Good, not like they used to be, but, they seemed like they were having fun yesterday."

Well, that's something at least, seems like I didn't wreck anything too badly. At that point, a middle-aged looking man approaches the door of the cell, followed by a face of pure rage.

"You're free to go." The man grumbles, nodding his head towards my Mama. I feel an oppressive weight on my body as I attempt to stand, but Ty helps me to my feet, and to the door, before the guard puts his hand up to signal him not to go any further.

I stumble to my Mama, looking back at the still caged Ty, then to her, pleadingly. I know I'm in the dog house, I might as well take one more bullet for a friend. She looks at me pityingly. "Who's coming for you?" She asks Ty.

"Oh, I... Echo'll get a family friend to come and get me, they won't release me just to her." He explains. Shit, how bad is her reputation? I look on with worry as Mama sighs.

"He's with me too, my daughter's boyfriend." She informs the guard. It's a bit presumptuous to call him her boyfriend, but I'm not about to correct the technicality right now. The guard looks doubtful, but nods to Ty to confirm he can leave with us. He immediately rushes to us and helps prop me up as we make our exit.

*

Our journey home is almost completely silent, Ty texts Echo that we're going to my house, and I find my phone full of missed calls and messages from last night. We eventually arrive home, and I'm just about recovered enough to walk in on my own two legs.

"Rufus?" I hear Poppy's voice call out from the living room, before she rushes around the corner. Her pink pyjamas and lack of make up make her look much different to last night, but she's a welcome sight nonetheless as she rushes in for a hug. I enjoy my sister's warm embrace for a minute, before she notices Ty behind me, and quickly jumps away, trying to hide her face. All this going on, and she's still worried Ty won't think she's pretty. That level of normality is nice to see right now.

Sadly, Mama interrupts their little meet cute to bring reality crashing back down. "Poppy, go upstairs for a while, I need to talk with these two." She orders. Her voice is soft, caring, but underneath there's a sense that this is not a request. Poppy nods and leaves up the stairs, I assume to go and tell Rosie and Marie about our return.

We're marched into the living room and sat on the sofa, and for a minute, Mama just looks at us, the fury in her eyes waiting for an opportunity to strike like a coiled viper. "Ty, right?" She finally asks. "Do you know who I am?"

Ty's a big guy, muscular, tough, but even he appears to be wilting in the face of this unyielding wrath. He simply nods, but Mama waits for him to say it out loud. "You're... You're Poppy and Rufus' mother." He stammers. "And Rosie's." He adds, seemingly afraid to misspeak.

"That's true. My name is Elise Monroe. Tell me, why was no one there to pick you up?" She demands.

"Well, my dad... He isn't in the picture, and my Mum's in hospital, it's just me and my sister." He explains, seeming almost embarrassed by his family history.

Mama nods in response. "No parents, no one to teach you right from wrong..." She thinks aloud. Ty seems disheartened, this definitely wasn't the way he envisioned meeting Poppy's parents. "And yet, you still looked after my fool of a son, even if it got you arrested. Thank you." She offers.

Ty looks up in surprise, clearly not expecting gratitude to be the words offered to him. "You don't need to thank me. When we first met, Rufus got me out of trouble with my sister, I owed him, it doesn't make me a good person or anything."

"No, no it doesn't." Mama concedes. "But then, you get to decide that for yourself. Rufus' room is the last one upstairs, go and get some rest." She commands. Ty seems confused, but doesn't have the strength to argue, leaving the room as ordered.

I turn to Mama, awaiting my sentencing. There's no way my punishment will be as lenient. "I'm sorry, Mama." I offer, pre-empting her verbal barrage. "I don't know what happened, I just... I don't-"

"Did you find out?" She asks bluntly. "Who is giving you all this motivation?" Right, our last conversation. I shake my head, even now, I don't know what my feelings are telling me... Or who they're leading me to. "So, you drank instead, and drank, and drank, hoping for what? For the answer to appear at the bottom of a bottle?"

I look down, unable to meet her gaze. "I don't know." I answer honestly. "I just... I couldn't keep letting myself run around in circles."

"No, instead you decided to get arrested. Why confront your problems when you can hide in ****?" Mama growls at me. "Do you realise how lucky you are that this isn't going on any permanent records? All because you couldn't handle dealing with your own emotions?"

Well, when she puts it like that, it's like I was asking to be arrested. I just wanted to blow off some steam, to not have to deal with the pressure for a little while. Was that so wrong? I guess spending the night in a jail cell answers that question.

"I'm sorry." Is all I can reply with. Even I know how weak it is at this stage.

"You know, I'm not disappointed because you got arrested, or because I trusted you to drink responsibly and you didn't. I'm disappointed that after all this time, you still can't be honest with yourself about what you're feeling." Mama roars, each word dripping with a venomous anger, meant both to hurt from pointing out my weakness, and heal by telling me exactly what my problem is.

I finally look back up at her, there's no mercy in her eyes, she knows I need to learn from my mistakes, and she can't make it easy. "I don't know how... It's like being yelled at in another language, how can I know if I'm understanding the meaning of it?" I admit, **** for any sort of guidance.

Mama looks me up and down. "The same way all of us do. You start actually listening." She states blankly. "There's blankets on the back of the sofa, get some sleep, I'll yell at you more when you're fully awake."

With that, she leaves the room, closing the door behind her. As bad as it is to be yelled at, it hurts more to know that she's right. It's like a tornado in my stomach, and not just from the booze.

I lay down on the sofa and pull the blanket over myself. I need to do it right next time. For Mama. For my friends. For me.

For her. Whoever she is.