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Chapter One Hundred
Point of View: Nick



"Fucking A, am I glad to see you," I breathed to Brian the second I got into the visiting room.

"I would've been here sooner, but..." he thumbed toward the door, "There's like a snail's pace of people looking at background checks and being stooges out there." He paused. "Are you okay? I heard about ... everything."

I took a deep breath. Brian was worried, I could see it in his eyes. He was wringing his hands, looking at me with a wide-eyed, frightened expression. If I told Brian the truth, he'd freak out.

"I'm okay," I said, "It's not as bad as it seems like on TV and stuff," I was lying out the nostrils. It was a million times worse. "There's actually some kinda nice guys and stuff. I- I ate breakfast. Eggs."

Brian was staring at my eyes. I knew he didn't believe me because his lips turned into a frown, which shook at the corners like he was struggling with himself not to say anything. But he decided to go with it. "Sounds like a vacation," he joked,

"Yeah," I said, "Who needs Hawaii."

"Beats the hell out of me," he said.

I smiled, but it was forced. He returned the forced smile, too. We sat there awkwardly a moment. Finally, he said, "Desi's going to tell them the truth."

I looked up.

"When?" I breathed.

"Today," Brian replied.

My hands were sweating so I wiped them on the orange pants I was wearing. I felt them shaking. "Soon?" I begged.

Brian nodded.

"How long after he tells them before I can go?" I asked.

Brian shrugged, "I don't know."

I looked at my lap.

"Looking into cutting the vacation short?" Brian asked.

"I'm homesick," I whispered, shrugging.

"You sure you're okay?" Brian asked.

I nodded.

"Oh ... here." Brian reached in his pocket and pulled out cigarettes. He threw them on the table.

I looked up at him, "I thought you wanted me to quit smoking?"

"Yeah no," he said, shaking his head, "I looked it up on the Internet. You like barter for favors and shit with them," he explained.

I paused. "What?"

Brian shrugged, "I dunno. I've never been to jail. That's what they do on TV though, I figured you could use them."

I wonder where I can get a lighter, I thought. "...Thanks?" I took the cigarettes and stuck them in my pocket.

Brian smiled, but it faded relatively quickly.

"What?" I asked.

"Nick, about the other day..."

"Don't," I said, shaking my head, "You don't need to apologize."

Brian looked up at me, his eyes sincere. "Yes I do because I doubted you, and Nick, I should never doubt you. Not you. You're... You're my Nick!" he said in a voice that only Brian could use while being fully sincere. I laughed. "You deserve better friends than I was to you."

"You're the best friend, Brian," I answered, shaking my head, "No one could beat you." He smiled sadly, I could tell he still felt guilty. "Seriously," I said. I paused. "You gave me cigarettes for crying out loud and you don't even know why, but you did."

Brian laughed, "That doesn't mean I'm a good friend, it means I watch too much TV."

I shook my head, "Will you just take the god-damn compliment?" I laughed, "Christ Brian."

He smirked. "God I'll be glad when you get home," he said.

"Me, too," I answered.

"We're gonna work on it," Brian promised. "I'm doing everything in my power to get you out of here as quickly as I possibly can."

"I know you are."

I just hope you work quicker than Leon does.