I frantically searched my drawer, throwing everything out and putting it back in, but I simply couldn’t find it. I glanced at the clock, no, now I was late. Great I thought to myself. And then I saw them, laying on the mattress laughing at me. I angrily grabbed my keys from the bed and stormed out leaving the mess inside my room behind. I got in my car and started driving. Normally my mom and I would go together to visit my dad, but she was in the hospital after being diagnosed with leukemia, and I couldn’t leave my dad, since he was expecting me. But I had no idea how to tell him mom was sick.
After a couple minutes of driving, I saw the sign which meant I was close ‘Darkside Max Security Prison’. When I was younger I always counted the seconds it took for my mom to drive us from the sign to the big metal gates. I guess it soothed me, since I never was a fan of prisons, but after all, who is. But by now from the constant visits, it wasn’t necessary, it felt like Darkside had become my second home. I tapped my fingers on the wheel, I was kind of nervous, it was the first time my mom wasn’t by my side while we were going to see my dad. Finally I reached the metal gate, and a guard came and asked for my ID. I handed it to him and he proceeded to go inside his barack to check it. Waiting for him to return, my eyes wandered ahead, there were so many cameras, It felt like so many eyes were on me, although I knew it was only probably one guard in front of the monitors.
“Here you go,” the guard said as he handed my ID back to me, “Gonna see your dad, yeah?”
“Yes.” I replied with a smile.
“First time I see you without your mom though.” Although he said it as a statement, it felt more like a question.
“Umm, yeah, oh well.” I dryly cut him off, trying to avoid a conversation..
He went back inside his barrack and pressed a button opening the gates as I passed parking the car in front of the facility.
“Right this way Miss” A heavy man huffed out.
I followed him through the familiar hallways and into the glass room. My dad was already sitting there. The man opened the door and nudged me in. My dad looked up confused, yet I forced out a smile, I walked to the table, and saw he had his handcuffs on.
“Bad behaviour again, dad?” I said as I looked at the handcuffs.
“Sweeti-” he began.
“No dad,” I interrupted him. And he sat there, quietly, “You need to stop, or they won’t take you into consideration for patrol.
“Where’s your mom” he spoke ignoring my statement.
“She,” I said softly, “umm the cancer came back dad.”
I looked carefully to see his reaction while I was taking a seat. But his face was expressionless, what I had just told him was sinking in, and there was nothing but an eerie silence. Then the silence deepened, like a fall of snow, accumulating second by second, flake by flake, each flake by itself inconsiderable until everything was transformed.
“What?” he managed to cry out. I could see his eyes begin to water. “How…” he said rephrasing.
“I don’t know, we went in to get a CAT scan, and the doctors asked if they could do a full check on mom.” My voice cracked as I said that.
Then out of the blue, my dad slammed his hand on the cold metal table, making a loud sound that would have normally been impossible because of the cuffs. The officer by the door looked at him as if telling him that was a strike, and he calmed himself down. The calm atmosphere didn’t last though, my father began hyperventilating. I tried calling for a guard but he just stood there staring at me.
“DAD!” I screamed but it was as if he couldn’t hear me. He put his hands over his heart and soon his face was drained of all color. He froze for a moment before his body bounced off the metal table to the floor with a loud thud. And I saw the guard fumbling on his phone and calling for help. He raced next to me and got on the floor trying to hold my dad down from his seizuring body.
My whole body shook as I tried getting up, I stumbled on the chair my dad had been sitting in. I couldn’t see my dad, not like this, I went to the door and kept buzzing the bell for someone to let me out. It had all happened so quickly I thought to myself, then door opened and a pair of medics rushed in going straight to assist the guard with my dad. And I collapsed on the floor sobbing.