Sincerely, Yours

Chapter 4

• Cheyenne •

Here I am sitting in my parked car inside of my driveway, thinking about the disaster of a shift I had agreed to pick up on my day off. Great Cheyenne. My eyes went back and fourth between the trees and the road. I've been living in this neighborhood for quite some time now. It's an pretty decent upscale community. The neighbors are fairly pleasant; though majority of them are Caucasian and overly fucking nosey. None the less, I never regretted my decision to move out on my own at twenty-two. For some reason, on this gloomy Sunday night, I could not bring myself to remove my body from the car.

My mind was still at work thinking about the incident that took place. I even wondered about inmate zero-four-two-seven— Kenji Grant. I found myself repeating his name because I liked how unique it sounded. I hoped he was doing okay in his cell and wasn't experiencing any sort of pain. Warden Monteź was to blame if that were the case.

He acted as a complete dick, practically ordering me not to do my job— the thing I was hired to do. It was obvious Kenji held some type of record because half of the correctional officers, including the Warden had a very detectable dislike for him. A sigh escaped my mouth when I finally decided to head inside the house.

As I turned the knob on the door, I become cold because though it is my home and looks like one, it didn't feel as such most of the time. The house was in complete darkness and I was wishing I had stopped by my parents instead of coming home to a lonely nest. Twenty-five, not married or dating and definitely no children— depressing, I often thought.

Maybe it was the pressure of my mother antagonizing me to go out and find love so I would be able to give her grand-babies before the lord calls her home; or maybe it was my own fear of not knowing if I'd ever be capable of finding real, true love again one day. There was a shift in my mood when I saw Jade calling me on FaceTime.

"Heyyy." I dragged the word out cheerfully. "What's gotten you in a peachy mood?" There was some movement on her end which caused poor connection. "Wouldn't say I'm in a peachy mood." I chuckled, "Just glad you called when you did." I opened up the refrigerator, grabbing a bottle of water then claiming a seat at the island.

"Well, I was pissed at you for bailing on our plans tonight, but I can come over since you seem to have had a shitty day too." Her laughter could be heard throughout my kitchen. I liked the idea and was now looking forward to a girls night in with my best friend. Jade and I practically grew up together in Baltimore.

For as long as I can remember, the Lock-heart family lived across the street from my family and I. However, it wasn't until I turned six when Jade and I officially met. I still remember our encounter on the swings to this day. I always catch myself laughing when I think back to it— two little girls about to throw down over a swing that wasn't even big enough for either one of us. We've been glued to the hip ever since.

After freshening up and changing into workout shorts and a casual t-shirt, I prepared some light snacks for us to have with a bottle of expensive wine. As I waited on Jade's arrival, I scrolled through my Instagram app; something I rarely did because I easily get annoyed with the social media aspect of life.

Thirty-minutes later my doorbell was going off. Swinging the door open, Jade graced my presence looking causally cute; which was rare. Her natural hair sat in the center of back looking as if she had gotten it freshly blown out. "Brought your favorite wine." She held a bottle of Remy Martin VSOP in her hand. "How thoughtful." I batted my eyelashes playfully, allowing her to welcome herself inside.