Rob

I looked up at the building. I swear it looked smaller online. They said that it's one of the best in the state. A reassuring hand touched my shoulder. "You don't have to do this if you're not ready," the gentle voice of my best friend states. My reply is so quiet that I'm not even sure I spoke. "Yes, I do."

I thought walking through the door was hard enough, but it was even harder on the other side. Everyone here looked troubled. They looked like they would be in some kind of gang or something which would make sense. After all, it is a juvenile delinquent center. I told my best friend that I had to do this alone. He was relunctant, but he let me go.

Walking down the hallways, peering into the rooms, I had to admit that I felt he didn't belong here. Everyone always tells me that he does. That he did the crime, and now he'll do the time. I still think what he did was justified. I would have done it for him in a heartbeat. After all, you don't let your friends get hurt, right?

As I came upon the room, I started getting butterflies in my belly. I'm not exactly sure why. They could be because I've missed him so much, or maybe it was just nerves. Maybe it was both. I saw him through the window before he saw me. Same old Rob. He was sitting on his bed, staring at a picture. It was a picture I had given him of him and his brother...taken before things had gotten so out of control. It wasn't just a picture. I knew this picture said way more than 1,000 words. It was the last picture ever taken of his brother. The last evidence we ever had that he was once happy.

I walked into the room silently. I knew he knew I was there, but he didn't look up, and I just crossed the room and sat next to him on his bed. I put my head down on his shoulder and just stared at the picture too. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I didn't cry. I don't cry. I haven't since his brother die. "I took care of it today. It's all over." I told him. I felt him smile.

I had given the restraining order to my ex today. My ex is the reason Rob's here. I guess you could call Rob my ex too, but he's more than that. He's a friend. He had almost killed my ex a month ago in a major fight. I had gotten hurt in in too, but it wasn't Rob's fault. My ex wasn't the nicest of guys. He beat me up, Rob tried to kill him. I was in a coma for about a week. I knew things were over with my ex when I woke up because part of me wished that he was dead.

Before long, I realized that it was time to go. Nothing else had been said between us since my last statement. I gave him one last smile, and he finally spoke. "When will you be back?" As I opened door, I told him, "Tomorrow."

Hardley any words had been spoken between us, but I knew that everything was good now. Apologies were shared mutually without saying anything. He could always tell things about me without me saying much. I knew he knew. The fight had been about Rob and I, about what we had done. My ex had started the fight because he knew exactly what happened. So, as I walked through the door, I heard Rob say, "We're going to be great parents."

I just smiled and nodded, and walked through that door. Everything was right on track again.