Barbi sat on the other side of the thick glass window trying to brush the lint off of her orange jump suit. She had no idea why she was so nervous. It was just Layla. Kurt had been there the day before, and she hadn't been that nervous, but something about her little sister seeing her like this made her heart race a mile a minute. It was probably the shame that was driving her nuts.
How could she have let this happen? Well, she hadn't, as far as she knew.
She could see the guard leading Layla to the seat on the other side of the window. The look in Layla's eyes broke her heart. Her sister refused to even look up, keeping her field of vision completely floor level.
Barbi slowly picked up the phone, and Layla followed.
"You didn't have to come." Barbi tried to keep her voice light.
"Of course I did." Layla still didn't look up. "I couldn't just leave you in here alone."
"I'm not alone." She paused. She didn't want to sound like she was pushing Layla away. She wasn't. She was honestly glad to see her sister. "Thank you."
"For what?" Layla finally did look up.
Even though her sister was a grown woman, at that moment she looked like the awkward teen that Barbi knew so well. That bit of confusion and fear in her eyes, the way her bangs feel in front of her face, made her looke sixteen, not twenty four.
"For coming to see me." Barbi leaned forward, whispering. "Not many people want to even admit I exist right now, let alone give me a visit."
"Has anyone been here to see you?" Layla's voice had the slightest hint of anger as she spoke.
"Of course. Kurt was here, and a few of the models stopped in. Gio and Annabelle. That was awkward. Derrick came. A few reporters of course." She smiled. "I've been sticking to the good old 'no comment' for them."
Layla faked a laugh. At least she was trying to go along with Barbi's false cheer.
"Jade didn't come?" Layla spoke softly, her eyes drifting back towards her shoes.
"No." Barbi smirked. "Kurt did tell me that you did a number on her though."
"You should have heard the things she said about you!" Layla's voice jumped up an octave, and she stood. She was in full defensive teenager mode.
"Calm down, calm down." Barbi made a motion with her hand, telling Layla to sit. "I'm not really in the position to yell at you, okay. Just... try to control your temper."
"I know, for the company." Layla's eyes gazed to the side, never at Barbi.
"No, for your own protection." Barbi's voice became dead serious. "A lot of people are going to try to make you slip up, do something stupid. They don't just want to ruin me Layla, they want to hurt you to. I don't want that, but I really can't do much from in here."
"I... I have to go." Layla got up, dropping the phone onto the small shelf in front of the glass, and darted off to the side.
Barbi sat back, trying to choke back the tears. Her own sister could stand to look her in the eyes for more than five seconds.
Barbi looked over at the guard, signaling that she was ready to go back to her cell. At least in there she didn't have a constant visual reminder of how much she had hurt everyone. The worst part was, she was so sure she hadn't, but even that was starting to falter.
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