The day I got the call from Billy about visiting Tim, I went straight over to the Riggins' house.

Billy was leaning over the kitchen sink openly weeping. He hadn't been able to stop for more than a few hours since Tim walked into the police department. Steven and Mindy were the only ones who could put a smile on his face.

I went over and rubbed his back. I was angry at Billy for the whole chop shop mess, but I hated seeing him so broken up over it. His guilt was enough punishment for what he did. I didn't have to make him feel worse.

It was me who drove us to the prison that afternoon since he couldn't put himself together to drive. My knuckles were white as I gripped the steering wheel and my heart felt like it was going to burst from my chest. I didn't understand why I was nervous because it was just Tim. Billy matched my nerves, so we sat in the truck for a few minutes. The delay allowed both of us to calm down.

"You did get pre-approved, right?" I finally asked Billy. "You can't see him if you didn't."

Billy cussed. "I forgot. Dammit!"

"You'll need to do that. They should have the paperwork inside. I had to come here to fill it out."

Billy rubbed his face. "Tell him I'm sorry, Cat."

"I love you, Billy, but that's something you need to tell him yourself." I opened the door. "Go take care of getting approved. I'll come find you after." I tossed the keys to Billy and walked in.

I asked a lot of questions about what was acceptable to do when interacting with Tim and how I could communicate with him outside of visits. The last thing I wanted to do was get Tim in trouble or have the guards not trust me when I came by. They seemed annoyed by my questions, but I knew they would appreciate it in the long run.

A guard led me outside into a fenced-in area where several picnic tables were arranged. There were a few people out there talking to a prisoner they knew. I observed their interactions, jumping when a guard shouted at a woman for holding hands with her prisoner. I noted not to do that no matter how tempting.

I sat down at an empty table and the guard stepped away. I stared at the designs in the wood, bouncing my leg anxiously.

"Ma'am."

I looked up at the same guard, Tim standing next to him. I stood and hid the shaking in my hands by clasping them behind me. I looked at the guard curiously. "C-Can I hug him?"

The short nod was all I needed to wrap my arms around Tim. I counted to three before stepping back and wiping my eyes. I could see Tim wanted to comfort me – I wanted him to – but we both knew it wouldn't end well.

The guard gave us 10 minutes and stepped off to the side as we sat across from each other.

"I miss you," I said. "Skeeter does, too."

Tim released an airy chuckle. "I miss you both."

"What's it been like here?"

"Like prison."

I nodded and placed my hands on the table. "I hate that you're here for doing somethin' good... for protectin' your brother and his family."

"How are Mindy and Stevie?"

"He is growin' up fast. Mindy's gettin' her baby fat burned off and is about to beat Billy for cryin' all the time.

He nodded. "What about Becks?"

"She asks about you every time she comes over to play with Skeeter. Her home life is still rough. I think Cheryl is about to leave on some cruise, so Becky will have to stay with her dad and his girlfriend. I think I'm gonna ask her to stay with me if she'd rather do that. Luke might like that better, too."

"Thank you, Catherine. She needs someone like you in her life." Tim smiled at me.

We spent the rest of our time talking about writing letters and what I can and can't send him. We also talked about the property. He still wanted to build there when he got out of prison and I agreed that it was a good idea.

I hugged him once more before the guard brought him inside. He came back to lead me back to where my personal items were left and I walked out of the prison. Billy was pacing around the truck.

"Did you fill out the paperwork?" I asked.

He nodded. "How is he?"

"He's in prison, Billy."

"I know that. How does he look?"

I opened the driver-side door. "He looks well considerin'."


Over the months, I visited Tim whenever I could. Three days a week at the prison was my schedule. It made me feel happy to see him and it seemed to cheer Tim up a little bit.

According to Billy, his visits with Tim weren't as pleasant. He said Tim was too serious, nothing like how I described my visits. That's when I realized Tim's frustration toward his brother. I should have known, but I was blinded by my own irritation. I quit bringing up Billy unless he asked. That didn't happen often.

As spring came around, things got harder for me. School was unforgiving in the number of projects I had to work on, my parents returned with smug faces because they heard the news about Tim, and I was just lonely. The worst of it was the snide remarks my mom made about Tim's character. I went to bed angry so many nights, making the next day worse than it should have been. I finally lost it when I sat down for dinner with my parents after a stressful day working on a written project.

"Have you finished your assignments yet?" my dad questioned from the head of the table.

I shook my head. "I'm still working on a proposal and I have a large drawing I need to finish for my sketch class. They just piled on a storyboard for my digital art class, which I need to find an idea for." The food tasted bland as I chewed. "I've been trying, but things are a little difficult for me right now."

"You make sure you focus on your work."

"I am." I pushed around a carrot on my plate. "Creatively, I'm struggling."

Mom sipped her water. "You're not going to do well if you keep visiting that Riggins boy."

"He has nothin' to do with this, Mom. Why do you have to bring him up all the time?"

"Our daughter is dating a criminal," she said matter of factly. "As a parent, I think I need to remind you of how it's affecting your reputation."

"No, you are bringin' it up because you don't like him. You hate him and want to rub this unfortunate situation in my face all the time. You don't care about my reputation. You care about yours."

"Don't speak to your mother that way."

"Then don't talk about Tim Riggins like he's a bad person. You don't even know him."

"I'd say we do," Dad said. "The Riggins know nothing other than trouble. It was only a matter of time before it caught up to them."

"Tim did nothin' wrong."

"Then why is he the one in prison?" My mom eyed me warily.

I couldn't say anything without giving away the truth. I set my fork down and took a deep breath. My eyes were prickling with unshed tears.

"Just as I thought."

Pushing out my chair, I stood and walked away from the table. My dad ordered me to sit back down and excuse myself, but I wasn't interested in listening to him anymore. I went straight into my room and locked the door.

I shoved my books on the ground, setting my computer off to the side, before curling up among the covers. My pillow covered my head to drown out my sniffles and inadvertently wiped my tears away.

The amount of time that passed was lost on me when I finally revealed my face to the room. I was sick of wasting any more time, so I started gathering up my things. My books and computer were shoved in a backpack. I grabbed a duffel bag – Tim's bag actually – and started shoving clothes into it. I grabbed anything else that meant something to me like my digital camera, my sketchbook, and the photo album I created with all of my favorite photos throughout my time in Dillon. I also grabbed the letters Tim sent to me from prison. The last thing I put in it was Tim's jacket he left with me. I was afraid to leave it behind with my parents around.

The wind blew in as I opened my bedroom window, rustling some stray paper on my desk. I carefully dropped the bag with all my clothes in the grass and made sure the bag on my back was secure.

I glanced around my room one more time before climbing into one of the trees by the house. I easily go out of it, grabbed the duffel bag, and snuck to Tim's truck that Billy so kindly let me keep.

My parents didn't realize I was outside until I was pulling out of the drive. I didn't look back.


Mindy answered the door. She looked happy to see me until she saw my bags.

"This will only be temporary and you'll hardly know I'm here," I said. "I'll stay in Tim's room, out of your hair. I'll be available when you need someone to watch Steven and I'll even help keep the house clean. I'm not here to get a free place to stay. I'm willin' to work for it if I have to. I just can't listen to my parents talk about Tim anymore." My voiced wavered. "They're so hateful."

Billy came up behind Mindy. "What's goin' on, Barton?"

"Nothin' good, Billy."

Mindy smiled sadly. "As long as you keep your end of the deal, you can stay here. But you don't have to hide away while you're here. You're family, Catherine."

I nodded and stepped into the house when she stepped aside.

"Why do you need a place to stay?" Billy asked after I dropped my things in Tim's room.

"I can't be around my parents right now."

"They're back?"

"I wish they weren't." I ran my hand through my hair. "I'm sorry, but I really want to get some sleep and get this day as far behind me as I can. I can tell ya in the mornin' before I go see Tim, okay?"

Billy and Mindy wished me a good night, letting me take refuge in Tim's room.

I buried myself under his covers, not bothering to change into sleep clothes. My eyes landed on the picture frame he had on his bedside table. I was so embarrassed when he showed it to me because I didn't expect Tim to be sentimental. It was a photo of us from the summer I stayed in Dillon. I set a timer and everything so we could take a cute photo of us by the pool. Right before the shutter went off, Tim started kissing the side of my face and made me laugh, catching my reaction forever in a photo.

A small smile appeared on my face as I reached out, one finger pressing to the glass just over Tim. I hoped we'd go back to being that carefree and happy when he was free from prison. I wanted it so bad.

I tucked my hand back under me and closed my eyes. I took a long breath and rubbed my face on the pillow. The slightest scent of Tim surrounded me and lulled me into a comfortable sleep where everything from that day disappeared, leaving me in a void of dreams.