Chapter Four
Bright Lights-Thirty Seconds to Mars
I'm leaving, gone yesterday
Brutal, laughing, fighting, fucking
The price I had to pay
Bright lights, big city
She dreams of love.
Bright lights, big city
He lives to run
"Tell me about yourself, come on, now," Cassidy asked Jesse as he sat next to him in the jail cell.
"I came back to…years ago I made a promise. A couple of 'em. And I broke 'em. Broke 'em a thousand times," Jesse answered, hesitant to talk this guy he'd just met.
"Yeah, well, you know promises they're very nasty little things. I try to steer clear of 'em."
"No no, that's wrong, "Jesse started.
"Why?"
"Promises matter. It's the currency of faith."
"Oh look, no offense padre but, in my view, the world would be a much better place if all you faith types just call it a day and maybe…"
"Without faith we'd still be hittin' each other with dinosaur bones."
"The bloody hell do dinosaur…have you even seen the news lately? 'Cause we're hittin' each other with a lot worse things than bones boy-o. No, seriously. Listen to me now. Misery loves company does it not? It's the hope that sets men at one another's throats here. Take me for example, right? I have zero hope in this world, mate. And I'm bloody fantastic. Really, I am."
"Do you really believe that?"
Both boys looked up at the soft female voice that came from the other side of the bars.
"Course I do. Who are you?" he jerked his chin at her.
"This," Jesse said. "Is my sister."
"Well, nice to meet you lass."
"Same to you." Cassidy watched as she faced her brother and crossed her arms. "Really? Again?"
Cassidy chuckled, "Oh ho, not the first time the Preacher's been jailed?"
"Definitely not," she said and sighed as the sheriff came in to let her brother out.
"Thanks for your help back there," Jesse told Cassidy.
"Yeah, well, no worries. Grown men playin' make-believe is a bit of a pet peeve of mine, I'll be honest with ya."
She watched as her brother shook hands with the young man and they introduced themselves to each other.
When she first walked up on the other side of the bars Cassidy noticed her dark denim shorts with a rip over one of the front pockets, and the faded Led Zeppelin t-shirt, and the dark green Converse that had seen better days. He noticed her chestnut brown, chin length hair, and that the color of her eyes were the same as her brothers. He'd done nothing much but take in her general appearance and at first glance she was perfectly average.
It was when she was walking beside her brother and she took a second to look back at him that he really noticed her. When his eyes met hers through the bars she smiled at him. It was a genuine smile, open, he'd describe it as sweet as it met her eyes; eyes that had not a single drop of judgement in them and he couldn't help but smile back before she turned her head away as her brother spoke to her.
"You eat?"
"Emily brought me a plate."
"Yeah, but did you eat?"
"I'm too busy bailin' you out."
Cassidy smirked as they continued to banter and he caught himself replaying that smile from that decidedly not so average girl in his head.