18 months. Five hundred and forty-seven days. Thirteen thousand one hundred and forty-nine hours. That is how long Effy Stonem had been in prison.
"Stonem! Pack up your stuff. You're gettin' outa here!" The prison guard yelled at her. She did as she was told and gathered her few belongings in her cell when she felt a presence behind her.
"Heard you're leaving, bitch." One of the prisoners, Jones, said in a menacing tone. Next to her was another fierce looking inmate, Nilsen.
"Yeah. What of it?" Effy turned away and continued gathering her belonging which were mostly letters and pictures.
"We're here to give you a proper send off. It's tradition." Nilsen said in a gruff voice.
"We'll that's awfully nice of you ladies, but really I should get going." Effy took her stuff and tried leaving the cell but was stopped by Jones' rough hands on her shoulders. Effy tried to push them away but it was no use, Jones was stronger and grabbed her and turned her around to face Nilsen who gave Effy a jab right on her ribs. Effy yelped and struggled to loosen Jones' grip. Another right hook to the face. Effy groaned and spit out blood. After a few punches Effy stopped trying to fight back and instead focused on trying to stay conscious.
"C'mon, Nilsen she's good. We don't wanna kill the fucking kid." Jones loosened her grip and let Effy fall to the floor and the two left.
"Get out of here, kid." Nilsen said while looking at Effy who was still curled up in the fetal position, struggling to breathe. Eventually, Effy got up and went to her Correctional Officer to be released. He took one look at her and didn't even bat and eye.
"You ladies and your traditions…" He shook his head. "Any was, Elizabeth congratulations on being released!"
"Thanks." Effy said quietly.
"Well, as of right now you are no longer an inmate of Her Majesty's Penitentiary for Women. Here are the clothes you came in with." He handed her a plastic bag and escorted her to the bathroom. She took a look in the mirror. Her left cheek was swollen and her lip was spilt there was a wound above her right brow which dripped blood down to her jaw. She lifted up her shirt and saw the angry red and purple marks that covered the entirety of the left side of her torso and winced when she pressed her fingertips to it. Her tight fitting clothes felt alien to her skin after a year and half of loose fitting grey jumpsuits. The feeling of the tight denim and soft cashmere made her sigh contently. She exited the bathroom and followed the officer to the front door. He opened it and gestured for her to exit. She took a hesitant step out.
"You're free, Miss Stonem." Her officer said. She smiled and walked out. She took a few steps more towards the street with the intention of calling a Taxi.
"You fucking cunt." She heard a familiar voice. Naomi's voice. She turned to see Naomi standing in front of Emily's red car. Emily was next to her, holding her hand and smiling. "How dare you get your arse thrown in jail when I'm dying? How fucking selfish could you be?" Naomi continued to tease. Effy was speechless. She rushed to them and threw her arms around her best friend and Naomi reciprocated by wrapping her arms around her. Effy hissed at the pain.
"What?" Naomi was confused and pulled back.
"I got a little goodbye present." Effy smiled wryly and lifted up her shirt so Emily and Naomi could see the bruising on her ribs.
"Shit." Naomi said looking at the bruises.
"You probably deserved it." Emily said sarcastically and hugged Effy, carefully.
"Still being a bitch to me, eh? Even though your girlfriend survived? But yeah I probably did." Effy laughed.
Effy looked at Naomi. She looked good. Healthy. Her hair had grown back it wasn't at full length yet but it came down to her shoulders like it did when they were 18 except now she preferred her natural light brown instead of bleach blonde. She caught Effy staring at her in disbelief and smiled.
"Oi, stop looking at me like that! I'm taken, you know?" Naomi joked and wrapped her arm around Emily who looked at her lovingly.
"Sorry Naoms… It's just… You look really good."
"Yeah? Well, 6 month of remission tends to work wonders for people." Naomi said.
"Well, what else have I missed?" Effy asked.
"Oh. Nothing much." Naomi lifted her left hand and on it was a beautiful silver engagement ring.
"No fucking way!" Effy gasped in disbelief. Emily nodded and lifted up her hand which also had a matching ring. "Ah! Congratulations you two! Why didn't you tell me? You could have written letters or told me when you visited."
"I wanted to tell my maid of honor in person once she was liberated." Naomi smirked.
"Me? Your maid of honor?" Effy smiled back.
"Yeah, you twat. Now c'mon let's get you home. It's cold as balls out here."
"Yeah." Effy said quietly and got in the car. It was odd being in a car. She hadn't been in one for so long. She had been in this car dozens of times but she never noticed how it smelled like leather and Emily's perfume. It was rather comforting.
"You alright back there? You're being awfully quiet." Emily asked one hand on the steering wheel another holding Naomi's. It was subtle but the entire dynamic between those two had completely changed the way they would look at each other was like that was the last moment they would look at each other. It made Effy think about Freddie.
"Yeah. I'm good." Effy responded to Emily.
She wasn't though. It had been ages since Effy thought about Freddie but in prison a lot you can really do is think. She knew that her last words to him had been 'I love you' but she had been so out of it, so caught up in her own torments that she never got to cherish the last days with Freddie.
"Alright. We're here." Emily parked her car in front of their old flat. Effie's new, more luxurious one had been reclaimed while she was in jail. Effy went straight to her old room. It was full of cardboard boxes full of her stuff. Emily and Naomi must have gathered them and brought them. She opened one it was full of boots, trainers, and leather stilettos. She picked up her favorite pair. Black Louis Vuitton's with red bottoms that Jake had bought for her. She tossed them aside and grunted disgustedly.
"Hey, be nice to those. They're pretty." Naomi said softly. Effy didn't say anything she just sat on the bed and looked at the wall. Naomi sat down next to her and put her hand on her shoulder.
"It's gonna be ok, you know. You just have to get used to being back. That's all."
"Yeah." Effy mumbled. But she knew that wasn't true. Something inside her had changed she didn't know where she belonged or what she was going to do. She was completely lost.
"Alright well, I'll give you some privacy." Naomi stood up from the bed and headed towards the door.
"Naomi, wait." Effy called out and went to her and put her arms around her. "I'm glad you're ok."
"Yeah, well, you can't get rid of me that easy. Can you?" Naomi smiled and Effy shook her head.
After a sleepless night, Effy decided to go for a jog in the morning. She knew Emily and Naomi would still be asleep so she tried no to make any noise as she left the house. It felt nice to have the chilly breeze hit her face. She jogged to a green park full of trees and swings and kids playing. She walked up to a swing set and sat on one and slowly began to rock herself back and forth.
Next to her was the swing set designed for toddlers and a man was putting in her daughter.
"In you go princess!" He said in a loving tone while the girl gave exited cheers. The man turned to look at Effy and she gasped.
"Cook?" Effy was in awe.
"Effy." He replied in equal shock.