Ricky Steamboat had told Tate everything and she was just as mad. But her anger wasn't just directed towards the two boys. Her anger was also directed towards Frederick. It was irrational for her to go and test out the prison. Especially after everything that Tate told her about him. What made her change her mind?
Tate thought she had complete control over her. But of course, there was still a factor that she didn't include in the equation. Marucho. She cares about that child as if she had birthed it herself. And Tate was sure that he was the one that set her up to visit Allie. For what reason? That's why Tate was standing in the doorway of his cell.
Allie turned his head to face the floor again. "Is that any way ta greet yer mom?" Tate asked.
"Why did you want to visit me?" Allie asked.
"I just wanted ta see how ye is doin'." Tate replied. Allie said nothing. Tate walked around the room, inspecting every inch.
"Ya know, I heard Frederick came in here a bit ago." Tate said. Allie tensed up. Tate turned to face him.
"Ye didn't say to much in yer letter." Tate grab his chin to make him face her.
"So, what did she come in fer?" Tate asked.
"She didn't say anything. She just said that she wanted to thank me." Allie replied.
"Thank ya? Fer what?" Tate asked.
"For being there for Marucho." Allie said. Tate harshly pushed his face back away.
"Ye weren't there fer Marucho. 'specially when he needed ye the most." Tate said. Allie let his head hang. He knew that already.
"But you were the reason that he almost died!" Allie yelled.
"An' what do ye know 'bout it? Ye weren't there." Tate replied. Allie bit his tongue.
"Ye are the reason he almost died! Ye can't blame me fer that. Take yer own blame." Tate said.
"It wasn't my fault.' Allie said.
"Keep tellin' yerself that. Maybe one day it will come true. Fookin' magic if that happens." Tate said as she laughed. Allie wouldn't wish harm on another person, but right now, he was considering it.
"Ye two bring each other down. He's the reason ye is in here." Tate started. She leaned in and whispered, "he should have let you die."
"Marucho did the right thing! I don't want to die!" Allie argued.
"Yea, like ye has anything to live fer." Allie opened his mouth.
"Don't ye dare say Marucho. He doesn't care fer ye. He hasn't even seen a single one of yer letters." Tate said.
"What do you mean? He's been writing back to me. He had to have seen them." Allie said with a confused smile.
"Ye think that Marucho's the one that's been replyin'? Why do ya think I've seen the last letter ye sent. Why Frederick brought in the letter, even though it should've been delivered by the post office?" Tate asked.
"Frederick said that Marucho wrote it." Allie said.
"An' ye think she can't tell a lie?" Tate asked. Allie shut his mouth. Of course, anyone could tell a lie.
"An' so Marucho's been out there, giving away himself for you. An' he doesn't even know if yer alive. One day he's going ta get tired of waitin'. An' he's goin' ta leave again." Tate said. As believable as her story was, something was telling him that it was a lie. He couldn't give up hope.
"Ye is already dead in 'ere. His sacrifice meant nothing. In a couple months, ye will be dead." Tate explained. Marucho didn't sacrifice himself for nothing. Allie was alive, he needed to see Marucho. He needed to tell him that he was okay.
"No words, huh?" Tate asked. Allie didn't give her the satisfaction of hearing his voice. She scoffed.
"I'm ready!" Tate yelled. Sora Perse opened the door and Tate walked out, not looking back to see Allie's expression. He had never felt so mad, so discouraged. So determined. Determined to see Marucho again. He wouldn't give up. He wouldn't lose hope. They were both making sacrifices, Marucho had it worse anyways.
"Frederick, have you seen the letters that the boys have been writing to each other?" Ricky Steamboat asked.
"No, I haven't. They are allowed their privacy." Frederick replied.
"Frederick, it's your kid! He doesn't need privacy. You need to keep him in line." Ricky Steamboat replied.
"I think he's doing just fine by himself." Frederick said. Ricky Steamboat sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "He's not doing fine, Frederick. Him and 'Allie' have been telling each other how much they want to live together. They even started talking about love." Ricky Steamboat said. Frederick covered her mouth as she smiled.
"FUCK, Frederick!" Ricky Steamboat yelled as he slammed his fist onto the table. Frederick's smile disappeared.
"Your little act of independence and not wanting to find a man is rubbing off on him. You need to get a man so that he won't be searching for one himself." Ricky Steamboat said.
"He is fully capable of thinking for himself. You act like I have raised this child my whole life. Like I've taught him my morals. He's almost a man." Frederick said.
"Oh ho ho. That child is the farthest from a man if I've ever seen." Ricky Steamboat said. Frederick stood up from the table.
"Marucho is already more of a man than you'll ever be. Don't try to dictate my life or how I choose to raise my kids!" Frederick yelled.
"Frederick, you're not thinking clearly. Why don't we just go for a walk? Grab some foo-"
"Out." Frederick demanded.
"Wha- Frederick, come on. You know I'm right." Ricky Steamboat said.
"Out. I don't want you in here for another second." Frederick said again.
"Or what? I can't leave you alone Frederick. Especially when you're thinking like this." Ricky Steamboat argued.
"Like what? Selflessly? I'm thinking about his happiness. Something that you took away from him." Frederick said.
"I took away his happiness? How did I do that?" Ricky Steamboat asked.
"You took away the only person that understood him. And you locked him up, away from the rest of civilization. You made Marucho wonder if he's even still alive." Frederick said.
"That has nothing to do with his happiness. He shouldn't have to rely on that thing to be understood. As a mother, you should be there for him." Ricky Steamboat argued.
"I know I should have been there for him. I'm aware that this is my fault. It's my fault that his only friend is miles away, rotting away by himself." Frederick said.
"Friend? Frederick, what are you even saying?" Ricky Steamboat asked.
"I'm saying the truth. Now before I call Jake, you better leave." Frederick said.
Ricky Steamboat huffed, "damn Jake." He left and Frederick was able to breathe again. She put her head on the table. Frederick heard what she assumed to be Marucho come out of his room and sit down at the table. She looked up and saw that he wasn't in front of her. He was sitting next to her. A foot away, but it was still next to her. She smiled.
"Hey Marucho, sorry about that." Frederick greeted.
"No it's fine." Marucho said. They sat in comfortable silence for a bit before Marucho got up to put his letter in the mailbox. Frederick offered to walk with him, but he declined. She decided to start cooking lunch instead.
Marucho had successfully put the letter into the mail and walked back home, only to see a car parked there. He didn't recognize it so he decided to go around the back of the house. Going through the front would be dangerous. Especially since the person probably didn't know his situation. The blinds of the backdoor were closed, leaving him hidden.
He cracked open the door to hear them, it went unnoticed. "Hey Frederick, I've got some terrible news and I need you to come to the prison." A man said.
"Yes of course, what happened?" Frederick asked. Marucho heard them scrambling and closed the door to go back out front. He saw that the car was running. He assumed that they were going to the prison and decided that he would go with them. Why not? He sneaked around to the back of the car and luckily found a press handle on the back.
The trunk opened and he hopped inside, he didn't close it until he heard the front door open. The voices were muffled, all he could hear was the car doors opening and closing. Then he felt the car jolt him forward and he used his hands to stop himself from bumping into the back and causing noise. He thought it would be a little bit more comfortable being in the trunk of a car than it was. Being thrown left and right was not the best feeling in the world. But after a few turns they seemed to go down a straight road.
Marucho tapped his fingers in a rhythm on his head to pass the time. Maybe now wasn't the best time to think about whether or not he should actually go to the prison. Would it violate the rules? As long as he didn't see Allie, he guessed that it would be fine. Then again, it technically counted as running away from home. And he wasn't even allowed to leave his house without permission.
He had completely underestimated the distance and time it would take to get there. The darkness all around him and the soft rocking of the car had almost lulled him to sleep. But then the car turned into what he assumed was gravel. Marucho put his hand on the emergency exit for the trunk, thankful to find one, and got ready to get out.
(In 2002, glow-in-the-dark emergency release handles were mandated for every car. If you are ever stuck in the back of a trunk, remember this.)
The car parked and he heard the doors of the car close, then the car locked. He waited for four minutes, counting the seconds in his head, before he pulled on the handle and checked to see if the coast was clear. The doors to the prison were thankfully wooden, and not the glass that he was used to seeing. He got out of the trunk carefully and left it open so that he could quickly hide in it if they came out unexpectedly. He walked up to the door and pressed his ear against it.
He could hear a door being opened and then some murmur of voices. Then the door was opened and closed again. Frederick's heels were audible from stepping on the floor inside. They went father away and another door was opened and closed. Marucho counted another two minutes before opening the door. He poked his head in and looked to his left. He locked eyes with another person. A boy about the Sora Persee age as him.
Marucho slowly pulled his head back outside. He barely saw the boy scramble before he closed the door. Marucho saw the trunk he left open earlier. He decided to go around the corner of the station instead, it was closer. He heard the door to the station open. Steps on the pavement before reaching the gravel.
Marucho soon saw the backside of the boy as he approached the car. He looked into the car and saw nothing. He turned back around and Marucho swore that the boy saw him, but he continued to turn to the station. Marucho pushed himself more against the wall as he heard his footsteps. They got closer and he closed his eyes to try and calm himself. He held his breath. Then he heard the steps on the concrete. He didn't hear the door close, but he assumed it did. He started counting.
One Mississippi.
Two Mississippi.
Three Mississippi.
Four Mississippi.
Five Mississippi.
Six Mississippi.
Seven Mississippi.
Eight Mississippi- "Who are you?" Marucho jumped away from the noise and opened his eyes. The boy from inside.
"Who are you?" Marucho asked back.
"I need to know your name before I tell you mine. You're trespassing." The boy said.
"Well, that's not the proper way to greet someone, is it?" Marucho said. The boy's face stayed in the Sora Persee flat expression.
"I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"No no no no. Uh, I'm Aura." Marucho said. He hated using that name, but it was the only thing he could think of.
"Okay Aura, why are you here?" The boy asked.
"I came here with a woman named Frederick." Marucho said. The boy raised an eyebrow, then pushed his sunglasses down so that he could see above them. He nodded and pushed them back up.
"Marucho. Why didn't you go in with her?"
"How do you know my name?" Marucho asked.
"I didn't, I just assumed. I'm Sora Perse, your mother is my dad's friend." Sora Perse said. That's why his mom visited Allie. Her friend was probably the person who ran the prison.
"Oh. Well, I just didn't want to go inside." Marucho said.
"I doubt that." Sora Perse replied. Marucho sighed.
"Do you want to come inside?" Sora Perse asked.
"Yes please." Marucho said. They walked back into the police station, Marucho choosing to sit in one of the many waiting chairs while Sora Perse went back into his reception office. Marucho tapped his feet on the floor as he thought about what he was going to do next.
What did he even think he was going to accomplish by coming here? Suddenly there was a bunch of movement in the room in front of him. The door slammed open and Frederick popped out of the room with it. Her eyes immediately caught Marucho's.
"What the hell? Where did he come from?" The man beside her asked. Frederick ran up to him and he watched the other man walk to question Sora Perse.
"Marucho, how and why are you here?" Frederick asked.
"Trunk." Marucho replied.
Frederick groaned, "You are just a mess, Marucho." He shrugged his shoulders.
"Never mind that. It's a good coincidence that you're here, I need to tell you something." Frederick said.
"What?" Marucho asked.
"It's about Allie."