Page 162 - The Houseguest

vulnerable when they sniffed around her, perhaps a leftover from her past.
She waited, drumming her fingertips on the table, feeling the eyes upon her. She ignored the comments as best she could, though some were more vulgar than she would have imagined. Just then, the glass doors opened and in walked Brian followed closely by a prison guard. He hung his head low as if ashamed, though she knew he had nothing to feel ashamed about. They hugged, but their embrace was abruptly ended by the guard’s disapproval. She felt the tears welling up and bit her lip, hard. She couldn’t be weak, not now. He needed her. She was all he had left, and she took that responsibility seriously.
“How are they treating you? she asked, not sure how to start the awkward and incredibly sad conversation. “I’m okay,” he replied. “But I need you to know that I cannot, will not, survive here again. I did nothing wrong. I was working on making a decent life out of what was left of my time here. I don’t get it. How could this happen to me, again? Am I cursed? Why does your God continue to abandon me? Is He real, sis? Is He?”
She was taken aback at her sibling’s denial of that which she based her very own existence. She needed him to keep the faith she tried so hard to instill inside him, because he would need that more than ever. Besides, it’s all she knew to do to help him. “Brian, please...please listen carefully to me. He is not my God. He is here for every one of his children. He just asks that you believe. God has not forsaken you. He himself was accused of a crime for which he was innocent. He will see
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The Houseguest by Linda Ellis www.LindaEllis.life