Familiarity Breeds Contempt

Laura approaches the prison with a knot in her stomach. The building is large and unwelcoming with barbed wire strewn on the high walls and fences. Even though the day is fair, it now seems gloomier somehow. Her husband of four years Michael has been arrested and is now remanded in prison awaiting trial – for murder, the murder of his best friend’s wife. How has my life come to this? Laura thought, pulling into the car park she chooses a spot. Scraping her blonde curls away from her face into a ponytail Laura flops back into the seat of her white Mini Cooper, she grips onto the steering wheel making her knuckles white.

Laura sighs and thinks out loud “this is going to be hard” she knows Michael hasn’t done this, he isn’t capable. Undoing her seatbelt and pulling the collar of her emerald green duffle coat further up her neck as if to keep warm, she gets out the car and locks it as she leaves, coming to a stop at the prison entrance and looking up at the towering building, finally plucking up the courage to enter. Laura passes though the various security points her blonde ponytail bobbing behind her as she passes through the scanners, noticing the prison guards all have the same steely facial expression and the depressing greyness of the interior – even the ceilings are grey.

The corridors were getting darker and colder as Laura reaches the visiting room, which is also cold, grey and unfriendly. Small grey tables with two facing chairs littered the room sporadically each containing a forlorn looking prisoner awaiting their visitor, there’s a stale smell in the air of misery and desperation. Michael is sat in the corner at the furthest table away, looking like a lost little boy with no friends to sit with at lunchtime. His face is gaunt and his usually tidy brown hair is messy, and he has stubble on his chin that’s normally shaven and soft. He looks tired, head to toe in a grey tracksuit in keeping with the décor, the tracksuit is a little too big and makes Michael look small and frail. Laura sits down in the chair opposite Michael.

“How are you?” she says “you don’t look great” Michael met her gaze with a look of bewilderment.

“How am I!” he exclaimed “how do you think I am, Laura?” Michael put his head in his hands and ran his fingers through his dishevelled hair, exasperated “how has it even come to this? We had a great night the other night all four of us and now here I am, facing a twenty five stretch for Sarah’s murder!” Laura looked at Michael with sympathy etched in her face, she knows the evidence found against Michael is overwhelming. Sarah’s body was found in the boot of her car covered in Michael’s DNA, not only that but flecks of Sarah’s blood had been found on Michael’s clothing: the one’s he had been wearing the night Sarah had been found. Laura hadn’t been able to offer him an alibi either, she had been out with old school friends that night leaving Michael home alone. But Laura knows Michael has not done this, he had no reason too.

James and Michael are best friends from childhood and since James had married Sarah two years previously the four of them had formed a great friendship and with them all being in their mid-twenties, kids were a thing of the future and they all focused on enjoying themselves. Laura took Michael’s hand and looked him in the eye.

“I know you didn’t do this” she assured him “I’ll stand by you” Michael forced a smile and squeezed Laura’s hand in thanks.

“Have you spoken to James?” Michael asks “He wouldn’t even look me in the eye when we passed at the police station” Laura nods.

“I have yes. He’s destroyed Michael, obviously he doesn’t know what to think and he’s just in total shock that Sarah’s not coming back” Michael covers his face with his hands again.

“He can’t believe I’d do something like this surely?” he sounded desperate now “he’s my best friend, I was best man at their wedding for god’s sake!” Michael was shouting now and the other prisoners and their visitors where starting to glance.

“He’ll know deep down Michael” Laura places her hand on Michaels arm to calm him and notices one of the guards is now watching them closely. “He just needs to come to terms with what’s happened and he’ll remember who you are and that you couldn’t do something like this.” Laura flashes Michael a smile of reassurance and he replies with a squeeze to her hand.

“Thanks Laura, what would I do without you by my side” Michael looks at Laura “I love you so much” Laura looks away for a split second.

“I love you too” she replies “we’ll get through this”

An alarm sounds, startling Laura.

“Time!” shouts a gruff voice “say your goodbyes.” Michael looks at Laura with desperation.

“Please talk to James again, I want him to know I couldn’t do this; I love him and Sarah”

“I will” says Laura “I’ll try my hardest” Laura and Michael stand at the same time and embrace quickly. “We’ll get through this” Laura reassures again “see you again soon.”

“Thank you” says Michael “I love you.” Laura smiles at Michael and begins to walk away, looking back at the lost little boy she saw when she arrived and with a sudden prang of guilt she turns and shouts back

“I love you” Michael flashes a smile back at her as he stands and is led back to his cell.

Coming out into the car park Laura breathes in deeply as if to rid her lungs of the prison stench. She unlocks her car and gets in, squeezing her hands on the steering wheel once more and bursts into tears. It was awful seeing Michael that way and she feels guilty. Laura wipes her eyes with her coat sleeves and looks over her shoulder at her brown tote bag sitting on the back seat and reaches over to grab it; fumbling inside for her phone. She finds it and unlocks it to search in the contacts, finally stopping at James’s number. She calls.

“Hello” he answers “you okay?” Laura sighs heavily and replies.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just feel guilty” Laura rubs her forehead with her hand.

“Did he buy it?” asks James. Laura sighs again.

“Well he didn’t suspect anything from me, he even told me he loved me” James laughs

“He’s so stupid sometimes, don’t feel guilty baby” Laura frowns.

“You can be so cold, don’t you feel any guilt?” replies Laura, still frowning.

“Not really, I’ve always hated him. He took everything I wanted and when he got you that was the final straw. He knew how much I liked you” James sounds pleased with himself. “I can’t believe the police fell for it – all it took was a scatter of Michael’s hairs, splash a bit of Sarah’s blood and hey presto! The perfect crime”

Laura felt a little uncomfortable now, she doesn’t like it when James is so menacing.

“James, please” she begs

“I’m sorry baby” he replies “but with that bitch gone and Michael hopefully behind bars we can finally be together – that’s what you want isn’t it?” Laura pauses for a second, the thought of her and James finally being together makes her feel warm inside; the guilt for Michael slipping away as quickly as it came and she replies.

“Yes, yes it is – I love you James”