unhealthy under the harsh fluorescent lights and he had bags under his eyes.
Please let him not be taking drugs
, Charlie prayed. She knew that for all the searches of visitors, drugs were rife in prison. The temptation to take them, to escape in your head, must be overwhelming. As far as she knew Kris had only ever smoked dope, but God knows what went on inside here.
Lori reached out and put her hand over his. ‘How are you, love?’ Kris couldn’t meet her gaze. Instantly one of the prison guards gave them the evil eye. Touching between inmates and prisoners was strictly forbidden, in case anything illicit was passed to the prisoner. Next time he would shout at them.
‘Never better. This week I’ve been on a spa retreat, sampling some haute cuisine and fine wines.’ Kris was sarcastic and bitter, his words hiding a world of pain.
‘Don’t be mean,’ Charlie said quietly. ‘You know how much Mum worries.’
‘And Dad?’ For a second a flicker of hurt flared in Kris’s eyes.
‘And Dad,’ Charlie repeated.
He sniffed as if he didn’t believe her. ‘So how was Barbados?’
Charlie thought of her luxury holiday, where her every whim had been catered for, the beauty of the scenery, her passionate encounter with Felipe … How could she describe it here, surrounded by so much poverty and despair, broken families, broken people? ‘It was great, thanks,’ she said quickly.
Fortunately he didn’t press her for details.
‘Look, I’ve been thinking,’ Charlie carried on, ‘you’ve only got another two months to go and you should be thinking about the future. Why don’t you move in with me for a while? You could try and get back into acting again.’
Kris shook his head, and put on a mock-posh voice. ‘I don’t think my agent’s going to be returning my calls, do you? And the acting possibilities aren’t so good in here.’
He had always been a talented actor. At school he was the lead in all the productions. He studied drama at college and had a few TV roles. Just before he’d been arrested, he’d been up for an audition in a major drama series and had got the part. He was arrested the day after.
‘We could try and get you another agent. Come on, you’ve got a great CV. We could start by contacting that director again. He really liked you.’
‘Well, I fucking blew that one, didn’t I? And there’s no point in contacting him. He won’t want to know. You’d be wasting your time.’
Lori winced.
‘Please don’t talk like that,’ Charlie pleaded with him. ‘You’ve got to have hope. You know that we’re all here for you, Kris.’
He hung his head. ‘Yeah, I know. Thanks.’
They managed to muddle through for a further twenty minutes, Charlie babbling on about Zoe, who Kris knew, and about work; Lori updating Kris on what had been going on at home. It was only when the buzzer rang, signalling the end of visiting time, that they got a glimpse of the Kris they knew and loved.
‘Sorry,’ he mumbled to Charlie, ‘I’m just a bit crap at the moment. It’s been getting to me, being in here.’ His eyes, when he looked up at her, were full of tears.
Charlie longed to give him a hug to reassure him. ‘It’s going to be okay, I promise. Let me help you? I know you’d do the same for me.’
‘Yeah, I know,’ he managed. And then he was walking away from them and Charlie was having to comfort her mum who was silently weeping.
Two days later Charlie was back at work. She had contacted the director and left a message, as she had promised Kris, but hadn’t heard back. She felt that she had to do something,
anything
, to help her brother. Felipe was never far from her thoughts either but she welcomed the distraction of work. There it was the usual frenzy of planning meetings, going through the studio running order, checking the research notes and adapting the scripts before she went on air. But she loved it, thriving on the high-pressure atmosphere.
Being in front of the camera
Please let him not be taking drugs
, Charlie prayed. She knew that for all the searches of visitors, drugs were rife in prison. The temptation to take them, to escape in your head, must be overwhelming. As far as she knew Kris had only ever smoked dope, but God knows what went on inside here.
Lori reached out and put her hand over his. ‘How are you, love?’ Kris couldn’t meet her gaze. Instantly one of the prison guards gave them the evil eye. Touching between inmates and prisoners was strictly forbidden, in case anything illicit was passed to the prisoner. Next time he would shout at them.
‘Never better. This week I’ve been on a spa retreat, sampling some haute cuisine and fine wines.’ Kris was sarcastic and bitter, his words hiding a world of pain.
‘Don’t be mean,’ Charlie said quietly. ‘You know how much Mum worries.’
‘And Dad?’ For a second a flicker of hurt flared in Kris’s eyes.
‘And Dad,’ Charlie repeated.
He sniffed as if he didn’t believe her. ‘So how was Barbados?’
Charlie thought of her luxury holiday, where her every whim had been catered for, the beauty of the scenery, her passionate encounter with Felipe … How could she describe it here, surrounded by so much poverty and despair, broken families, broken people? ‘It was great, thanks,’ she said quickly.
Fortunately he didn’t press her for details.
‘Look, I’ve been thinking,’ Charlie carried on, ‘you’ve only got another two months to go and you should be thinking about the future. Why don’t you move in with me for a while? You could try and get back into acting again.’
Kris shook his head, and put on a mock-posh voice. ‘I don’t think my agent’s going to be returning my calls, do you? And the acting possibilities aren’t so good in here.’
He had always been a talented actor. At school he was the lead in all the productions. He studied drama at college and had a few TV roles. Just before he’d been arrested, he’d been up for an audition in a major drama series and had got the part. He was arrested the day after.
‘We could try and get you another agent. Come on, you’ve got a great CV. We could start by contacting that director again. He really liked you.’
‘Well, I fucking blew that one, didn’t I? And there’s no point in contacting him. He won’t want to know. You’d be wasting your time.’
Lori winced.
‘Please don’t talk like that,’ Charlie pleaded with him. ‘You’ve got to have hope. You know that we’re all here for you, Kris.’
He hung his head. ‘Yeah, I know. Thanks.’
They managed to muddle through for a further twenty minutes, Charlie babbling on about Zoe, who Kris knew, and about work; Lori updating Kris on what had been going on at home. It was only when the buzzer rang, signalling the end of visiting time, that they got a glimpse of the Kris they knew and loved.
‘Sorry,’ he mumbled to Charlie, ‘I’m just a bit crap at the moment. It’s been getting to me, being in here.’ His eyes, when he looked up at her, were full of tears.
Charlie longed to give him a hug to reassure him. ‘It’s going to be okay, I promise. Let me help you? I know you’d do the same for me.’
‘Yeah, I know,’ he managed. And then he was walking away from them and Charlie was having to comfort her mum who was silently weeping.
Two days later Charlie was back at work. She had contacted the director and left a message, as she had promised Kris, but hadn’t heard back. She felt that she had to do something,
anything
, to help her brother. Felipe was never far from her thoughts either but she welcomed the distraction of work. There it was the usual frenzy of planning meetings, going through the studio running order, checking the research notes and adapting the scripts before she went on air. But she loved it, thriving on the high-pressure atmosphere.
Being in front of the camera
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