The sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows across the cracked pavement outside Leonida Correctional Facility. The air was thick with heat, the kind that made your shirt cling to your back, but you barely noticed. You stood there, leaning against your car, arms crossed, eyes locked on the rusted gates ahead.

You had been waiting for this moment. For her.

Lucia had done her time—longer than she should’ve in your opinion. But that was the system. Now, finally, she was getting out. You tapped your fingers against the car door, impatient, watching as the gates groaned open.

And then, there she was.

Dressed in a plain prison-issued outfit, her hair tied back, she stepped out like she hadn’t just spent the last stretch of her life behind bars. Her sharp eyes scanned the lot, landing on you, and for the first time in a long time, a genuine smile gracing her lips.

"Hey."