"Oh, my baby boy… what happened to you?" Layla mumbled in agony when she got Ethan in her motherly embrace, hugging him tightly like she'd never get the opportunity to do so ever again. "Ethan who did this to you?" She asked with a hint of worry.
"Excuse me, that's enough ma'am." The same annoying male officer that patrolled the visiting bay cut the lone moment the two were sharing. Layla pulled herself away from Ethan with much of a struggle and looked at him worriedly as she brushed his hair. Ethan gave back a frightened look as his heart throbbed menacingly inside his hardened chest. He toured his eyes to the man already seated on one of the chairs present at the table. Paul Purcell looked at him from his seating position as he tried to understand why his son looked like he was from a boxing tournament—that he had lost. The two had finally managed to visit him, after an entire two days of wait. Seemed like this Monday was destined for this special reunion.
"How are you, how's Ingrid?" Ethan asked Layla, in a bid trying to avoid conversing with his father. He wasn't sure whether he was still angry at him for being in here or he was okay with it. "What happened? I thought that something horrible had happened on Saturday."
"We're okay, we're okay. It was just a traffic thing and the car broke down on our way here. But we're fine." Layla stressed out, sadness printed all over her face. "Ethan, what happened to you?"
"Nothing much big of a deal," Ethan answered her, trying as much as possible not to connect his eyes with his father. Paul had been silent all the while.
"Nothing much of a deal?" Paul spoke up finally, and Ethan trained his eyes to him instantly. "I need to know who did this to you!" He spitefully spoke. There was worry and anger in his voice.
"Dad, it's nothing." Ethan finally replied after a moment of silence. "It was just some unlucky accident."
Paul scoffed. Ethan's face wasn't that pretty but it was better than the way it had been on Friday. If they'd found it in the horrible mess it was earlier, Paul would have already burst into the Warden's office for some explanation and possibly sued the penitentiary.
"Ethan, don't do that to us…" Paul urged him. "Tell us what happened, and we will try and make sure the person who did this is punished severely."
"Come on dad, mom… it's nothing. Really. Just a terrible accident during some kitchen duty." Ethan tried to understand with them.
"Are you sure?" Layla asked him. Ethan muffled and nodded in response.
"You don't have me fooled," Paul grunted. "I'm going to get down to the bottom of this after I'm done with you."
Ethan face palmed himself mentally. Paul's endless inquiry debacle would land him in trouble with Josiah and his group if they found out that he had snitched on them to the prison officers. He had no other subduing words to pull his father away from the topic but he wasn't going to tell him anything either.
"Ethan you really need to be careful," Layla vouched in, avoiding an endless yes and no conversation. "You cannot be landing yourself in such troubles in here. You need to protect yourself."
"I know mom, and I'm sorry that you had to find me in this condition. But I promise the next time when you guys visit me I will be fine, not this horrific scene that you're looking at."
"Yes, and make a promise about that... will you?"
"Yes," He nodded sincerely. "I will."
"You seem to be okay with this place," Paul asked, crossing his arms and gave Ethan a daring look. Ethan looked around the less busy hall. Turns out that Monday didn't have a lot of visitors in here.
"It's scary but you know, once it cements in your mind that this is really your home for fifteen years, you can as well try to make it as comfortable as you can." He spoke up with a lot of hurt in his voice.
"Don't get too comfortable, Ethan." Layla stepped in once again. "We just want you to be on good behavior, and you never know… the court might enable you to be eligible for parole during your sentence."
Ethan scoffed. "Parole? Me? Don't give me hopes, please."
"No, we're serious about that son." Paul's warm voice got his attention. "I'm personally going to try to see if you can be transferred to a facility back in Washington. So that you can be close to us. But it all depends on your behavior. Don't get involved in fights and whatever you got yourself in. Just do your time and I promise you, things will work out."
Ethan, dumbfounded, looked at him worriedly. He wanted them to help him get out of here but he couldn't begin the conversation with his father present. He remembered the last time he had a conversation with Paul concerning his innocence and how it all went south. For all he knew was that his father knew that he was guilty. But as of his mother…? He had never spoken to her face to face and this was the first time the two had sat this close in five weeks. Whatever his mother knew, she had probably got the information from Paul. Maybe she needed to hear the story from his own perspective.
"So, other than the bruises, how's life here?" Layla asked him, trying to afford a soothing smile.
"Mom… there's something you need to know." Ethan blurted as he skimmed at his mother in worried haste. Layla's heart skipped a beat. His appearance alone was bad news, and from the way he had spoken that statement, he seemed like he had further bad news. Or even worse.
"What is it?" Layla's voice shook.
"Elena was here on Saturday. She had come to pay me a visit." He told them. Layla's heart slowed for a moment. It wasn't as bad as she had thought.
"Why? What did she want?" Layla asked.
"She's pregnant with my baby. Your grandkid." Ethan mumbled boldly. He exchanged some looks with his parents. Weird strange gazes. They were grandparents, in the most absurd manner that they could have ever thought of.
"What? Are you sure? How do you know?" Paul asked breaking the silence.
Nodding, he answered. "Yes. She told me herself."
"How can that be… oh?" Layla answered, joining the dots Derreiro had once taken a while to connect in the shortest time possible. "Do you believe her?"
"Yes!" He muttered. "That's why I'm telling you. Elena's pregnant mom. And she is planning to leave the country with my baby… that's if she's not left already."
Paul looked at Layla and then back at Ethan. There was sympathy embedded all over their faces. "Leave? To where?"
"To Mexico… dad, please… you cannot allow her to do so."
"Why? It's her decision…" Layla answered herself.
"No, you don't understand. She's with Lance. He is taking her down to her aunt's home. If he finds out about the baby, I fear that he might do something to it."
"I hate that boy." Paul growled in agony when Lance's name popped up. Here's the thing. Paul never liked Lance at all! The two had this rough ridge filled with hate between them for a long time, even before the trial.
"Oh, shut up you two. Ethan, are you hateful of that man to the point you can accuse him of murder?" Layla asked. Ethan rose a brow.
"Don't forget what he did to us mom. Don't."
"That was then."
"He's still the same." Ethan seamed in immediately. "Mom, dad, please… Elena might not know it but she's in trouble."
"Okay, let's say that he's going to hurt Elena… what do you want us to do?" Mother asked.
"He's not going to touch Elena. Just the baby. He's going to hurt my baby."
"Okay, so what do you want us to do?" Layla asked once again.
"Bring her back home where she'll be safe with you if not her family."
"The Stenfields hate us very much, I hope you know that. I'm pretty sure they won't allow us to host their daughter in our home like we used to." Paul spoke up.
"It's okay. Just find her and warn her, tell her who Lance Harper is. I'm positive that she'll listen to you guys then. She may be safer in her home, than when she's with him." Ethan grunted.
"Why are you doing this?" Dear mom spoke up.
"What?" Ethan shrugged.
"Why are you still looking out for her even after all that's happened? For what I know is that she hates you a lot."
"I… mom, she's the mother of my kid. I have to look after her if that's the least I could do."
"My baby boy…" Layla shook her head. "Did you really do it?"
Ethan gulped with fear, and embarrassment crusted his face. His eyes drifted to Paul who was looking at him intently, with a hot, daring glare. He turned back to his mother.
"Can we not talk about that now?" Ethan asked as he looked away. Layla took his hand and caressed with both of hers in a calming call, probably feeling ashamed for asking him that question. Deep inside, however, Ethan felt a certain spark glittering in him. She had asked if he did do it… meaning that she wasn't totally convinced that he did. To him, that was something hopeful.
"How I came here hoping that this visit will be about you…" Paul said. "Now Lance's also in the equation?"
"Equation?" Ethan asked.
"What your father is trying to say is… Ethan, what happened during that party? What happened to Ingrid? The secret you and Elena are trying so hard to cover?"