If you only had one chance of phone call, whom would you call? You would probably call someone like your mum, dad, best friend or even a sibling.
What would happen if you couldn’t?
This was all pondering in my mind as I sat in this tiny cell staring at the blank walls. If my French teacher were here he would tell me to do some mindfulness, but I think it’s all just a waste of time.
You're probably wondering how I got here, or not at all. Well, I’ll tell you anyway.
         It was a quiet normal Friday night in the summer of my second year in University. As usual, it was just some books, Netflix, and me. Halfway through watching The Fault in Our Stars there was a knock on my door. Pausing the movie with confusion, I slowly walked up to the entrance to see who it was. When I opened the door, there stood a guy I had seen many times in my life staring right at me.
They were the same hazel eyes that had used to light up whenever they saw me. The same lips that stole my first kiss and lied about forever. The same soft auburn hair I used to run my fingers through and the same hands I used to hold. All the feelings rushed back.
I hadn’t seen Jay since he left school in the middle of 10th grade. Without telling anyone, I cried for days when I found out about this. He left without a goodbye or warning. I loved him so much; he had become my other half. But now the old face that I used to love became the one that I learned to hate.
He looked me up and down I suddenly became conscious that I was wearing sweatpants and a baggy shirt.
“Jay?” I asked with confusion. He slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette and lit it. The whole time his eyes were focused on me. Just before he could bring it to his lip I snatched it away stubbing it out.
Glaring at me he finally replied very slowly,“I need your help.”
I then completely lost it.
“My help? Do you even remember my name! You left without telling anyone!”
Before I could slam the door on him, he swiftly moved his foot to stop it. Carefully he spoke once again, only more slowly and timidly.
  “Mel, come on. Please help me. I still love you.” He had used his nickname for me.
“No one calls me Mel anymore; it’s just Melina now.”
He cracked his legendary smile that had girls fainting, the one I used to love, but I now hated every part of it.
“You're always Mel to me.”
“Get off my porch,” I growled at him.
“Please Mel. I have no one anymore. I’m desperate.”
I stared into his eyes that pleaded me to help him.
“What do you want?” I tried to act annoyed.
“I need you to hide me.”
My eyes bulged with confusion. “Wait, from the police?”
He looked sheepish and scratched the back of his neck.
“What did you do?” I asked sternly.
There was no answer so I asked again.
“What did you do?” I stared at him till he answered. He suddenly turned into a vulnerable boy I used to know before quickly putting his guard back up.
“I killed someone, Mel. He was attacking my mum. I saw a gun on the floor and shot him. I killed him.” His eyes read guilt, so I let him in.
Quickly I showed him to the guest room.
“If you try anything I will call the police.”
I quickly exited the room, looking back.
   “You have one month till you have to be out.”
The next morning I went down stairs only to the amazing smell of eggs and bacon. As I turned the corner to enter the kitchen I saw Jay, shirtless cooking breakfast.
“Put on a shirt,” I screamed at him. He jumped a little and turned around with a toothy grin on his face. Just before exiting the room he sent me a wink.
I hesitated, then caught myself and replied with a roll of my eyes, then grabbed the spatula.
I finished cooking breakfast.
“Sorry, had a phone call I had to answer,” he apologized.
We ate in silence.
After a few days I was getting used to Jay again, and was more comfortable around him.
Until one night.
I had fallen asleep very quickly; around midnight I turned in my bed and slowly opened my eyes to Jay standing at the edge of my bed staring with a wicked smile playing on his face.
I sat up quickly. “Jay?”
He then turned around and walked to the door. Just before closing it, he looked back and stared at me with a blank expression on his face.
I made sure I locked my door now.
Every night at 8:30 we would sit in front of the TV together and see if there was anything on the news. Some days the police thought they knew where he was but always ended up wrong and knocking down someone’s else’s door.  I always felt like that was going to happen to me, that I was going to get caught for hiding this guy in my house. Jay always convinced me that it wouldn’t happen and it will all be okay, but I don’t feel like I could trust him like I could before.
One day I was a little bit late home. I walked through the door to the TV room where Jay sat staring at the dark screen with a beer can in his hand. Without his eyes leaving the screen he growled.
“You're late.” 
“Yeah, sorry about that. I was held up at work.” He didn’t move.
“Jay?” The only noise in the room was the can being crumpled as he moved to focus on me.
“Don’t be late again.” His voice was stern. I nodded slowly as he turned his head back to the blank screen.
Once when I came back home he was standing at the door staring at it, waiting for me to return while holding cut flowers from the garden. He didn’t say anything; he just stared at me and shoved the flowers into my arms. He then turned and walked away.
It had been a month and it was way past due for Jay to leave. But when I told him this he pushed me into the wall with one arm around my neck and the other holding my hands above my head. He breathed into my ear.
“I will leave when I want to leave. Understand?” I nodded, tears streaming down my face. Then he brushed himself off and walked away.
I sank down into the floor and started to cry.
“What have I done?” I cried to myself aloud, though Jay acted just like everything was fine.
One day I came back from work to see Jay with a couple of nasty- looking guys. I didn’t like this, but I knew that if Jay didn’t get what he wanted, anything could happen. I also didn’t want to cause a scene, so I let them be and went to my room.
Jay had been getting on my nerves now and many more people seemed to be going and coming out of the house and I couldn’t stop it. I knew it wasn’t not just Jay anymore staying here and it made me uncomfortable to sleep in my own house. I locked my bedroom door even though Jay said that “nothing would happen and it was just a couple of my mates.” He told me I could trust them, but I didn’t. I knew that they're all escaped prisoners because I’d watch the news and recognize them all around the house. I hoped the police wouldn’t find us or else we all would be in that prison cell.
Today was the clearest day out of all of them. The day was just a normal Friday as I had just gotten back from work. Although it was strangely quiet, I saw Jay in the kitchen making a sandwich.
“Hi,” I spoke softly not looking at him.
“Go away,” he said staring at me with a scowl on his face.
I then decided it wasn't worth talking to him, so I went up to my room to watch some Netflix, when there was a knock on the front door.
I slowly walked down to answer it only to find myself at gunpoint. My eyes followed the gun to the hand and up the arm, only to make eye contact with a policeman.

“Step out the house please,” he said. I did as I was told and about 20 police officers ran into my house to look around. A little bit later coming out was a handcuffed Jay and his mates.
“You're under arrest for keeping criminals at your house,” the same police officer said, putting handcuffs on me as he stuffed me in his police car.
That brings me back to where I am now. It’s been 10 hours since the arrest and I don’t know or care about what happens to Jay. An officer said I probably wouldn’t be under arrest for much longer because I didn’t do anything that bad and just need a small trial. The only thing I need to do to get out of here is have someone bail me out.
That brings me back to my question, and think about your mother, your sister, your brother, the gossipers, your ex-boyfriend and all the people you’ve ever disappointed and found yourself, here, and now, stuck in jail; who would you call if you only had one chance?