From One Jail to Another

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daryl_icon.gif koshka_icon.gif

Scene Title From One Jail to Another
Synopsis The good news is, she's not (as) mad at him any more. The bad news—
Date March 30, 2011

Larry Parker's apartment, Lower East Side / Harbor Court, Eltingville Blocks, Staten Island


A few weeks went by between the last two times that Daryl talked with Koshka— and, despite his promise to call her, a few more weeks have gone by since then. He may only get the one shot at it, and he's damn well going to have his thoughts together when he does.

…yeah, that didn't quite work out. Damn schoolwork distracting him. Eventually, he decides that his thoughts are as together as they're likely to get. My luck, he thinks to himself as he taps in the number, she's already met some other guy and moved on.

Daryl's luck might be turning around for him, a little bit. While Koshka hadn't been keeping her phone on, worried over losing the privilege again, she has been making efforts to check for missed calls once her own homework is done. She's just about turning the phone off when it rings, surprising her almost to the point of dropping the thing.

With a small frown, Koshka looks over the display. There's a moment of hesitation over the number that's shown, but she presses the button to answer the call. "Hello," she asks once the phone is pressed to her ear.

Daryl's homework is— not all caught up, but close enough that his dad bought the 'I'll finish it over the weekend' line. "Hey," he says, leaning back against the wall as he sits on his bed. She actually picked up, knowing who it was; that's a good sign, at least.

"Sorry I waited, just— shit got kinda busy, you know?" But enough about him, he can go into more detail later if she asks. "How're you doing?"

"I'm fine," Koshka replies carefully. She glances toward the bedroom and then the kitchen while she gathers up her books and papers. "I'm not sure I'm supposed to be answer your calls." The warning is delivered quietly, though her quick survey shows her alone in the house. Balancing the phone between a shoulder and ear, she picks up her books. Her hand returns to holding the phone once she's standing again. "I'm not sure I should be answering any calls, though. I need to be careful."

Daryl runs his fingers through his hair, switching the phone to his other hand. "So you're still grounded, huh? They say how long yet?" He's walking a tricky line there. Why is she going back on the whole 'I'll follow their rules' thing? How far is she going back?

"Not exactly." Koshka carries her books and herself to the kitchen. The books are dropped onto the table, the sound transferring over the phone. Then she hops up onto the counter, perching and watching the living room and front door. "I… it's complicated. And… I don't know when I'll be able to go anywhere."

He frowns, thinking that over. "So what changed?" She was allowed out with Adisa earlier in the month; whatever happened to her since then, it wasn't Daryl's fault. Couldn't have been, right? Brian and Samara already found out pretty much all there was to know about him being a Bad Influence on her.

Except for the static sounds of breathing on her end, Koshka's line is quiet for a long moment. How much can she tell, or how much should she tell for her situation? "A lot," she answers finally. "It's… not something I'm sure I can explain, and I shouldn't be on the phone long."

"Well, try me, okay? Even if it only half makes sense… if you can't tell me now, then it'd be even tougher to meet up and tell me." Maybe not impossible, but still. "And… I missed you, Koshka. It's good to get to hear you again."

Another exhale follows. Koshka bites upon her bottom lip as her brows furrow together. "Daryl I…" She pulls the phone from her ear, free hand rubbing the back of her neck. "…I got moved into a group home." It's half true, technically she's been assigned to live at Harbor Court, which is the youth housing within the Eltingville community.

Daryl blinks. That— is certainly not the sort of thing he expected to hear, but then he didn't really know what to expect. So much can change in such a short time. "What kind of group home? They didn't take you away from your family, did they?" As much as he has problems with them, they're still hers.

"Just… a group home." Koshka shrugs, then lifts her head for another look toward the living room area. "For kids like me." Which could have any number of implications. Anything from SLC expressive to Registration to being a runaway. "I'm… I'm fine. I'm safe. Just… not sure when I'll be able to go anywhere."

It could, but Daryl's thoughts go to the more specific things first. If it was something more ordinary, wouldn't she have just said so? That's the way he would guess, at least.

Like the last time she shared unpleasant news over the phone, his first impulse is to bite her head off. That would be a great way to make sure he never gets to talk to her again. Instead, he tries to stay cautious about it. "I hope you're right— about being safe, I mean. Is it that new place that's been in the news? They said that about Roosevelt… then the Dome happened."

"Eltingville," Koshka asks, somehow her tone implying that it is. A slight guilt inferred that she hadn't just come out with it. There's enough people worrying, she doesn't want to add to the list. "I'm going to school," she changes the subject, or hopes to. "Got into this high school and… It's not too bad. Hate homework still."

"Well, you are still human." Daryl manages a laugh - if that was what she was going for, then it worked - though his mood slips back into vague concern just as quickly. Good thing she didn't tell him about being attacked, otherwise he'd be on the warpath.

"Sucks that they're making you stick around— how long's that last, till you turn 18 or something?" If so, then she's in for a long stay. He hopes it won't turn out to be even longer. "I could probably get in and see you. I mean, if you wanted to, you know?"

"I'm not allowed visitors," Koshka replies, and this time she's pretty certain she's telling the truth. No one has said anything specifically, but she isn't allowed out of the compound and they track where she does go within it. At least, she's pretty sure that's what the thing around her ankle is for. "Look, just… I don't want to… trouble here would be a really, really bad thing. It's better if you call. Sometimes." Not a lot. And not with any sort of regularity. She doesn't want to return to that room, alone and on negation drugs.

He takes her word at face value - again, if she wanted him to get lost, she could have just said so - but he sure as hell doesn't like it. "All right— for now. But I'm gonna look for a way to bust you outta there. Maybe I won't find one—"

Daryl pauses, running his hand through his hair again in frustration. "I know you said you wanted to play by the rules," even as she's breaking another one by talking to him at all, "but this kind of crap is why I don't, you know? Sometimes the rules don't work." The fact that it's a lot of fun is just a nice bonus.

That's a dangerous line to walk down, and Koshka isn't willing to respond. Even if Brian had said the house wasn't bugged, her phone certainly could have been during the week and some that it wasn't in her possession. "Just… be careful, okay? I don't know what they'd do if anyone tried to get out. Or if anyone tried to get us out."

Daryl bites his lip. "I don't know, either." And as much as he likes her, getting locked up in there himself isn't his idea of how to get to spend more time with her. "But yeah, I'll try to keep it low-key." Like stay close enough to an exit that he can turn invisible and make a run for it. He'll have to play it by ear when the time comes.

There's a pause on Koshka's end. "…I need to go," she says quietly. "Daryl, don't do anything stupid. There's… they've got crazy security here." She doesn't go into detail, once again, omitting the layers of 'protection' that are in and around the compound. "I'll… try and call again in a few days."

"All right. Talk to you— whenever." Hanging up, Daryl tosses the phone to one side and rolls onto his back, letting out a long breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding in. After a minute, he picks up the homework again and glances through it, then tosses it aside as well, going for the TV remote instead. He needs something mindless in the background while he imagines just what he might be coming up against.

"Yeah," Koshka's reply is quiet and comes after the call is ended. Elbows press against her knees as she leans over the phone, watching the display go dark as it's powered down. It's another moment before she's sliding off the counter and putting the phone into her pocket. It's still early that she wouldn't normally be sleeping. But readying for bed is what she does, going through the motions with a sense of detachment or loss.


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