As Andrew witnessed the gates close, he cried out in misery, clutching his shirt to his chest.
The weight of despair pressed upon him, and in that moment, he felt a fraction of the shattered emotions Karalana must have experienced on the other side of the gate; it dried his mouth.
Slowly, Andrew traced his steps back to the car. Each footfall seemed to carry the weight of the heavy gates he had left behind, and the echo of the closing prison doors resonated in his mind.
When he reached the duplex, he found Edd seated, waiting for his arrival. Edd snapped at the door when he heard him enter. "Well, well, well! If not Karalana's loyal tail, who else would we have here?" Edd taunted before Andrew looked at him.
Andrew faced Edd with swollen red eyes, a reddened nose, and a sobbering voice. "What do you gain from treating him like that, Edd?"