You Came Yourself

The door to solitary closed with a clang which echoed through the cell.

Forty-five days..

"Why don't you eat my ass for forty-five days. Bitch" I mumbled.

My mind moved back to Gabriel's furious face...

His expression when I didn't flinch as my hands were roughly cuffed.

Not one single sign of pain.

The familiar cell stood bare. Concrete. Steel.

A thin cot bolted to the wall.

A toilet in the corner with no privacy.

Or dignity.

The light flickered.

As usual. But it never went off.

Day one passed.

Day two I counted the cracks in the wall.

Day three, I was scraping the wall.

Time passed. But I couldn't differentiate. There were no other people here.

No breakfast. No lunch. No dinner.

No distractions.

Just silence.

By day six, my knuckles were split open from punching the wall....

Not out of anger.

Just to help feel alive.

By day 11 everything felt blur.

I lay on the cot staring at the ceiling, watching the flickering light.

I couldn't sleep.

Didn't want to let the dark thoughts eat into me.

But as usual.

Everyone has breaking points.

By day fourteen, memories crept in.

The night I was arrested.

The blood.

The body.

The accusations.

The way everything just happened so fast.

From an anniversary dinner to something else.

I pressed the heel of my palms into my eyes until I couldn't feel shit no more.

Forty-five days.

I can survive that.

Right ?

I can.

Footsteps echoed.

I didn't move.

They came at irregular hours sometimes.

Watching.

The lock clicked.

My head rang.

This wasn't supposed to happen ?

The door opened.

Aaron

He stood there, calm and calculative as always.

His eyes scanned the room at first. Then back to me.

I pushed myself up, my voice was hoarse from dryness.

"Came to admire the cage ?"

He stepped inside, shutting the door behind him.

The silence between us felt heavier than the metal door.

"You're being released from solitary," Aaron said.

I blinked, taken off guard.

"I've still got thirty-something days left," he muttered.

"Not anymore."

I studied him, this was a joke right ?

This had to be a joke. "Why ?" I asked.

Not a challenge. Not sacarsm.

Just demand.

Aaron's jaw flexed. "Your vitals have declined."

I huffed. Yeah right. Of course. "Since when do you show concern ?"

"You haven't been eating properly."

"You watching me now ?" I asked irritated.

Silence.

He didn't answer.

He approached me slowly, I moved back.

Till my back reached the cold wall.

My hands trembled, but I hid it.

"You permitted it at first. So what made you change your mind ?"

"I don't" he said firmly.

His face almost touching mine.

He was close, close enough to touch.

The air shifted.

For some reason it felt like a good idea to tease him.

"So did I do it ?" I whispered.

"You did Cole. You proved your point." Aaron said.

I tilted my head slightly, "what point ?"

We were still standing close, staring down at each other.

The air was tense.

"That you won't break easily."

There it was.

Not softness.

Not mercy.

But recognition.

"What if I had broken ?" I asked.

He held my gaze. "You didn't."

It wasn't an answer.

But it was all I needed.

Footsteps approached outside. Aaron stepped back first, putting distance between us.

A guard appeared outside the door, waiting.

"Get him cleaned up," Aaron ordered evenly. "He returns to general population tonight."

I walked past him, close enough my shoulder almost brushed his chest.

Just to get a reaction out of him. But I get none.

But just before I crossed the door, I murmured, low enough that only Aaron could hear...

"You came yourself."

A pause.

Then Aaron's voice, controlled as ever;

"Yes. I did."

_

I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling.

The past few days has been somewhat quiet. Calm rather.

The whispers lived. Yes.

But the trouble, it wasn't there.

It didn't leave, but it layed low.

And for Bruce... He was learning. To be fast, vigilant, smart.

It wasn't all about violence.

It shouldn't be.

The A gang kept their distance.

They watched.

But they never made a move.

For Gabriel, I kept my distance as much as I could.

He was waiting... For a crack. Anything.

And me... I wasn't going to give it to him.

I can't help but wonder why he hated me so much.

As for Aaron, well... Things were quite awkward given we haven't had any encounter at all since that night.

What was that anyways ?

I groaned as I tossed over, trying to get that night off my mind.

But it was useless.

My mind kept going back to him.

How composed he was at first.

And then how easily I shook that composure.

That straight mask.

Aaron Greyman.

what do I do with you ?

_

I stood facing the cracked mirror in the men's washroom.

There was nothing like shaving cream here, so you have to be really careful when cleaning up, else you want to end up with a cut.

Or worse.... A bleeding mess.

I usually stall before cleaning up, because there's lesser people by then.

I was still carefully cutting, when a sharp voice pierced through the room. "Everybody out! Now!"

I didn't need to turn to know who it was, but still I lifted my gaze to the mirror.

His face came in view. Not anger. Not irritation. But something much more dangerous.

I rolled my eyes as the others scrambled out.

I picked up my stuff and turned joining the queue filing our.

"You" he said his hand almost touching my bare chest, "not you Prescott."

He flashed an evil grin as the other roommates filed out, not even bothering to look back.

When the place was finally empty, his gaze shifted back to me.

His eyes carried something.

I couldn't tell what it was.

But whatever was about to happen....

Was definitely gonna get us in trouble.

The question now is...

Would it be worth it ?