“I know. I was pissed.”
“Truths are always told when one is drunk and when one is mad.”
Silence surrounds us. I had nothing to say to that.
“I wasn’t trying to cramp your style. If you want me to step back—”
“I don’t want you to step back, Mase.” I scrub a hand down my face. “I’m just trying not to royally fuck it up for all of us. Things are getting a little heavy.”
Mason shrugs. “Then that’s when we come in to carry some of the load. From the moment we agreed to run, we’ve been in this shit together. That will never change. Your mistakes are mine and vice versa. It’s been that way from the beginning.”
That moment while standing in our small, shared room was the biggest event of our lives. We were just four tired and beat down kids ready for a change. There was a high chance it would fall apart, but at that point we were willing to die trying. We had no idea just how close we would all come. My memories of that night come flooding back to the forefront.
The energy in the room was heavy tonight. We’d just come back from last meal, which meant we’d be heading to the showers before lights were out. This was the norm every day. The plan was simple.
Lucas had discovered that the locks on the doors could be jammed with chewing gum. When he came from the shower last, as he always does, he was going to place the chewed bubblegum into the lock space between the doors. After they did final checks and the halls were cleared, we would sneak out. Anthony knew the patrol schedule. He knew the exact time when the floors would be clear.
Placing my shower caddy on my bed, I glance around the room. Anthony looks to be deep in thought. I imagine he’s running the plan over in his head for the millionth time. Lucas is standing quietly beside the bed, chewing the biggest wad ofbubblegum he could fit in his mouth. It took us a week to steal enough gum from the goody box. When I look at Sergio, I notice how nervous he is. In fact, he’s been acting anxious all day. But he was just a baby. Only seven years old, Iimagine he was scared. If it went wrong, tonight could be the last night we were alive. I think he’s just now grasping this.
“Sergi, breathe,” I say jokingly.
His big hazel eyes lock on me, and at that moment, I see something. Something that says his nervousness isn’t because he’s anxious.
Anthony must see it too, because he immediately puts his towel down on my bed and approaches Sergio.
“What’s wrong?”
Sergio looks at both of us, his fingers twirling.
“She’s going to help us. She said she would.”
My heart pounds in my chest.
“Sergie, tell me you didn’t?” Lucas asks, coming over to us.
“She’s my friend, and she loves me. She won’t tell.”
Anthony’s head falls. It was over. There was nothing we could do. Sergio was too young, he still hadn’t learned the lesson that we had. He didn’t know that you couldn’t trust anyone in this place. Even though he’d been here since he was four.
Before we could say anything else, the door to our room opens. Anthony stands up straight, stepping in front of Sergio. Entering the room is Carolyn Marks, the nurse. She was a petite woman with dark blonde hair and pretty blue eyes.
She smiles at us.
Sergio pushes past Anthony.
“I told you. She’s here to help.” He tries to take a step toward her, but Anthony grabs him and pushes him behind him.
Just then, the door opens again, and in walks Paul Howard, Morrison—the head of guards, along with three other guards,and the last to enter the room is the headmaster. A man that scares the piss out of me. From his quiet and brooding demeanor to his jet-black hair and gray-blue eyes. The sound of our room door closing behind him nearly causes me to jump out of my skin.
“Wait, what’s going on?”
Poor Sergio was now getting a crash course in reality. He was seeing firsthand why this place was such a hell.
“It’s okay, Sergio,” Ms. Carolyn says in a soft, motherly tone. “We’re here to help.”
The moment the words are out of her mouth, I know things are bad. Sergio knows it too, because I see the crushing look of betrayal on his face.
“You lied to me,” he sobs. “You’re not my friend.”
