He vanishes, leaving me alone with the poison now planted in my chest. It burns deep, like hot needles piercing my flesh.
He can’t be right…can he? That horrible guard? About Killian just ordering up another female inmate once my time here is done?
“No, of course not,” I hiss, slamming my hand against my thigh. I hate myself for doubting him, especially after what just happened between us, but I just can’t stop the terrible questions from invading my mind.
He told me to be a good girl and everything would change. And I tried. I tried so hard to convince myself that I wasn’t a bad girl, but if that were true, why does all this keep happening to me?
Maybe I’m not a bad girl…maybe I’m just a fool for believing the prison warden would ever have real feelings for me.
The shouts of the men outside grow louder. They bang on their doors, slam against the walls, and howl obscenities that beat against my ears like fists.
I curl up into a ball, trying to block it all out as panic rises within me.
Iama fool. I let myself hope. Here, in this hell. What was I thinking? My mom hates me, the judge never believed me, and Killian…he’s just out for himself.
This is my life now. A hopeless cement and steel cage. With a whole year to go and no one to protect me, I’ll be lucky to make it out alive.
“Shut up!” I scream, my words burning out of my throat. “Shutup!”
And like that, the men’s voices stop. I raise my head. Did the universe just glitch or something?
But then I hear them. Killian’s footsteps, walking calmly and steadfastly down the hall toward me.
Hope blazes within me, but a wall also rises. Can I still trust this man? Should I? It pains me to even think these things, but what am I supposed to do?
Since I arrived, I’ve been torn in different directions by Killian. And just when I thought I’d found solid ground, my anchor, I was whisked away again and left on my own.
And the things those guards said…
I shouldn’t believe them, but I’m floundering. Drowning. I don’t know what to do.
The lock to my cell twists, a cold metallic sound, followed by the hinges creaking as the door swings open.
It’s him. Killian. Suited and handsome as ever as he looks down at me.
Part of me wants to throw myself into his arms. Another part of me wants to cry. Instead, I do the only thing I can do. Nothing.
I stare up at the man who claimed me, waiting for him to act.
Will this be the nice, caring, gentle Killian? Or the cruel, cold, punishing warden?
“Why aren’t you in the infirmary like I specified?” His voice is flat. Not quite as frightening as the day I met him, but not warm either.
“I…I don’t know…” I shake my head, my eyes falling to the floor. He steps closer, the sound of his boots ringing out against the concrete floor. When he stops before me, I can feel the heat from his body. I can smell him. And my senses go wild.
It’s getting harder and harder not to throw myself into his arms.
“Alice,” he says, his voice low as he kneels down beside me. It’s warmer now. Quiet. “Tell me what happened.”
Finally, I find the courage to look up, and when I do, I see something in his eyes…
Concern? Is that real concern?
It can’t be. I’m just a toy to him. Replaceable. Once my sentence is over, he’ll find himself a new girl.
“Why? Do you even care?” I ask. The sound of him cracking his knuckles causes me to curl tighter. I pull my knees to my chest and avoid his gaze entirely.
“How can you ask me that, Alice? YouknowI care. What happened?”
