Page 28 of On Your Life

I hear murmurs throughout the pod followed by a few loud voices.

“Did she say snake?”

“Ain’t no damn snakes in here.”

“I know she didn’t say what I think she said.”

The door pops open and I see those bright blue eyes before a smirk. That fucking smirk sends my blood boiling. Or maybe it’s the bite on my leg that's beginning to burn.

I look down and see the two puncture wounds. The area surrounding them is already starting to swell and it feels like it's on fire.

The little bite is nothing compared to the monstrosity on my chest. On my left breast, right over my heart, are three letters carved into my skin.

FOX

“You fucking did this?” I yell at the lunatic in the doorway.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says flatly, that goddamn smirk still plastered on his face.

“Call a fucking ambulance!” I yell.

Some snake bites can be deadly, I know that much. I don’t know what kind of snakes these are but by the way the fire is spreading from my calf up toward my thigh, it can’t be good.

He watches the snakes move around on the floor before responding.

“I have to call animal control first, then we can get you seen by the nurse. I’m sure she’s somewhere around here. Sit tight,” he says casually like my leg isn’t about to fucking fall off.

I look over to the toothbrush on the windowsill, staring at it for a second, then I look back at him. As much as it pains me to admit, I’ve had enough.

All day I’ve been trying to convince myself that I could survive this place without becoming someone I don’t recognize. Maybe I was wrong.

If this is the way he wants to play, then fine. If I manage to live through this shit it will be the worst mistake he has ever made.

Chapter 15

Fox

It takes everything I have not to laugh. The picture of her horrified face on the camera when she saw the snakes will live in my mind until the day I die. The way her eyes widened, the panic taking over her features before she could hide it. It did something to me.

It took hours of hunting around in the woods to find two copperheads. They’re hard as shit to see when they actually want to hide and even harder to catch. Apparently, getting them into the prison was the easy part.

The nurse is here now. She had the same reaction everyone else did when she heard what happened. She couldn’t believe that one snake got into the prison, let alone two.

The place is surrounded by woods so it isn’t exactly out of the realm of possibility. They’re also supposed to search anyone and everyone before they enter the building. There’s no one here to point fingers at except the checkpoint officers.

Animal control arrives and captures the snakes with minimal effort. Meanwhile she waits with the nurse on a table in the common area for EMS.

She looks so innocent with tears gathered in her eyes, reenacting the events of the night for anyone who will listen. Every few minutes a cold stare is shot my way.

I wonder if she’s trying to place the blame on me. If she told them what I did to her. Surely she couldn’t be that stupid.

She changed into a different jumpsuit before the nurse got to her. A few tiny specks of blood remain on the left side of her chest but she quickly throws her hair over them when she catches me staring, hiding the evidence. Smart girl.

My body is warm with pleasure as I watch her cry. What I would give to lick the tears from her face. To taste the pain she’s endured. To wrap my fist around her hair and force her look at the person responsible for her ruin instead of turning away from me.

She’s weak. Contrary to the front she tries so desperately to present. I can feel it when I look at her. The tiny cracks in her composure. The tremble she tries to hide. The way her eyes betray her even when her body doesn’t.

She’s close. So fucking close to breaking. And when she finally does, I want a front row seat to her undoing.