Page 8 of His Wicked Revenge

My head tilts to the side, relieving the tension with the sound of a crack. “Just stuff from the past.”

“Could it have to do with the reason you are in here?” Reed shoves the soggy fry in his mouth and smiles. I quirk an eyebrow in confusion. “I don’t believe all the bullshit lies you tell the other inmates. Do you, Walt?”

I glance over at the old man who was about to put a spoonful of yogurt in his mouth. His hand freezes in the air, and those blue eyes slide from Reed to me. Walter doesn’t say anything, like usual. He resumes his movement and takes a bite of his Greek yogurt.

“It can’t be any worse than what I’ve done. I mean, I killed a guy.” That smirk continues to play on his lips as he says, “Or a few.” But then that smirk drops. “Did you kill more people than me?”

“How would I even know how many people you killed?” I poke at the stale bread sitting on my plate. Reed opens his mouth, but I stop him and say, “I don’t want to know.”

“All right, well, if you aren’t a killer, then what did a pretty boy like you do to get sent here? It was something lame, wasn’t it? That’s why you lie to all the other guys so that they won’t pick on you?”

I might reconsider punching him in the mouth if he asks me again. “If I tell you, will you please shut up?”

“Since you asked so nicely, yes.” His smile widens. “I’ll even keep the truth to myself.”

My eyes narrow on him, attempting to read his expression to see if he is telling the truth. Reed holds his smile; his eyes are shining with eagerness at the truth I’m about to tell him because that is what I’ll do—a simple answer with no explanation.

“Fine,” I huff as I set the fork down and lower my voice to a whisper. “I helped an insane asylum patient escape.”

Reed’s eyes go wide, and the smile immediately drops from his face. “You what?”

“I’m not repeating myself.”

“But… why? Why help a patient escape?” He questions.

“Sorry, Reed. I said I’d tell you what I did to get in here. Not the why.”

“Awe, come on! I’ll keep it a secret.” He pouts. “Walt won’t spill the juicy details either.”

When I look over to Walter, he is already staring at me. His eyes, always void of emotion, are full of curiosity. And maybe approval? We hold each other’s stares for another second before his eyes dip to his tray.

I swallow, facing forward as Reed begs me to go into details. Remaining silent, I start to pick up my fork when the door to the cafeteria opens, and an officer steps in.

Officer Colt, who was one of the officers who brought me in, glances around the room until his eyes meet mine.

“Madden!” he yells my name over the crowd. Reed goes silent beside me while my heart races a mile per minute. Officer Colt nods his head, gesturing for me to come to him.

I grip the tray in my hands before I stand to throw the remaining food away. I hear a faint “good luck” from Reed as I leave him and Walter. Around the entire cafeteria, there are curious eyes on me, which isn’t unusual, seeing as I’m new.

Do the other inmates think I did something wrong? Did I do something wrong?

“You are seeing the judge today,” Officer Colt informs me as I approach him.

“Great.” I swallow again, my heart starting to race more than it did when he entered the room.

“Let’s go.” He holds the door open for me, and I am met with another officer who is holding handcuffs.

He doesn’t have to tell me what to do. I turn, placing my hands behind my back for him to secure the cuffs. Once they are tight and I can’t slip my hands out, they both escort me to the van.

“State your name for the case,” the female judge orders with a bored tone.

Her light brown hair is tied back in a tight bun with little flyaways around her face. She seems tired, like being here and dealing with me is less important than other things she could be doing today.

“Leo Madden.” My voice remains steady even though nerves are stirring inside me.

Officer Colt is standing behind me. I have no lawyer beside me because I am guilty. It would have been a waste of money to hire one. I’m not here to fight for my innocence. I am here to get my sentence.

“You are here because you took part in the escape of a patient at Black Lake Asylum.” She peers over her glasses, looking down at me.