Page 38 of Shattered Pieces

I blew out a breath, raking a hand through my hair as I eyed her.

“Five. It was six, but he died.”

“The guy from the Psychos? I saw reports of him leaving all of his belongings to you. I’m sorry, I can’t imagine not being able to grieve in private,” she said carefully, not wanting to piss me off.

“Every time it dies down, something happens and drags me back into the spotlight. It’s mostly because of Ty. The second his parents announced where he was living, reporters flocked to him. Now, they’re just after all my secrets instead,” I huffed, motioning for her to follow me to the cafeteria. “What about you? You dating?”

“No. It’s just me and my hand,” she smirked, making me laugh.

“How do you find privacy?”

“At night. The girls weren’t wrong. I don’t know how you’re not going through withdrawals if you were having good sex all the time.”

“I’ve had other things on my mind,” I said dryly, nodding to a few girls as they passed us. They nodded back, making me feel calmer. Not everyone hated me, this was good.

The cafeteria was packed when we arrived, and we quickly lined up to grab our dinner before sitting in an empty spot.

I was a little surprised when Lexi, Kat, and Jamie sat with us, but I didn’t draw attention to it.

Tina walked past and glared at me, but she spotted Lexi on my other side and kept walking. Hopefully, that meant no one else would bother me today either.

I couldn't go back in the hole for defending myself. I’d die if they canceled visitation with Hunter and had to wait even longer for some answers.

The girls talked among themselves while I ate silently, and it was nice to be able to eat in peace.

I spent the evening staying out of trouble, going with the girls to shower before heading back to our cell block to workout in my room until bed time.

No one was ruining that damn visitation for me.

CHAPTER SEVEN

RORY

The morning dragged. I had breakfast, did some school work, and by the time visitation hours started, I was a ball of emotions on the inside. I was excited, a little nervous, and sad at the same time. Seeing a familiar face would be great, but knowing they had to leave me here was really fucking hard.

I was escorted to the visitation area, being searched on the way in, and I fought tears so badly when I scanned the room to find Hunter with Marco and Tyler beside him. I’d had no idea I’d be seeing Tyler, and it caught me off guard a little.

I had to keep my shit together though, walking towards them and forcing down the emotion.

“I didn’t know you were coming,” I said brightly, my stupid voice cracking with the emotions I was trying to hide. He scrambled to his feet and hugged me so tightly that I thought my ribs would crack, his entire body shuddering.

“Hey, baby.”

The guard barked at us to step back, apparently limiting how long we could hug, and I fucking hated it. I didn’t want to let him go. I didn’t realize how starved of touch I was until he’d hugged me, and now I wasn’t sure how I’d cope without it.

He stepped back with a scowl, giving me a quick kiss before sitting in his chair, and Hunter grinned as he stood and opened his arms for a hug too.

“Hey, Hot Shot. Been getting into trouble?”

I hugged him too, feeling the nerves fading the longer I was with them.

“Not on purpose. Thanks for bringing him,” I murmured, and he stepped back before we could get in trouble, giving me a wink.

“You’re welcome. To be fair, he’s usually with us all the damn time anyway.”

I frowned, taking my seat and trying to ignore Marco’s foot as it bumped against mine under the table, a sly smile on his face.

“Not going to say hi to me? Rude. I’ve been snuggling your boyfriend at night to keep him happy while you’re gone. You should be more grateful,” he teased, my frown only deepening.