Page 48 of Shattered Pieces

The others grabbed their shower caddies and left, so I sat on my bed to do some work, zoning out to focus.

I was aware of movement in the common area, figuring some of the girls had made their way back, but then I heard a muffled curse and a door shut. Being nosy wasn’t good in here, but I finally decided to investigate, poking my head out to see Lexi’s door shut.

It wasn’t that strange, she always shut herself in there, but something felt off.

I heard a scuffle and decided to risk the possibility of walking in on her fucking someone, especially when I heard more than one voice whispering.

Who the fuck was in there?

Mind made up, I quietly walked over and yanked the door open, finding Lexi pinned against the wall by someone, a hand over her mouth to stop her from making a noise, while another person held a shiv up to her face.

Lexi’s eyes widened when she saw me, the girl with the shiv turning to face me with a scowl.

“Get the fuck out, Donovan.”

“What the fuck are you doing?” I bit out, the girl holding Lexi punching her in the stomach and making her hunch in pain as the other girl chuckled.

“None of your business.”

I couldn’t exactly run to get a guard without getting both of us killed, and the other girls were still in the shower block.

The second the girl turned her back on me, I lunged at her, hitting her in the head and shoving her away from Lexi. She stumbled and we ended up on the ground wrestling over the shiv, the bitch kneeing me in the ribs to try and make me let go of her arm.

“Donovan!” Lexi shouted, and I looked over just as the other girl tackled me, trying to fight them both off.

“Go!” I snapped at Lexi, but she joined the fight to try and help me.

I’d almost overpowered my attacker when I felt a sharp pain in my side, hissing out a curse as I saw the bloodied shiv before it stabbed me again.

“What the fuck?” Kat barked as she appeared with Jamie, the girls scrambling to escape when they realized they were outnumbered. The pain started to take over as I clutched my side, making me hiss out a breath.

Holy fucking shit, that hurt.

Lexi was already grabbing her spare uniform off the shelf and pushing my shirt up out of the way to get a better look, cursing as she pressed the clean uniform to the wounds.

“The fuck were you thinking?” she growled, but the panic on her face told me it was probably worse than I thought.

“I was thinking you didn’t want to get your pretty face carved up and needed help,” I joked, wincing as she applied pressure. I looked down, finding blood on my shirt and her hands, ignoring her cursing as she barked something at the other girls.

Was I bleeding a lot? I felt cold.

I jerked as the alarm blared through the prison, and Lexi put a hand on my shoulder to keep me still.

“You’re fine, Donovan. Don’t move,” she promised, but her face wasn’t really convincing me.

Guards rushed in soon after, and it was a blur as I was carted off on a gurney, Lexi watching me as I was taken away to Medical.

I must have passed out because the next thing I knew I was in a hospital bed, a handcuff around one wrist that kept me attached to the bed.

“I feel like I just left this damn place,” I grumbled, trying to sit up and wincing as my abdomen felt like it was on fire.

“You’re awake,” the nurse said with a smile, looking over my chart. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I got stabbed,” I deadpanned, glancing at the door to find Miss Jarvis there. “How long was I out?”

Miss Jarvis glanced at her watch, sighing. “A few hours. You were sedated. Scans showed no internal issues, so you were patched up, given antibiotics and a tetanus shot, and you’ll be discharged in the morning. You’ll be asked to make a statement once you’re awake more.”

I had no idea what to say. I couldn’t rat anyone out, but I couldn’t exactly ask Lexi what her story was going to be.