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I lay in bed staring at the ceiling until Lace is finished with work unit. She finds me in my cell, hands over my stomach, staring at the ceiling in silence.
“What happened?” she asks, sitting on the edge of the bed next to me. “Was it Ronnie?”
“Isn’t it always?” I sit up on the bed and reach for Lace’s hand, squeezing it. “Has anyone bothered you? In the hallways, or at work unit? Have you heard anything? Has anyone threatened you?”
“No, Joey, nothing.” Lace frowns, biting her lower lip. “Should these things be happening?”
“No.” I shake my head and lay back down, taking a deep breath. “Not as long as Veronica knows what’s good for her.”
Before Lace can answer, there’s a slight knock on my door. I sit up, and Lace gets up to answer it. I’m expecting Jaxon (Ronnie wouldn’t have knocked), but it’s not Jaxon. It’s Sabine and Camilla.
“Can we come in, lovely?” Sabine asks kindly, and I nod. Camilla follows her in, and they shut the cell door behind them. I look at Lace, wondering if she knows what’s going on, but she can’t seem to meet my gaze. I wave my hand to the bed so Camilla and Sabine can sit next to Lace. I don’t mind … they are some of my favorite people in this prison.
“Why do I feel like something is coming that I won’t like?” I ask, looking between the three women on my bed. Lace smiles sheepishly, but it’s Camilla who speaks up first.
“So, we were thinking,” she murmurs, dropping her head so that our faces are only a few inches apart. I pull back, hesitant, unsure if I really want to hear whatever is about to come out of my friend’s mouth.
“Do I really want to know?”
“Probably not, love,” says Sabine with a shrug. “But it’s important.”
I look at Lace, who shrugs.
“Fine,” I say. “Spill it.”
“Okay, but don’t hate us.” Camilla takes a breath and clears her throat. “We know you’re innocent, Joey, and we know that in time you’ll be released once it’s proven.”
“That’s the hope anyway,” I mutter. Camilla nods. She looks wary.
“But we don’t know how long that will be, right? It could be months, or maybe even years.”
“Way to kick a girl when she’s down, Cam,” I mumble. Camilla shakes her head, rambling on.
“What if you—” she hesitates, glancing at Sabine for encouragement. My gaze flips between the two, hands clamming with sweat. I’m no longer sure I want to hear what they have to say.
“What if you step up?” Sabine says suddenly, the words pouring from her mouth like a terrified confession. “What if you take on Ronnie and become the Boss?”
Silence settles over the table, a silence so heavy I think we might all drown in it. Beside me, Lace is so tense I can practically feel the apprehension pouring off her in waves. Camilla twists her hands anxiously, and Sabine looks like the words she’s spoken have physically hurt her.
“Um,” I say. “I don’t think so.”
As if on cue, everyone speaks at once, filling the otherwise empty room with a flurry of noise.
“We think you can do it—”
“Can you just try—?”
“You’re the best we’ll ever find, Joey—”
“Enough!” I cover my ears and close my eyes, wishing I could just sink down into the floor and never surface. Lace puts her arms around my shoulders and pulls me in, her lips resting against my neck.
“It’s okay,” she murmurs, and I allow my hands to drop from my face.
“We’re sorry, love,” Sabine says, reaching out to take my hand. “We didn’t mean to come at you so hard.”
“It’s just that you might be our only option, is all.” Camilla takes my other hand and squeezes it, forcing me to relax.
“It’s not an option,” I tell them. “Ronnie can beat me. I also haven’t been here long enough to earn anyone’s respect. Why would I assume that everyone will just follow me?”
