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“Well, if you ever have any issues, you know who to tell,” Camilla says, nodding her head in the direction of Veronica’s cell.
“Ronnie?” I laugh humorlessly. “She’s the only one who has had me against the wall so far.”
Sabine raises her eyebrows, but her eyes are understanding as she leans forward in her chair. “It’s not wise to doubt the Boss,” she says. “The other women here can do far more damage to you than she will.”
There’s nothing left to say, really, so I shrug my shoulders and take another sip of cocoa. Behind us, footsteps approach. It’s Mr. Jaxon.
“Count in five minutes, ladies,” he says before retreating. Camilla smiles at me.
“We do count here twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. All you have to do is stand by your cell door while an officer comes through to count and make sure everyone is here.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it,” she says, but then she points toward the prison bars that are meant to keep us in our units during the night. “They lock the gates at nine, but we still have run of the unit. You can go to bed at any time.”
I nod, finish off my cocoa, and stand up to rinse my mug, the blanket draped comfortably over my shoulders. As I’m drying the cup, Lace and Ronnie come into the unit, deep in conversation. Ronnie stops talking when she sees me, and her eyes narrow, but Lace only smiles.
“Hi, cute thing.”
My face heats, and I turn away, refusing to look at her. As uncomfortable and scary as it was for Deadeye to hit on me, something about Lace saying it makes my insides tighten with something I’m unfamiliar with. I don’t fear her; I can’t help but like her. She’s a bubbly breath of fresh air in a place like this.
“Hi,” I mutter. Ronnie brushes past me, using her shoulder to knock me aside.
“Sorry,” she says, and I bite my lip to keep from saying something. Still sitting on the couch, Camilla shakes her head at Ronnie, frowning. Ronnie grins and winks at her. I want to punch her, just once, as hard as I can in the face.
“Did you get a hold of your sis?” asks Lace, reaching into the cupboard for an empty plastic cup. She turned on the sink and filled the cup with water, watching me over the brim as she drank.
“No. She wasn’t home.”
“Damn.”
“Alright, ladies, line up,” calls Jaxon, coming into our unit with a clipboard. Camilla and Sabine stand up, smile at me, and we all line up at our cell doors. Mr. Jaxon calls our name and marks a tick in a box on the paper, one by one.
“We good, Mr. Jaxon?” asks Ronnie, already walking away from her door.
“We’re done. Goodnight, ladies.”
I watch Mr. Jaxon close the gates to our unit behind him, locking it. For a moment I feel trapped, locked in, and a wave of claustrophobia engulfs me. Lace must notice the expression on my face, because she smiles and crosses the room toward me, her golden blonde hair falling in tendrils around her cheeks.
“It’s better to think of it as keeping people out instead of keeping us in,” she says. “No one will be able to sneak in at night and shank you in your sleep.”
“That does make me feel better, thanks,” I say with a slight roll of my eyes. Lace chuckles.
“Good.”
Across the room, Ronnie emerges from her cell holding a bottle of gross-looking liquid with floating chunks. She’s grinning, swishing the liquid around in the bottle.
“Pruno!” Lace says, excited. She takes the bottle from Ronnie and takes a swig, making a face.
“Hey new girl, do you want some?” asks Ronnie.
“What is it?”
“Just try it.”
I look at Camilla and Sabine, neither of whom shakes her head no. Lace has already taken a swig, so it can't be poisoned.
Hopefully.
