Chapter Eighteen
Jett
Something has shifted. The last couple of nights after I’ve gotten undressed and crawled into bed, Everest wordlessly moves the desk out of the way and drags his bed over to mine, cuddling up next to me.
Every night I pull him closer, and we spend hours talking until well into the morning.
The last two days Everest was awake and was dutifully pushing his bed back against the wall where it belonged before Lance got here.
Today we were both in nothing but our underwear, completely uncovered, and he was still plastered to my chest like a baby koala when Lance strolled up for his shift.
Needless to say, Lance insisted that the two of us go for a walk so that we could have a discussion.
I’m a lot more irritated about this looming conversation than I should be, but what Everest and I share feels…
private. I don’t care how close Lance and I have been the last few months; I don’t want to share anything about us with him, or anyone for that matter.
I don’t even like sharing Everest’s time with him, but it’s not like I can tell Lance to stop coming for his shifts.
I’m already showing up earlier and earlier every day under the guise that I’m just getting a run down on what they did for the day before Lance takes off.
Eventually that excuse isn’t going to work anymore, and it seems like we may have reached that point earlier than I anticipated.
“So… spit it out.” Lance demands as he tucks his hands into his pocket. At least he waited until we made it outside and away from other people before he started asking questions. The last thing I want are a bunch of rumors going around about Everest.
“It’s not what you think.” Is all I offer as I casually lean against the stone wall.
“So, you haven’t slept together?“ He gives me an accusatory glare as he patiently waits on me to answer. “You know that I’m not gonna say anything to anyone, JP.”
The exterior door beside us swings open and a few of the other prisoners walk out into the courtyard. Lance pinches his lip between his thumb and forefinger as he inches closer to me for more privacy, but we both wait until they walk a good distance away before we start talking again.
“Well… once. It was before we moved to the block, though. We haven’t done anything since then.”
“What was going on back there then? It seemed pretty serious, Jett. I’ve seen dozens of guards fucking prisoners, but I have never seen any of them cuddled up like that.
Is this like a…“ He wildly waves his arm around between us as he searches for the right words.
“A thing or are you two just passing the time? Because it seems like something.”
I huff out a deep breath as I scrub my hand down my face in frustration.
“I don’t know, okay? I like Everest. A lot.
I don’t want to pressure him right now though, Lance.
I mean, you saw him last week. He was a mess.
He’s obviously been going through some shit and I don’t expect anything from him right now.
I’m just… being myself. I’ll be here for him and if it turns into something, then it’ll happen. ”
“Oh, it’s happening, alright.“ He rolls his eyes at me as he takes a step back.
“Do you see the way you two look at each other? It makes me want to vomit. I knew something was going on between you two. Roman owes me dinner.” He declares as he glances over to the camera on the corner of the building and flips it the bird. “You hear that, Roman?”
I shake my head as I chuckle. “Great. People are betting on my love life.”
“It’s Roman. He knows everything about everyone, and I finally one-upped him. I deserve a fucking trophy for that.” He readjusts his shirt and runs his fingers through his hair as he straightens up proudly. He then proceeds to blow on his nails and buff them on his shirt like a diva.
“Okay, so we’re through here, yeah? I can go?”
He rolls his eyes as he steps over to the door and pulls it open.
“Yeah, I guess. Just be careful, okay?” His voice is laced with concern, and even though Lance would never say it, I know that he worries about me and I don’t take that lightly.
He’s one of the few people I’ve ever had in my life that always seems to be on my side no matter the circumstances.
I grasp his shoulder as I pass by him. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”
“Always.”
I pull my badge from my pocket and swipe it on the lock to open the door to my flat.
Well, mine and Roman’s flat. He’s at his desk in the living area, watching all the cameras scattered around the prison just like he always is.
He’s the head of security here, and he thinks it’s his job to make everybody else’s business his business.
We don’t have a very big place, but it’s comfortable.
The rooms are set up like a two-bedroom apartment.
There’s a decent sized living area and kitchen, but it’s nothing compared to the estate that I used to live on.
Oddly enough, I think I prefer my little apartment with Roman over the lifeless mansion I lived in before.
I don’t know how long Roman has been at the prison, but Maven has a system where he houses newer employees with people that have been here longer so that if we have any questions or issues then we have someone that we can turn to for help.
I got really lucky with my roommate, and we’ve gotten pretty close in the short amount of time that I’ve lived with him.
“Now, I have to take your bratty friend to dinner. Thanks a lot, jackass.”
“And here I thought that you would congratulate me on finally spending time with someone other than Lance. Who are you and what have you done with Roman?” He turns to glare at me, rolling his eyes in annoyance.
“This is Lance we’re talking about, Jett.” He says with a stern voice as he turns his attention back to the computer screens. “I already have a migraine just from thinking about it.”
Fortunately for Roman, I care about watching television nearly as much as he does.
So, instead of a traditional living room, we have an…
office? Kind of. It’s more like a giant desk with approximately a dozen computer screens that are linked with the prison security so that Roman can work even when he isn’t working.
Don’t ask me. I don’t understand it either.
We do own a couch and a television. They’re just kind of… crammed in the corner.
“He’s not that bad, Roman.” I say as I toss my keys onto the counter and grab a bottle of water from the fridge. “All you have to do is stay quiet. He’ll do all the talking. You barely even have to nod at the appropriate times, and he’ll have a great time.”
“This isn’t a fucking date. Why do I care if he’s happy?
I just know that I’ll have to trust the other idiots in the security office to watch the cameras long enough to feed him and get rid of him.
Do you know how hard it is to get rid of him, Jett?
He’s like a fucking cockroach.” He pinches his brows together as he turns to glare at me. Again. “Seriously.”
“You’ll live,” I chuckle as I sit my backpack on the barstool and dig around until I find my wallet. “I’m heading down to the shops. Need anything?”
“Nah. I put in a delivery order yesterday. You weren’t here or I would’ve asked if you needed anything.”
“We both have cell phones, you know?”
He sneers at me before turning back to check on the cameras again. I chuckle at him as I toss my backpack onto the sofa.
“Alright. I’ll be back in a little while.”
He nods as he cracks open a sparkling water, refusing to look away from his screens anymore.
All the people that work for Maven, except the married ones, live in the apartments here.
They’re only four floors tall but span a good bit of square footage around the exterior of the prison.
It feels almost like they made our living quarters specifically around the prison as an extra barrier to prevent people from escaping since there’s no way for prisoners to get outside of the walls without literally walking through the house of hundreds of staff members.
Is it possible? I’m sure. There’s not a single person in this place that thinks trying to escape is worth how far they’d get, though.
We have everything we need here, and even if our lives outside of the prison were better before, we were all sent here by someone.
Which means that if anyone did escape, they wouldn’t be able to go back to their old lives without risking being sent here again.
Then they’d still have to deal with Maven. Just angrier.
On the bottom floor, in both the front and the rear of the prison there are general stores.
They’re similar to the shops inside the prison wings, but much bigger.
They also have a bigger selection of items, and that’s exactly why I’m headed there.
It takes me about fifteen minutes to walk up front, and I’m immediately overwhelmed by all the shit there is to choose between.
What was supposed to be a quick trip to the shop turns into two hours and what would amount to hundreds of dollars worth of shit if we actually had to pay for anything.
That’s one of the many perks of living here.
We work, we do our share of labor, and we don’t have to worry about funds.
We can get anything we want from the shops just by swiping our badge.
We don’t get paid in cash; we get paid in goods and services.
When I first learned about it, I was positive that it was some kind of joke. Who doesn’t need money?
There’s rent, and groceries, and whatever we want for hobbies in our free times, medical expenses, clothing.
All the shit that matters in the outside world is provided for us here, and that’s oddly…
freeing. I think back to what Everest was saying about coming here.
How he wanted the freedom to just be and it finally clicks for me.
While this is a prison, and none of us are really here by choice, there’s some semblance of balance and weightlessness to living here.
The burdens we all had before, they’re just… gone.
I struggle to lug a dozen bags of shit I probably didn’t need all the way back to my apartment.
My phone vibrates in my pocket multiple times on the way, but my hands are so full that I can’t check it until I’m back in my room.
I didn’t even have to look at it to know that Lance was the one texting me.
He’s the only person that sends multiple messages back-to-back.
Lance:
Your boyfriend is pouting.
He’s refusing to eat lunch.
Again.
I’m going to turn into a skeleton at this rate.
Please call and talk to him before I die of malnourishment.
I chuckle as I press the call button. Lance answers after the very first ring. I swear he lives on his phone.
“Praise all that is holy.”
“You know that I can’t talk to him on the phone, right? It’s against the rules.”
“I can pass the message along. I’m talking to Jett, Everest.”
I hear Everest call him a snitch in the background, and I laugh. “Put me on speakerphone, Lance.”
“Ooooh! Yes! Great idea!“ I hear him shuffle around for a second before he gives me the go ahead. “Okay. Loud and clear.”
“E?” I ask as I plop back onto my bed.
“I’m here.” He replies quietly. “What is it, JP?” He sounds closer to the phone now.
“Why aren’t you eating, schon?”
“I don’t want what they’re having today.” He says defiantly.
“You still have to eat something. You’re losing too much weight, and so is Lance. Roman isn’t going to be able to pick on him for not having a six-pack anymore if you keep it up.”
“Roman can fuck off!” Lance says in the background.
“Bring me sushi. Pleaseeeeeee.” Everest whines.
“That sounds a lot like a—“
“Yes. That. Whatever you want.“ He interrupts excitedly. My dick immediately stirs to life, and I press the palm of my hand against it through my jeans to try calming it down. It doesn’t work. Not even a little bit.
“Lance?”
“Yeah, yeah. We’ll be waiting. Bring some for me to take home too. I’m starving.”
“Be there soon.” I reply with a smile.
Maybe Lance knowing there’s something going on between Everest and me isn’t so bad after all, even if I don’t plan on making Everest trade me for food.