Chapter Three #2
It’s the only thing that keeps me breathing anymore.
Living day to day, basking in the darkness, without becoming too much of a vampire.
That’s what my friends are for, I guess.
They keep me up, keep me rooted in the present.
That’s the tightrope you must walk in a life sentence… Staying fully in the right now.
No thinking about the future. And never any dwelling on the past.
Watching O’Malley run around Hammond and jump up onto his back like a damn spider monkey, I’m releasing tiny bubbles of soft laughter. He’s just such a loon. Mucho loco. But still… He’s my friend. And having friends in here is key.
Maybe it’s weird to say I didn’t have many friends until I came to prison, but it’s sort of true.
I had acquaintances, but no one I would consider as close to me as Luthor, Ren, and O’Malley are.
I think that’s a prison thing, too. When you’re stuck in the same place, with boredom following you around every corner like a shadow, your best bet for survival is to be part of a group.
I struggled with it at first… How much to trust these people. But at the end of the day, I think I trust them as much as they trust me. We’ll call it seventy-five percent. Because I’m sure they’re keeping things from me. Just like I’m definitely keeping things from them.
Maybe not the same kinds of things… Or as many.
Grabbing one of the cloths they have lying around for us to clean up with, I dunk it into the bucket of water, holding it up to my eye. The cold feels good and will help with the bruising and swelling.
After a Quiet Night , I always wonder if Luthor or Ren will ask questions. But that’s the beauty of this whole operation… Prison fights are a part of daily life. No one bats an eye when somebody shows up with fresh wounds.
There are orderlies from the East Wing in on it. They take a cut from the guards, and if a fighter gets badly injured, they fix him up— as best they can, anyway. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen.
I’m still watching O’Malley scratch and bite Hammond while I think about Ren…
I’m surprised that he, of all people, hasn’t found out about this yet. He’s the official Gossip Guy of Alabaster Pen. He has this uncanny ability to find things out around here.
But then, I guess he doesn’t know everything …
My throat feels thick as my mind rushes with images, like a slideshow of all my secrets flickering behind my open eyes.
I wonder what he’d think if he found out…
Eyes gliding left, I peek at the stack of mats where I hid the cellphone the other day. I still haven’t had a chance to use it, and I really want to. I’m contemplating how risky it would be to grab it now and sneak into the locker room real quick while everyone is distracted…
But loud cheers and bellows reclaim my attention.
“You little fuck!” Brenner shoves O’Malley back.
“Want some, yeh lazy cuck?” O’Malley shouts up at Brenner, getting back in his face.
I didn’t see what happened, or why they’re fighting now, rather than O’Malley and Hammond, but honestly, it could’ve been anything. We all know O’Malley has a short fuse, and Brenner is a prick of epic proportions, so they tend to be at each other’s throats.
“Fucking fight , you worthless toad, or I’ll mash you into the ground myself,” Brenner snarls.
Linetti stomps in closer. I can’t tell if he’s going to separate them or join in.
O’Malley steps back, his classic move, wherein he makes you think he’s backing down, and then bam! He slaps Brenner in the face.
It doesn’t look like it was hard, but Brenner is fuming at the disrespect, and O’Malley is laughing like a damn Looney Tune. Before Brenner can even react, he’s already running back over to Hammond, instantly launching blows at his face and body.
Everyone is cheering and screaming. It’s mental. Hammond is bleeding, and Linetti and Brenner are just watching, because as much as I’m sure they want to take O’Malley out right now, they want money more, and I’m pretty sure they bet on him to win.
Which he does, sweeping Hammond’s legs out from under him, then kicking him in the face until the dude finally taps out.
Wild Quiet Night, man.
A little while later, the fights are done, and the guards are cleaning up and getting ready to clear out.
They have to get us all back up to Gen-pop before the morning crew of guards shows up for the shift change.
Lucas is cuffing inmates while Linetti and Brenner are counting their winnings and talking shit, so I figure it’s the perfect opportunity to at least check on the cellphone while they’re all preoccupied.
Casually inching over to the stack of mats, I reach in between for the phone. Only it’s not there.
My panic is immediate. I’m feeling around, searching for it while simultaneously making sure no one’s looking, and praying I just forgot exactly where I put it.
“Yo, what the fuck?!” I hear Brenner bark, and I freeze. He’s stalking over to O’Malley. “What the fuck is that??”
Motherfucker…
O’Malley has the cellphone. He’s holding it up, trying to be subtle— the way a fucking gunshot is subtle —while clearly recording Brenner and Linetti with the cash in their hands.
Oh, great. This is just fucking perfect.
I distance myself, because I’m not going down for his stupidity. It wasn’t even his to play with! Goddamnit!
“Smile for the camera, pretty boy,” O’Malley mocks them, backing up as Brenner and Linetti come at him.
“Get everyone back upstairs now! ” Linetti orders Lucas.
And I’m just shaking my head as I’m cuffed and shoved out of the rec room along with the others, stealing one last glimpse of my friend, the lunatic, being tackled to the ground.
Well, fuck. There goes that idea.