Everything had mostly gone back to normal with life at Irongate Prison. Vic and I were best friends and our relationship had developed into an even stronger one. He was my light in the darkness and I did not know what I would do without him by my side. After opening up to each other, we were extremely close and spent every minute we could together. I swore not to tell a soul about Vic's innocence and he made the same promise to me.
All prisoners, except for Gerard and Frank, still avoided us like cats avoided water although, after the scene on the football pitch, everyone gave us suspicious looks. They knew that something was up, but no one dared even whisper about it in our presence. Just like Vic had said, being feared by people had its pros.
The only negative difference in our friendship was how I found myself watching what I was saying, more often. I did not want to accidentally blurt out something that reminded Vic of the events which lead to his imprisonment, so I was more careful around him. Not because I was afraid, but because I did not want to see him hurt all over again. And, when he was hurting, I was hurting too.
Whilst Vic and I were happily – yes, happily; it is possible to not be depressed in jail – eating our breakfast in silence, just enjoying each other's presence, someone loudly cleared their throat and everyone's heads snapped to the man at the entrance to the cafeteria. Without surprise, it was M. I had learned that it was his job to manage our group (group C) so, whenever he had some news, he would arrive during breakfast or dinner when all of us were present.
"Hey, everyone," he casually greeted as soon as we all quietened down, running his fingers through his slick hair and fixing up the thick rimmed glasses which relaxed on the tip of his nose. He was always a laid back guy and actually treated us like human beings rather than caged animals. "I have some news. For the next couple of weeks, your sector's courtyard will be under construction, because we feel like expanding it would be a good idea. After all, you do have the smallest courtyard in the entire prison..."
And it was true. Each group had their own outdoors area and, as our group was the smallest (consisting of barely 70 people), we also received the most petite courtyard. None of us really complained as, even with the odd fight or argument, we were apparently the 'best behaved' group out of all of them. And there were four groups.
"As you may have figured out already, you will not be allowed to go out into the courtyard, as that is a violation of the health and safety rules and we wouldn't any of you to get hurt." A grumble of annoyance echoed throughout the cafeteria, because no one was in favour of the idea – even me. I had found myself spending more and more time outside, as it was very calming. Of course, there were always the obnoxious noises of my fellow prisoners, but I had learned to tune them out. The days were also starting to get warmer, and spending time inside of a stuffy building which had no air conditioning was beyond torturous.
"I know, I know, everyone deserves to go outside once in a while. So, instead, we decided that it would be best if, for the next few weeks, you shared a courtyard with group A. They have the second-to-largest one so it makes sense to do it that way. You will be using their courtyard from today, up until I inform you to do otherwise. Everything else stays the same. That's all for now." And then, Officer M Wentz left.
To me, it was quite obvious why we were allocated to join the second-to-largest courtyard even though the largest one would have been the most convenient. The biggest one belonged to group B and, as far as my knowledge went, Mike was part of it. They obviously did not want to start any more unwanted conflicts between the Fuentes brothers and decided to keep them as far away from each other as possible.
I was sure that everyone was intrigued by the idea of staying with another group. I had never been on the A courtyard, but apparently it was five times the size our ours; had a huge field for playing sports, contained plenty of training equipment; and the group consisted of around 400 people. However what worried me most was the fact that group A had a reputation of getting into a lot of trouble and not following the rules.
When our breakfast hour was over, our miniature group was kicked out of the cafeteria for the next bundle of prisoners to get ushered inside. We all walked there together, almost like a team. Of course, there were many disagreements and enemies in our posse but, when it came down to facing danger (like an unpredictable group), we always stood together. It was a magical thing, how a bunch of rough, shabby men, who were all in jail, could form something much like a family. The loners joined the thugs and the goody-two-shoes' joined the troublemakers to create a powerful alliance. And that was a truly wonderful thing to see.
I actually did not know my way to the courtyard, so I ended up following Vic like a lost puppy. I was not very keen on spending my time with the other group, as I was not a fan of...well, people. In general. But I told myself that, once in a while, every person needs sunlight and human contact. And I did not have much else to do anyway.
We all made our way outside and, upon taking my first step, I noticed a significant different between their group and ours. Here, you could probably cut the tension with a knife. Unlike us, where everyone was scattered around, here there was an obvious split within the people; half of them on one side of the area, the other half on the other side, and us right in the middle. We had unconsciously made our way between two colossal, rival gangs.
All of us froze at the sight of each other, but my close friend seemed to not be phased at all and carried on walking with simplicity. I had no choice other than to reluctantly follow him to the back of the courtyard, down to an empty basketball pitch, where we sat down on the ground; all under the watch of hungry eyes.
The night had been gloomy with droplets of rain ferociously machine-gunning all windows and, even though the downpour had stopped, the eerie clouds still hung in the sky, like knives on strings which were just begging to be cut, and prevented all but a few stray rays of sunlight from coming through. The ground was still soggy and damp, but it was a lot better than standing for however long we were planning on staying here.
With Vic sitting opposite me, I gazed over his shoulder to see every one of us parting into their usual groups and making their way around the place. But this did not mean a thing. If anyone from group A even dared touch one of us, they would have an angry Vic to deal with. Even though he was not the murderer everyone thought he was, the fact that they believed so was enough. Also, Vic was a lot stronger than he looked and, even without those homicidal tendencies, he could still probably beat most people here to a pulp. And, as much as he hated most of our group, he was very loyal and would fight for any one of them just like they would do for him.
Vic was feared even in other groups. This surprised me as there were people who had done much worse things here, but I did not complain. It only meant that we were safe from everyone, but it was strange how word could spread around a place like this. I also noticed, as we were passing a few people from group A, that they referred to my companion as 'Violent Vic'. The dumb nickname made me chuckle at how oblivious people were, but I found it unbelievably cute. Violent Vic. If only they knew...
I noticed that the bundle of thugs had been approached by six people from one of the sides. They exchanged handshakes and smiles, just like old friends. This unsettled me. I did not want them to get involved with each other, as that would only cause problems. I realised that the other side of group A was eyeing them suspiciously, and I was not surprised. I would be cautious too.
"Tell me about Copeland." A sudden voice made me yelp and jump slightly, as I had been so engrossed in my thoughts and observations. I finally altered my attention to Vic, who was waiting patiently for my answer.
I considered my response, wondering why he would want to know about her anyway, but after his confession to me there had been no secrets between us. There was so much to say about her, so I decided to tell him all of it.
"She's three, her birthday was just last week on the 18th," I grumbled the last part under my breath, still despising the fact that I was not present to wish her a happy birthday and give her the most amazing gift a father could ever give to his daughter. "She has the biggest brown eyes I have ever seen and the most adorable smile ever. Last time I saw her, she had her hair cut short. Copeland is just starting to speak in full sentences and it's always cute because she says the weirdest things, but it's okay; she's still tiny and has the sweetest voice."
I smiled softly to myself, recalling the time when Copeland complimented my hair by saying 'it's prettier than Mama's' or when she told me to 'shut the fuck up, you ass-wipe' while I was singing her to sleep (I was fairly sure that Justin taught her to say that). I was certain that, one day, my little girl would have a very sinful mouth. Better get the holy water ready...
"According to everyone, we look very alike. She's like my twin...but a lot smaller. She's also one of those kids that find other people's pain amusing, so she would always bite my hand whenever I held her and then laugh at me. But her laugh is just lovely..." I trailed off, suddenly feeling almost empty without her. Copeland had always been the centre of my world, but she was not with me anymore. "And I really miss her."
"Do you want to see her?" Vic asked thoughtfully, seeming enticed by my detailed description of my little princess, and, as I looked up at him, I noticed a loving look in his eyes.
"Of course I want to see her, but I can't. She's staying with Katelynne now and there is no way that bitch would let her go anywhere near me."
"I can arrange for you to see her." My ears perked up. "Just give me a couple of weeks and everything should be sorted."
"How?" I asked, my eyebrows knitting together in confusion and disbelief.
"It's risky, but I have my ways." Vic smirked slyly. "But I promise that, within the next month you will see your daughter. Well, only if we don't get caught, that is."
I was about to question him about the unexplained topic further when, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a familiar man approaching our sitting forms and towering over us like a mountainous skyscraper.
"What do you want, fucktard?" Vic greeted Danny with a less than impressed look on his face. I rolled my eyes and stifled a giggle at how impolite he was being but, if I was not so afraid of Danny, I would have said something along those lines too. I remembered how Vic had told me that he was scared of Danny as well, but he was a lot better at concealing it and putting up an act. My first instinct was to simply cower away.
"Nice to see you too, Vic." Danny chuckled.
"What do you want?" My friend repeated bitterly. I guessed that he hated Danny's presence as much as I did.
"I came to ask if you guys want to have some fun." A mischievous smirk extended on the man's unshaved face.
"No," was Vic's quick reply. Danny did not take the hint that Vic was not at all interested though and pushed his point even further.
"Come on, live a little! We just want you to be part of our plan."
"What plan?" Vic sighed, crossing his toned arms over his chest and not being subtle about the fact that Danny irritated him. I honestly found it adorable.
"Just a little..." Danny grinned innocently, "riot."
"A world of no," Vic hissed, putting great emphasis on the last word.
Prison riots... I had heard of them, but the things I heard were not good. These riots were always bloody and brutal and I did not want to be anywhere near one of them. People always got hurt, and sometimes even killed. From my limited knowledge, I remembered that riots were either prisoners rebelling against the guards or, sometimes, each other.
"Please, it won't be that bad. We just want to show those fuckers over there," Danny pointed in the direction of the half of group A who did not approach him when he entered the courtyard, "who rules this place."
"And that person is not you or any of your stupid friends," Vic growled, standing up although he was still about half a foot shorter than Danny. However, he was no less intimidating. "I rule this place and if I say that I don't want there to be a riot, there will be no fucking riot. If you want to do it, go ahead; just don't get me involved and don't get anyone killed."
Vic was correct. He did basically own Irongate Prison. If even the officers were afraid of him, he was worthy of the title of someone equivalent to a king. Vic was right at the top of the food chain and, now that we were best friends, I was right there beside him. Not as the queen though; that's gay. But, yes homo.
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A/N
Yo yo yo motherfuckers. Thanks to Charlie_the_killjoy for helping out with the ending for this chapter. In fact, she wrote the whole chapter. Actually, she wrote this entire book and I didn't do shit so go check her out :3
I'm noticing that the chapters are getting progressively longer and I really need to chill, but I can't stop myself. The kellic is so uNG!