Page 41 of Shattered Pieces

“This sucks,” I said tightly as I let go, blinking away tears and making him chuckle.

“It does. Get your shit together. You can cry about it when you get out.”

I nodded, giving Tyler one last kiss before forcing myself to walk towards the door, glancing over my shoulder one last time before the guard let me out to strip search me, the hallway feeling so damn long when I started walking back to my cell.

The walk back gave me time to force the emotions back down, and I found Tilly and Jamie waiting for me when I arrived.

“How was it?” Tilly asked with a grin, taking my arm.

“Really good,” I said before blowing out a breath. “Although, it really fucking sucks when they leave without you.”

“I’d say you get used to it, but you don’t,” Jamie replied.

“What are you girls doing in here, anyway? Where’s everyone else?” I asked, glancing around to notice it was empty.

“The yard. We figured we’d wait for you,” Tilly smiled, hooking her arm with mine and tugging me towards the door.

“I bought cigarettes this morning, so I’ll grab them first,” I huffed, grateful this prison allowed smoking. Products were limited, but I was fine with that. I usually bought the cheap shit anyway.

I handed some to the girls since they always shared theirs with me, then we headed out to the yard for some fresh air.

Lexi was leaning against the wall by the ashtray with Kat, and she lifted her chin in greeting as we approached.

“You get to see Rivera?” she asked, and I nodded, lighting my cigarette before answering.

“Yeah, he brought Marco and Ty with him, so that was nice.”

“They tell you about Skeet?”

I took a drag, blowing the smoke towards her with a scowl. “We talked about him, yes.”

“I warned you about him. Trust me, Hunter’s got your back. Stick with him. He’s good in bed too, which is a bonus. He’s an overachiever,” she smirked, taking a drag of her cigarette.

“I’m not interested.”

“You should be. That man does not want to be your friend, Donovan. He gets fucking hearts in his eyes when he talks about you,” she snorted.

“Still, not interested,” I said dryly. “He said not to hurt me, so why did you punch me?”

“I’m not going to let a man tell me what to do. He’s cute, but he’s not that cute,” she replied, butting her cigarette out. “I didn’t want you thinking you had a friend in me just because of who you know. My punch had purpose, and it kept you in your lane. We understand each other, right?”

“Of course,” I smiled sweetly, making her roll her eyes before she crossed her arms and glanced at Kat. “Incoming.”

I turned, finding Smith walking out into the yard. She looked like shit.

Kat and Lexi walked towards her, and I stayed back to watch them, trying to figure out what was going on.

“What’s their beef?” I asked Jamie, who chuckled.

“She attacked Tilly, who’s under Bryant’s protection. People know not to use her to get to you, and Smith ignored it, so she was punished.”

I watched Lexi, and it was hard to imagine her outside of the prison. The photo I’d seen had her dressed up like a doll, her acrylic nails giving absolutely no chance at landing punches without injuring herself.

In here, that girl was gone.

Which version was the real Lexi? This one seemed to be, but I wasn’t sure. We were all just trying to survive, so it could have been a mask.

Smith backed down from her, and Lexi said something quietly before stalking off with Kat in tow, heading back inside.