Page 51 of Shattered Pieces

“Can’t get rid of me that easily, Bryant. No more trouble? The fuck did they want?”

She glanced out into the common area to make sure we were alone before stepping further into my room and closing the door, leaning back against it with her arms crossed.

“When you’re at the top, someone always wants the crown,” she shrugged. “The guards blamed me for stabbing you, so I don’t know if there was more trouble. I just got out of the hole.”

“What did you tell the cops?”

“That I found you like that. The main camera in the common area had been covered, so it was a planned attack. What did you tell them?”

“I pulled the amnesia card and just said I remembered you saving me,” I snorted, trying to sit up a little more.

“Smart. You want to come out to the yard for a cigarette? You probably shouldn’t hobble around on your own,” she stated. Some time outside would be nice.

I managed to get to my feet without looking like an idiot, grabbing my cigarettes on the way out.

“Thanks,” Lexi said randomly as we walked, not looking at me. “Not a lot of people would have done that for me.”

“We might not get along, but you’re not a bad person. Whatever they had planned, you didn’t deserve it,” I said quietly, noticing her slow her steps a little so I could keep up.

“You’re not a bad person either. I don’t hate you.”

“Aw, are we friends now?”

“Don’t push it, hero,” she scoffed, making me chuckle.

We found a bench in the sun once we’d lit our cigarettes, and we didn’t miss the guards watching us like we were going to beat each other up any second.

“They really believe it was you, don’t they?” I muttered.

“Yep.”

“Can we agree to watch each other’s backs? No friendship required, I know where we stand on that, but⁠—”

“We can be friends. If you want,” she answered, and I raised an eyebrow.

“You sure? You didn’t seem to be vibing with that idea a moment ago.”

“You literally took on two bitches and a shiv with your bare hands for me. I think I can call you a friend,” she chuckled, blowing smoke at me.

We hung out until lunch time, and she motioned for me to join her as we grabbed our trays. Kat and the others joined us soon after, and Tilly squealed when she saw me.

“You’re alive!”

“I appear to be,” I grinned, motioning for her to sit beside me.

Everyone was happy to see me, which felt strange, but I wasn’t going to complain.

Kat went on about me being a badass, and that made me suspicious, but Lexi assured me it wasn’t an act, so I tried to believe her. Kat scared the shit out of me. She always had that dead look in her eyes even when she was smiling. The one that told me she had nothing left to lose.

Lunch was drama-free, and everyone had to get back to the laundry room in the afternoon, so I took my school work to the library to sit in one of the private rooms to get some studying done.

“Hey, nerd,” Lexi snickered when she walked in a few hours later, dropping into a chair beside mine.

“Not a nerd, I just got an opportunity to not be an unemployed, homeless bitch,” I pointed out, rubbing my eyes. “What are you doing here?”

She grabbed one of my text books and spun it around to look at what I was working on, scrunching her nose.

“How do you even understand that shit?”