NINE YEARS LATER
Chucking the plastic cup into the bin in the hallway? I pushed open the door and my panic alarm went off in my head.
There she was, in bloodstained clothes and sitting on the bed with a bruised face and busted lip.
"Who did that to you?" I asked the girl who looked no more than 19.
"Big B" she groaned weakly, her voice almost a whisper, but I could hear the pain in it.
"They didn't tell you to avoid Big Brit? She's a bully", I said, and fished out a new pair of gloves.
"She attacked me while I was doing sanitation. I've been avoiding her, but she got to me today," she explained.
I had no reaction or reply for her when I picked up the bottle of spirit, dabbed a healthy amount of the solution on a cotton pad and approached her.
"This will sting" I said, and before she could reply I pressed the cotton pad on her wound and started to clean it.
"Shit!!! Fuck!! Ow!! Shit!!" She cursed and I almost rolled my eyes.
"With the way you curse, I'd expect you to be able to handle a little pain" I said, and she hissed.
"This thing hurts like a bitch, and it's not any fucking little pain, it's like an aneurysm", she exaggerated. I picked up my penlight and started to examine the wound and her state of being.
"You have a broken rib, almost had a concussion, and you'll need stitches for that cut in your head" I said and she scoffed.
"Why don't you just perform a whole operation on me?" The pettiness was very obvious in her voice.
I picked up a suture needle. "I'm going to stitch this", I pointed to her wound.
"Will it hurt?" Her brows curled in fear for a moment.
"Of course it will, brace yourself or wail", I said in a bored tone and sat down.
While I stitched the wound, the silence stretched for a long while before the bratty girl broke it.
"You're not much of a talker," she said.
"No"
"That's a first, everyone here is too loud and chatty, they all want to sell you something or be your friend....
"You make sure you avoid the people here. They're dangerous. This isn't high school, it's jail" I said, and she went silent again. This time around, my curiosity took the best part of me and I started to wonder.
What was someone her age doing in jail with hardened criminals like us?
"What did you do?" I suddenly spoke up.
"Huh?"
"Who did you kill?" I asked again.
"My stepmother's husband," she gave in. "And I didn't kill him, I just gave him a... permanent scar," she shrugged lightly.
"Your stepmother knows you're here?" I raised a questioning brow but not breaking my focus from my work.
"She put me here. Amanda is a politician and any scandal will make her lose the election, so she sent me here. They didn't even give me a trial", the girl said, and I quickly understood her situation.
I nodded and went back to silence.
"I was arrested in the dead of the night", the girl continued like she did not just take my cue to end the conversation. "I was dragged out of bed."
"You don't have any other guardian apart from your stepmother?" I asked, now picking interest again.
"My father is late, and my mother has a new family now. She wants nothing to do with me, the child she had out of wedlock" she said, and I paused.
"How old are you?"
"25"
"Hm" I muttered, knowing I was almost the same age as her when I was sent here, it was like a whole cycle repeating itself with a different plot .
"She's sending people after me here, I think she wants me dead", the girl resumed again.
"I know someone like that. She's also a terrible woman, and she acts like a..." I paused looking for a better word to describe Carrie Van Cleve that would portray her as the kind of evil person that she was.
"Like a bitch?" The girl filled in for me after I became silent for too long.
"I don't like that word, but yeah, that is a great example", I said with a quick raise of my brow.
"She was nice at first. When my dad brought me home to her, she would take me to the parties of these rich men, the people of rich society, like the Van Cleves, Sutherland, Oslos, Beckinsales, McClains, but their kids were always pieces of suck-up snubs..."
She continued to yap away not knowing I was frozen in a spot for a minute.
She had mentioned their names.
"What do you know about the Van Cleves?" I interrupted her.
"Oh, they're rich and …. I hate them" she said, and I could not agree more.
But I said nothing. Before I could pick up a new line of conversation, the door burst open.
"Hey Van Cleve, is my girl ready?" A big and tall blonde entered the little infirmary.
The girl shivered and cowered away from her direction.
"That's not my name Britney. Go pick on your own size", I said, snipping off the thread before straightening to meet Britney's eyes.
"Big Brit" she corrected.
"Britney", I met her stare. "Get out, or I'll report you to the jail officer on duty" I sighed and stood up, but the girl held my hand and stopped me from walking.
"You're a Van Cleve?" She asked and that only infuriated me.
"No" I snatched my hand away furiously and walked to the table.
I dropped the needle and took off my gloves, still aware of the heavy trouble in the room. "What are you doing here, Britney? Does the warden... I was about to turn to face her again when a blow stopped me halfway and had my head snapping back.
Britney dealt another blow to my jaw.
"How dare you challenge me?" Britney yelled in my face when she leaned in.
"You think you're so tough, huh? You want to report me to the warden? Don't you know that's a death wish?" She raised another fist and I picked up a syringe.
"Hey, hey, relax, this is a syringe in my hand, one wrong move, and it might end up in your eyesocket. Let go of my shirt and do it gently," I warned.
Britney hissed and slapped the syringe out of my hand. "Don't tell me what to do, I call the shots around here."
"If you hit me you must be prepared for what comes later..." I warned again, seeing that her fist had gone up again.
"Shut the fuck up? Who the hell do you think you are…."
"You don't strike a match in fuel and expect it not to burn", I said, my voice still calm.
"You're a philosopher now?" Britney scoffed.
"No, I'm just laying down what you're up against. This is bad for business, Britney, lean back" I said, and she groaned.
"It's Big Brit!"
"I don't give a shit either ways", I shrugged, and she grabbed me by the shirt and dealt this another blow to my face. That shit hurt and I closed my eyes in pain and massaged my jaw.
"What? What is it? You've got something to say, tough one? Oh you're not so tough now?" She laughed and when I looked up at her again, I thought of the best reply to give her.
"You have something in your teeth" I said, and some snorts went up in the room, now half filled with her goons.
Britney's face contorted in anger. "Shut your smart ass" she kicked my leg and I stumbled, grabbing the table for support.
"Do you have something to say now, Eva?" She yelled in my face and I swallowed hard before bringing myself back up slowly.
I stared at her goons all around and back at her.
"No" I simply said and she smiled.
"I thought so"
Feeling she had won, Britney pushed her way through the crowd and walked out of the room, her goons in a hurried tow with her.
"Stick with me till it's lights out, I'll need you as bait", I told the girl, who was starting to recover after the exit of her bully.
I pulled out an ice pack for my face.
"What do you..."
"Act first, ask questions later kid. Don't forget to bring a sock and put the hardest thing you can find inside of it" I said, and opened the door.
I told her what time she would wait for me and where she would wait for me.
"Okay" she said.
"Leave", I pointed towards the open door. "I need to rest."
She hurriedly nodded and got out of bed. As soon as she got out, I slammed the door shut.
I locked the door and as soon as my head touched the pillow, my head drifted into dreamland while I mentally set an alarm for my plans for later.
Once it was time, my eyes flashed open and I stood up.
That was a good sleep.
I stood up, put on my shoes and took a big swig out of my water bottle before closing it back.
The keys slipped into my pocket after I had made sure the door was locked, and I went in search of the girl from earlier.
There she was, waiting for me in the toilet stalls, fear on her face and something heavy in her pockets.
"I put soap in the sock...."
"Sshhhh," I stopped her "the less I know the better. Stay here, watch the door, send out a warning and distract whoever comes here till I come out", I said, and took the sock from her pocket.
After I gave her a little pat on her cheek, she exhaled and nodded.
I pushed open the toilet door and walked in almost noiselessly, walking with care till I reached the toilet holding my prey.
With a raised leg, I kicked the door open, and it slammed into Britney, who sat inside doing toilet business and smoking.
"What are you....?" she jerked in fear and made to stand up when she saw the sock in my hand . "Help!!!"
"Shhhh, here" I cut out a tissue "wipe" I said and passed it to her.
I turned away and let her finish her business before I faced her again. "Flush"
She did.
"I knew I'd find you here, Britney. I really appreciate you giving my jaw a little massage earlier, but I won't leave here until you apologize, or we get even. What do you suggest?" I began calmly, and she scoffed; a lopsided grin followed.
"And if I don't apologize?"
I slapped her hard and Britney gasped, backing up into the wall.
"You're a big smart girl, Britney. I have massive respect for you as the leader of the inmates in this jail, but you have to respect me too, and you know I'm not just blowing smoke, I'm actually going to strike a match," I said, and she made for me, but I swung the sock.
"Not another step" my voice was low, threatening and oddly calm. She knew I meant to cause her harm, so she stepped back.
"Everyone here is scared of you. They fear you except me. I don't " I shrugged, " and I'll tell you the truth, no matter how painful it will sound. I will beat the shit out of you today for laying hands on that little girl, and for putting hands on me. You don't have that right. No one does" I said, and swung the sock at her before she could come up with a reply.
"What do you want?" Britney groaned in pain and clutched her arm.
"I told you not to strike a match if you're not ready for fire Britney, but you attacked me." I gave her another heavy blow. "Now you're screaming for help? The big bad wolf screaming for help? That's pathetic", I mock-laughed her and swung the sock in a rushed frenzy, not caring where it landed on her.
When I was satisfied, I gave her a heavy blow to her jaw in revenge for earlier.
"You and I actually have a lot in common, not in obvious ways though, but we do. We have power, both stemming from hate, but you're using yours wrongly, Britney. Pick a fight with those who did you wrong, the bad ones, not the innocent who are not your size. That's bullying and I do not condone that!" I said, panting.
"You broke her rib and caused her to have a little concussion, and she needed stitches, but I'm a very forgiving person, so maybe I'll just make you loose a tooth."
"You wouldn't do that…"
I hit her with the sock in her mouth and Britney let out a string of curses.
"Yes I would, that's payback" I spat.
I dug into my pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.
"I got your file, a summary of it" I waved the paper.
"How did you…"
"I saved the warden from a heart attack once. It's not hard to get favors when you save someone from meeting their maker", I said with a coy smile.
Deciding to get a nursing degree in jail paid off after nine years.
"Fuck you" Britney spat, and it was my turn to scoff.
"Not a chance. Now I see you're a mother; three kids, and you leave here in a month. You're here for shooting your baby daddy fifteen times, and you've spent ten years here correct?" I read to her, but when I looked up, Britney's head was bowed.
"He tried to rape me, it was self-defense…"
"I know, I'm not judging, we all have skeletons in our cupboards. You're angry, and you're using that anger against innocent people like myself and Sandra here."
"Her name is Sasha…" Britney corrected and I almost groaned.
"Shut up" I snapped, "I hate being interrupted."
"I have power around here, Britney, and even outside, work with me or…. I'll just beat the shit out of you till you do" I offered, and she only smiled.
"What makes you think I'll do that? You're not worth shit! You're just lucky these people fancy you. What? Are you selling yourself to them…"
With a sharp twist of my wrist, I raised my hand and backhanded her in the face. The impact made Britney's neck snap dangerously to the side. She jerked and stumbled onto the wall.
"Trust me, if you knew anything about my life you wouldn't call me lucky, but by all means keep underestimating me and see how far that gets you."
I reached for my shoe and pulled out a switchblade which I always kept on me after I was attacked during my fifth year and was hospitalized for a month.
Jail was no fun place.
"I'm a nurse. Trust me, I know which arteries to tamper with and have you bleed to death. It'll be painless," I said, and the blade switched out.
Britney's eyes widened.
"The next time you come on to the kid or me again, I'll make sure I fulfill my promise and cut your artery open" I threatened her lowly, but Britney gave me no reply.
I knew she was still reeling from the pain of the slap.
"You will work for me. In fact, you work for me starting now."
"And if I say no?" She asked again, and I sighed, annoyed by her blind stupidity.
"Alright, here's the real. If you say no, your life is over, I just have to pull a few strings, and you'll get extra years, no parole for you, and you won't see your children anymore. They will prosecute you again and maybe send you to the hangman. And if you manage to get out after the extra years, you'll be too old to get a job anywhere and no one will employ you, But that's not going to happen, right, you're not so stupid to try and jeopardize your freedom, right?" I raised a questioning brow.
No answer
"I'm trying to make your life better here, Britney", I tried to cajole her.
"Yes" she finally gave in.
"Now, no more fighting in here, I call the shots till I leave, okay?" I went on.
No answer
"Answer me when I talk to you, don't make me mad" I snapped again.
"Yes"
"Alright, Thank you" with a quick forced smile, I pushed the switchblade back into my sock.
"I leave here in a few weeks. I can help you find a job so you can get back with your kids and help you put your baby daddy behind bars for assaulting you, but when I do, you will work for me, Do. You. Understand?" Heavy emphasis laced the last words.
"Yes", Britney agreed.
"Good, no more bullying" I said, and walked out of the toilet without another glance at the fallen Big Brit.
The girl, who I now knew as Sasha, hurried behind me as we walked away before any warden would find out what I had just done.
"What's your name?" Sasha asked out of the blue and I almost rolled my eyes.
"Eva McClain"