Page 4 of Close Quarters

Honestly, I still didn’t know why he’d chosen to stick around. Max was just as grumpy as Reno but generally less abrasive and forward about it. The guy spent most of his time with animals, and when he was around people, he tended not to talk and just glare. Most people avoided him on principle, and he seemed content that way.

It wasn’t hard to see Max wasn’t fond of people, and everyone agreed it was weird he’d been given not only a mentee but the newest addition to the ranch, Riley. Who was…well, he was kinda weird, adorable with his flyaway blond hair and boyish face, but still weird. I always thought I was the odd man out among a bunch of felons who’d spent years behind bars, but he was something else entirely. Wasn’t sure what he’d done to get locked up, but with his sunshine personality and easygoing attitude, it wasn’t hard to see how he’d gotten into the program.

“I mean it,” Leon said, with more emphasis. “We aren’t a gossip circle. Line up.”

Dom waited until Leon turned his back before giving me a good shove toward the group. Neither of us genuinely believed Leon didn’t know what was going on behind his back, but that was okay. As far as Leon was concerned, he let people be who they were without too much oversight. So long as everyone obeyed the stricter rules and did their assigned tasks, he was perfectly content to let the chips land wherever they wanted.

“Alright,” Leon said, looking over everyone. “Looks like everyone is here and with…relatively little incident.”

I smirked as his eyes met mine before flicking away. I wasn’t fooled. I knew he was in ‘leader mode’ right now and had to appear at least a little stern. But I’d caught him more than once laughing or trying not to laugh at the shit I did or said. I tried to return that favor by behaving when he played the stricter mentor role.

“You guys know where to find your duty roster for the day,” he said with a vague gesture toward the Big House. It was the only proper house on the entire ranch, though calling it a house was stretching it. The damn thing was a small mansion and had stood through generations of the Isaiah family. Most of the place was off-limits to those in the program, but the main dining hall was where we all ate most of our meals. “There’s been a few switch-ups, so keep an eye out before you head off.”

“What kind of switch-ups?” I asked curiously.

“You’ll be with different people than normal, that’s what,” he told me. “Not within your cabins.”

That caused a bit of a stir in the group. Leon’s entire MO had been around creating a cohesive group with everyone, his way of trying to help our rehabilitation. In his mind, it wasn’t just about living together, it was about working together and creating bonds. That was how it had been for weeks, though I’d always felt bad for whoever was forced to live and work beside Reno. I’d been lucky enough to be paired with Dom.

“Look, you’re all under my care, alright? I’ve been working at creating a comfortable space by having you guys work together within your cabin groups, but life isn’t about staying in your comfort zone forever. You’ve all worked together in the past. This time around, I’m just making it more…obvious,” he said with a shrug. “I’ll rotate everyone for the next week or two, see how things go, and work from there, alright?”

“Does that mean I’m getting a moment of peace?” Dom asked.

“And someone else gets cursed,” another guy said with a sigh, glancing at me.

It stung for all of two seconds before I shoved it aside and grinned at him instead. My whole life had been filled with people who couldn’t stand to be around me. I had been called everything from annoying to a freak for being the way I was, and that was before people found out I was into guys.

After a certain point, I learned to stop letting it hurt as much when people were outright repulsed or annoyed. Not that it didn’t still sting, but I learned to deaden the impact and definitely learned not to let it show. Most people didn’t care about others' feelings, especially people they didn’t like. No amount of hurt on my face would make someone stop hating me and might even invite worse shit, so I kept my mouth shut and a smile on my face.

“How about you shut your mouth, Cam?” Dom growled at him.

“You say shit like that all the fucking time,” Cam grunted, his hands balled into fists.

“Yeah, because I’m the only one allowed. That’s how this shit works,” Dom said, looking like he was going to take a step forward.

I turned so my back was to everyone and put a hand on Dom’s chest, softening my expression. “Dom?—”

For a moment, I thought he was going to ignore me and continue the argument. The thing was, there was no point in the argument when it would just keep happening. I was who I was, and there would always be people who hated that. I didn’t need Dom trying to defend what piss poor honor I had left. Otherwise, he would never get any downtime…or work done, for that matter.

Still…it was sweet of him.

I tried not to show my relief when Dom’s bunched-up shoulders finally eased, and he took a small step back, turning his attention to Leon. I shot him a grin that he ignored because he was a dick and also turned back to Leon. I wasn’t surprised to find Leon was watching us or that he hadn’t interfered. It was another one of his methods, to let people sort their problems out without needing an ‘adult’ to step in, which made sense. We were supposed to be in this program to prepare us for returning to the regular world, and people had to figure out how to solve their problems without beating each other up…or stabbing them.

“Uh…what?” I asked once I realized Leon was looking at me weirdly.

Leon’s expression cleared, and he shrugged. “Nothing. Anyway, that’s all there is. You guys know where to find me. Everyone to breakfast. Elliot, stop by the clinic, and Cam? You stop by after breakfast.”

“We know the drill,” I said, trying not to smirk when I heard Cam make an agreeing noise. “My meds before breakfast and dinner, his after. Kinda have the swing of things now, Lee-Lee.”

“Go,” he said, waving me away with a shake of his head, but he didn’t turn around fast enough to hide his smirk.

“You know, I just thought about this, but,” Dom muttered as everyone started walking, “why don’t they let Cam do it himself? I mean, it’s just insulin. He must have done it before, right?”

“Uhh, I don’t know,” I said, knowing full well what it was. I’d overheard him talking on the phone to his mom. He’d been a serious addict before he’d been arrested. If the breaking and entering wasn’t bad enough, the ‘rock’ he’d been found with had been just big enough to get a trumped-up intent to distribute charge. It didn’t matter that it probably had been for him and that he’d made sure the house he’d broken into was empty, he’d had a knife and a big rock on him, and that was enough. “Probably a dosage thing. Or like…to prevent lawsuits if he accidentally screws up the dose.”

Which was probably exactly what it was, but they were wary of his past drug use and wanted to keep an eye on their needle supply. It wasn’t like they tried to hide the fact that there were plenty of drugs in the area with the cartels all over the place. I hadn’t heard of anyone getting ahold of anything at the ranch, but caution was the ranch’s middle name.

But that wasn’t something I would blurt out, especially if we could be overheard. It was a firm rule that no one was required to talk about what they’d done to land in prison in the first place. When Leon had first been assigned as my mentor, he’d been crystal clear that what happened before coming to the ranch was not nearly as important as what we did while here and after we left. People here deserved to leave their past behind them and be known for who they were, not for their mistakes.

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