Page 89 of Caged In

“Ten months.”

Oh, so Sinn'ous will be out before him. Great. Now Izz has more to fear. Like what will happen to him when the other leaves. He never should have asked. His stupid paranoia getting the best of him. Now he’s on a ticking time crunchbefore Sinn'ous is gone, and he’s stuck in here alone. Without protection . . .

Or perhaps not alone. Not fully. Glancing subtlyover his shoulder, Izz confirms his instincts that he is being watched. Reni is behind them—at a safe distance, but nevertheless, right behind them. And his cellmate’s scrutinising gaze is burning holes into their backs. Shooting daggers at Sinn'ous, no doubt.

If looks could kill . . .

Smothering a grin at his friend’s antics, Izz jogs to catch up to Sinn'ous. Turningto join the end of the queue—

Sinn'ous takes hold of Izz’s upper arm, redirecting him to the front of the line. Dragging him straight to the trays—he’d forgotten Sinn'ous never stands in line. Kind of hashim feeling like a famous person. Some famous VIP, holding royal privileges, with none of the peasantsdaring to mock or slanderhim.

Collecting his meal goes the same as it always does, and completely different. He participates in the same pick-what-you-want game. Only difference being his portion sizes are extra. His food is carefully selected and placed on his tray with delicate precision. Given the choice of extra items, extra drinks. Extra anything. He’s even offered salt. He hadn’t a clue you could get salt on your hash-browns.

Having everyone think you’re the serial killer’s prison bitch comes with some nice perks.

He is planning on sitting with Sinn'ous at the . . . Sacred Table. Where no other inmates dare touch, let alone sit on. Instead, he gets lightly nudged towards The Gang’s table by Sinn'ous’s body.

“Sit with your friends, it will do you good to have a social circle. You thrive off social interactions,” Sinn'ous pulls the plug on Izz’s plans, and Izz doesn’t possess the strength to go against him.

How did Sinn'ous even know Izz was planning to sit with him and not The Gang? Is he such an open book he can’t hide anything from the male?

He wishes he could read people as well as Sinn'ous clearly can.

He isn’t thrilled about sitting with Zidie and the rest of The Gang because of David. He had been ignoring David throughout the previous weeks. He’s not sure why it’s different now, whyhe’s tense and sick to his stomach at the thought of being near the asshole. David has always been an asshole to him—nothing has changed on that front.

But he won’t protest and make a scene arguing with Sinn'ous. And he does like the rest of The Gang. Except maybe Isco . . . the man gives him bad vibes. As if Isco would be happy to kill someone in front of the entire cafeteria just for looking at him for too long.

And chances are high Sinn'ous prefers eating by himself. Izz will ask later, when they’re alone.

~~~

He hangs out with The Gang through the downtime before lunch. Playing card games in the Rec-Room,to Zidie’s evident delight. His best friend is all over him with questions, grilling him about Sinn'ous and the tattoo.

Izz gives little away. He doesn’t have much to give away on the subject in the first place. He isn’t sure what the two of them are either, so Zidie’s guesses are as good as any.

Are they a couple? Friends? Acquaintances?

He has little clue. Not sure what he wants. Though he is sure on one thing. He is only here with The Gang because David had left right after breakfast. So he doesn’t have to look at or be anywhere near the guy—

He may not be over his anger as much as he thought he is. Underneath, he is still seething.

~~~

Lunch had come and gone. Uneventful to say the least. He’d spent his time wondering why Sinn'ous was absent.

As everyone gathers their trays and heads to their jobs, Izz splits off from the group. He wants to stock up on candies and other treats to eat while in the laundry room. Hoping the sugary treats will help him live through the ordeal it is bound to be. And a small part of him wants to check on Sinn'ous.

Why? He doesn’t have a valid reason. Sinn'ous is more than capable of taking care of himself. Either way, it is part of his reasons to stop by his cell.

Scaling the steps two at a time, he lands at the top of the second-floor platform. Stopping short when his eyes lock on the male leaning back against the far wall.

Sinn'ous is smoking outside his Satanic cell.

Izz lets his grin shine, skipping over to the male like a love-struck idiot.He may be locked up in a cage with a bunch of criminals but he is happy. The first time in a long time, he is genuinely happy. The stresses of the outside world are non-existent, and the stresses in here had been cleared away due to thealliancehe’s formed with Sinn'ous.

“Don’t you work?” Izz askscuriously, stopping just shy of colliding with Sinn'ous.

“No.”

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