Page 61 of Rat

“We can stay down here instead. See if we can grab a pool table?”

Rory shook his head. “No, you go to art.”

“But—”

“You get on with those guys, Green and Jack.”

Ollie scrunched his face. “Yeah, they’re okay, but—”

“No buts, I’m not going to stay down here anyway. I’m going to lay down for a bit.”

“You sure?”

Rory didn’t reply. He squeezed Ollie’s shoulder, then carried on walking. He hurried up to the second floor and into his cell. He kept his head down and didn’t even glare at Pauly when he commented on how good his arse looked.

Rory lay back on the bed, linked his fingers over his stomach and closed his eyes. He listened to the muffled noise coming from the wing and could tell when lunch was served.

The excited chatter suddenly quietened, and then he heard the slam of cups and trays when it was all over.

“Ollie’s worried about you.”

Rory cracked an eye open and looked at Sebastian. “I’m feeling rough, that’s all. Did he get to art class?”

“Yeah, he went off with a big smile on his face, but he stopped by my table and told me you weren’t doing so good.” Sebastian pursed his lips and stepped further inside the cell. “And if Ollie’s worried about you, then so am I.”

Rory bit his tongue when another surge of guilt turned to acid in his stomach. “I’m fine.”

“First, you’re feeling rough, now you’re feeling fine. You had your visit with your lawyer today—is everything all right?”

Rory pressed his hands to his face and didn’t reply. He didn’t hear Sebastian come any closer, but fingers closed around his wrist.

“Hey…”

Sebastian eased Rory’s hands away from his face. “Talk to me. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

“Then what is it?”

“Nothing.”

Sebastian narrowed his eyes. “You always seem so anxious before he visits, and you’re miserable afterwards.”

Rory didn’t confirm or deny it. He tried to roll over, but Sebastian grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. “You don’t have any visitors…”

“What?”

“You’ve been here over three months now, and you’ve never had a visit.”

Rory blinked. “Neither has Ollie.”

“Ollie killed his dad… Makes sense his family might shun him, but what’s your story? You’ve only called your uncle once while you’ve been in here.”

“You know I called my uncle?”

Sebastian shrugged. “I’ve got eyes and ears everywhere. I thought you’d have realized that by now.”

“My parents are dead.”

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