Page 22 of Scarred Sins
He grins, flashing me a pearly smile. He has a tooth gem on his canine, and it shines under the dimmed light of the venue. His bright, gray eyes bore into mine, filled with something I can’t quite put my finger on.
“Yes,’’ he responds, voice lowering. “It’s me, butterfly.’’
He’s vastly different than I remember. His hair used to be dark, almost midnight black. His eyes were a different color, too, and he didn’t have the tooth gem on his canine. He’s taller, his shoulders are wider, and he’s much more muscular, too. And for the first time, he’s wearing a suit.
“Why?”
Emotions overwhelm me. His lips start moving, but the words don’t reach my ears. In fact, all I can focus on is the darkness that starts to surround me.
SEVEN
THREE AND A HALF YEARS AGO
Yet again, I’m in shackles. Two police officers are on either side of me, silently dragging me toward the doctor’s office. Their hands are tightly wrapped around my arms, and the longer we walk, the tighter their grip gets. This is my fourth time misbehaving in the past month, but is it really my fault?
My cellmate, Cherryl, is a fucking bitch.
She’s the only inmate I ever get physical with, and this time, I didn’t hurt her too much – just enough to have her remember me for a long time. She returned the sentiment with more force, which resulted in her revealing the knife she’d gotten her grabby hands on. She stabbed my shoulder before I was able to get the weapon out of her hands, but once I did get a hold of her knife, I stabbed her in each thigh.
She’s being taken to a different doctor, and of course, we were only separated when it was me on top of her, inflicting the wounds. But when I was screaming in pain, no one came to check up on us; no one bothered to look at us, only when the bitch started screaming.
“You’ll be taken to solitary confinement once you’re treated.’’
Officer A states, voice flat and void of emotions. Instead of responding, I stare straight ahead, familiar with the hallway. I’ve been here almost too much, and by now, everyone thinks I’m a trouble magnet, because every week, there’s a different woman breathing down my neck.
And the worst part? They won’t separate Cherryl and me. We’ll remain in the same cell, and this is bound to happen again. In fact, I’ll bet that they’re counting on us killing each other so they wouldn’t have to be bothered by our antics anymore.
“Behave,’’ officer B warns. “If the doctor complains, you’ll face severe consequences.’’
With an eye roll, I nod.
Once we reach the infirmary, the officers remove my bounds, knocking on the door. They quite literally push me inside, treating me like a piece of dirt under their shoes. Sure, many of us are here for murder, but even the girls who committed crimes in self-defense are treated horribly. They see us as pigs, as vile beings that don’t deserve any human decency beyond the mandatory prison requirements.
It’s the reality – my reality-and I have no way out.
The door closes behind me, and I start inspecting the inside of the small office. My eyes narrow, and I don’t take another step forward. My arms fold in front of my chest as I look at the doctor.
“You’re not Melissa,’’ I state the rather obvious. “Where is Melissa?”
The moment the man turns to face me, all air leaves my lungs.
“Doctor Melissa is sick, so I’m covering for her.’’
This is suspicious. In the past month, Melissa’s been sick too often. Many other doctors have been covering for her, too. She’s either battling a severe illness or the man in front of me is lying.
“When is she coming back?” I ask, blood dripping down my arm. “Only she will treat me.’’
“Don’t be ridiculous,’’ he scoffs. “You’ll get an infection.’’
I lift a shoulder. “So be it.’’
The man rises from his chair, pushing it back, and walks toward me, his height towering over mine. There’s something unique about him, unrealistic almost, yet I can’t quite place it. Not only is he acting suspicious, but his face… he looks too young.
“Please,’’ he pleads. “Let me look at the wound.’’
“Aren’t you a little too young to be a doctor?”
He grins, pride evident on his face. “I’m just a genius. My name’s Benjamin Miller, by the way.’’
