Page 41 of Aftertaste

“Touché,” I state as aloofly as I can.

Benjiro chuckles as he drops his cards on the table then looks at Akira expectantly who lets out a groan. He shows his hand which I could have honestly beat had I just played to the end, and the head of our little prison gang laughs as he rubs his hands together.

“That’s two weeks of laundry. Wanna go for another one?” he asks as he leans his forearms on the table and smirks at Akira.

“I still don’t know why the fuck it’s all me when he keeps folding,” he grumbles as he reaches for the cards and begins to shuffle them.

“Because he’s smart enough to know when he’s beat.”

I run a hand back through my hair as I lean back in my uncomfortable, white plastic chair and look over at the line of society’s latest fuckups being escorted to their pods.

If that were true, I would have let Snow go home when she asked me to, but I couldn’t. I felt too strongly for her and I had every reason to believe that she felt the same way about me.

I was wrong.

An assumption that I’ll be paying for, for the next five years of my life.

“Kenji tell me something,” Benjiro begins conversationally as he waits for Akira to deal our cards out.

“Yeah?” I ask, turning my attention back to him.

“Why did you let pussy bring you down? There is a hell of lot more things that could have sent you here; why a girl?”

I shrug, “She was special to me, man.”

“Was?” he asks as he arches an eyebrow and a knowing smile creases his lips.

Was.

I repeat the sentiment to myself and come to the realization that I’ve shaken off the feelings I had for Snow.

It only took six months into my sentence to do so, but it’s also six months of my life that I’ll never get back with another five years to go.

I can’t let her wander around confidently telling her lies to people, making them believe them, as she did with me when I’m the only one bearing the weight of our punishment.

She should be in here with me, or at the very least, a little cage of her own.

One where when bad little pups act up, they’re banished to until they’re ready to repent and do as their master commands.

“Yeah,” I confirm after a thoughtful moment of silence, “Was.”

Akira clears his throat loudly as he begins to deal out the cards. I look down at the ones being tossed at me and begin to gather them into my hands, thoughts of revenge burning through my mind.

“Hey,” Benjiro says, demanding my attention. I look up at him and see the look in his eyes that he first gave me when I arrived. The same one that they used to scope me out with and try to understand if I was one of them or just another wannabe.

When they realized that I was neither, they decided for me.

“Don’t let it go,” he tells me wisely. “Five years of a man’s life gone based on the lies of a bitch for no other reason than she was tired after going for a little walk is not forgivable.”

I nod because he’s right.

There’s nothing that Snow could say to me now or ever again that would make me forgive her or not seek some kind of recompense.

Sixty-six months is what the court gave me, and that was only because she refused to testify.

But once I explained to Benjiro why I was here and had the absolute bright idea to mention Hudson, he told me to wait. That he would bring him to me.

We had a quick meeting and I told him what needed to be done.

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