PR150N

Chapter 13

The whole room was silent, us all staring dumbfounded at Sol who was pointing towards the door. From being the most talked about couple in the prison - two attractive people who had power pairing up was always talked about in these prison walls as if it were gossip about celebrities - these two were crumbling in front of us. Stephanie didn't know whether to argue back, scream or cry. For a moment, she did absolutely nothing. She was still and silent but seething. As Sol stepped around her and headed over to us, all of us still quiet as we watched the drama unfold, Stephanie finally snapped. With Sol facing us, he had no chance to see what was coming, she ran at him with her hands balled into fists and her chest rising and falling dramatically. It was as if she had turned into an animal. With an arm pulled back and ready to strike, I quickly jumped up and stood in front of Sol, blocking Stephanie's attack as she let out a primal scream. With anger fuelling her every move, she desperately fought to get past me or to fight over me and hit Sol but we both knew I wouldn't let that happen. The others were quick to pull Sol away and protect him too, standing behind me to keep Stephanie as far away as possible.

"Why do you always have to interfere? Everything was fine until you came along." Stephanie hissed in my ear as she stopped her attempt at hitting Sol. For a moment she relaxed, she took a couple of steps away from me to make sure everyone could see her and hear her. She grew louder as she spoke again. "Sol, you have just made the biggest mistake of your time here, I hope you know that. No one will ever be as good as me; as a partner, in the bedroom, as an ally, as a friend. You did not want me as an enemy." She pointed her finger furiously in his direction behind the gang. "If I find out you replaced me with- with HER." Her finger suddenly moved towards me. "That'll just make everything worse." Her voice was low and cold, sending a chill down my spine for the first time. For once, I could see what she was capable of. I'd always wondered what she had done to get into prison, she was a small and slim human Barbie doll who spent more time trying to charm people than anything else. I'd never seen this side of her before.

"Stephanie, this isn't about Lex." Sol was quick to answer and take the spotlight off me. "This is because you can't seem to understand that I have other things that are important. You want me to have my world revolve around you but in reality I've got people I need to help and protect, I have business with other gangs, I have to make sure we survive prison. I don't want you around me 24/7!" With that, she began to get furious again, her breathing speeding up as her eyes narrowed in his direction. She was seeing red. I could almost feel the fire within her, the way her heart had begun to pump lava around her body instead of blood. It was as if she were no longer Stephanie, she was the monster that got her sent to prison in the first place.

"Then stop hiding behind them and protect them." She said quickly, leaping forwards and knocking me to the floor with a thump. I let out a guttural noise as my chest constricted. I was winded. I threw my hands up to protect my face as a barrage of punches came down from the woman who had straddled me on the floor.

"Stephanie, enough! I don't want to hurt you." I said quietly, hoping she would just leave me alone. I didn't want to fight if I didn't have to, but right now it seemed like my only option. I glanced up to Sol who was looked right at me with widened eyes. I flicked my gaze towards the cameras in the room and mouthed 'Gov' and with that he nodded and got to work. In the meantime, I had to drag this fight out for as long as I could which meant actually throwing punches. I bucked my hips and sent Stephanie off balance, before shoving her to the side and standing up quickly. I moved myself into the centre of the room and readied myself for a fight. Stephanie stood up and for a moment she looked around, seeing the rest of the gang still standing by Sol made a smile grow on her face.
She slowly walked towards me as she spoke, loud enough for the gang to hear but fully aimed at me.
"You see that, Alexandria?" I cringed at the use of my full name. She always knew I hated it, but had been decent enough to call me Lex up until this point. "The gang don't want to get involved in this fight. They don't want to have to choose between us. I know for a fact that most of them prefer me to you, they just don't want to admit it to Sol. I know that man well, and sadly he has a soft spot for you. The guys know it, and they hate it. They hate you. They don't want a stupid woman in the team, they don't want you interfering in their gang, they were happy when you weren't associated with them. You've wiggled your way in like the worm that you are, but the proof is here." She gestured back at all the gang who remained standing where they were. "They don't want to help you." She'd finally reached me and she stopped still. There were only inches between us but I knew I needed to keep the distraction going long enough that Sol could attract the Govs attention. I needed to make sure I never hit her first, so the cameras would know who was to blame - but would it hurt to wind her up a bit? After all, she'd just insulted me.

"Shut up Steph." I shook my head. "Half the reason they don't want to get involved is because they're scared you'll poison them with your love potion and become an infatuated monster, digging your claws in for a last ditched attempt to hang around with the best gang in the prison." A few snickers were heard from the gang which only angered her more. Her hands balled into fists once more and that was all it took, she began to throw the first punches again. I ducked and dodged as best I could, blocking the rest of her attacks. She kept hissing things quietly to me as she continued the fight, edging us further away from the gang.

"He is mine and he always will be." Stephanie whispered harshly. "No one will match up to me, he will forever live in disappointment that he lost the best thing he'd ever had." I was getting sick of her scorned words. I put all my power behind a mighty shove, and sent her backwards, falling on the floor. For the cameras, knowing the Gov was most likely watching now, I gestured as I spoke.

"Enough Stephanie. This needs to stop. I don't want to fight you." My hands were held out in front of me in surrender. "Just go back to your room and calm down." She seemed triggered by my attempt to stop the fight and ran at me again, attacking me and causing me to keep stepping backwards. I kept waiting for the point that my back would hit the wall, but that time didn't come. Instead, she had backed me into the doorway of Sol's bedroom and with one final shove she sent me further into the room, crashing down onto the floor beside his bed. She wasted no time in grabbing the sheet from his bed and wrapping it around my neck. I clutched at the sheet, unable to pull it away from my neck, and began to panic. With her behind me, pulling the sheet tighter with every second, I had to think fast. I stood quickly, running backwards so I hit her into the wall and sandwiched her in the middle. With a breathy groan, she loosened her grip on the sheet and I unwrapped it, flinging it away from me. I practically fell out of the bedroom, gasping for air as I clutched at my throat, scooting myself further away from the bedroom door as it opened again and Steph tumbled out, clutching her chest.

"You... Bitch..." she spat in between breaths, glaring at me with even more hatred than before. The two of us were exhausted from the fight but I knew she hadn't finished yet. With her persona and her attitude, this would only be a win if she looked like she'd beaten me. I imagine she'd have to have knocked me out, or have another gang member help her off me for it to count. She didn't really care about the damage she'd cause in the meantime. She edged closer to me, her fists ready for the next barrage of attacks and abuse.

"Steph!" Sol's voice called from across the room. I caught his eye and he gave me a quick wink before focussing on Stephanie. "Enough, leave Lex alone. Just get out now before you get hurt." Stephanie laughed maniacally.

"Hurt? Have you been watching the same fight? She hasn't managed to hit me once." She looked over at me as if I was pathetic. "She's no match for me." It was Sol's turn to laugh.

"You're right, she isn't a match for you." I watched as Stephanie eyed my reaction, I faked looking hurt and dejected but I knew he was doing this for the cameras. "She's another league above you." I smiled at Sol as I watched Stephanie twitch with anger. Without a moment of hesitation she leapt at me and threw more punches into my guard. My arms ached but I had definitely handled worse, she wasn't particular strong but she was very quick.

"Fight back!" She screamed at me. "If you're better than me, fucking fight me back!" Her punches got sloppy, she was hitting my arms, my body, my head. Punches became slaps, she wasn't concentrating. If this were any other fight I would have knocked her out here and now. But I knew I couldn't.

"No." I said simply, and Stephanie stopped where she was. This millisecond felt like a lifetime; one where her arm was raised and ready to hit me but she paused and looked into my eyes, seemingly taking me in for the first time. Her face softened for a second, wondering what my response meant before it became furious again and the raised arm finally flung down. I could have blocked it but I chose not to. When I went back to Dr Forrester, I'd have the bruises to match the cameras. The punch had force behind it and it sent me crashing to the floor. I heard the gang gasp. Steph let out a triumphant laugh but that quickly changed to a guttural noise of the pain of being shocked.