Sam and Colby: The Penitentiary

53

I didn't go back to who I was. I couldn't really do that, though. Not in the prison. When—if—we got back to LA, then I would be okay again. I decided I just needed to focus on that. I set my sight on what it would feel like if I was finally able to walk back into the Traphouse again. That's what would get me through this.

Life as Center's leader was still pretty tiring. I got used to the ropes, though, and found some perks to it. Getting to be first in line was nice, and everyone showed me a decent amount of respect when we crossed paths. I think a lot of the prisoners were surprised that I didn't act like a dick to maintain my status as boss. I was pretty nice to everyone, being sure to still make the food as good as I could, playing games or reading with the people that always wound up alone during free time. Things were going pretty smooth for a little while, given the circumstances.

Since Ray had managed to lose all of those cigarettes he'd stocked up on, we decided we needed a strategy to get them back. I quickly learned who the six other guys he'd planned on bringing with him were. I didn't know any of their names, but as the days passed, I noticed their glares becoming more frequent and the distance they kept from me was decreasing. We needed to pay them off. I think they'd figured out I was the reason Ray called off the escape with them, considering I was basically the only person that would talk to the guy.

Rock agreed that it'd be best to just be the bigger person and pay them off. Except Rock was under the impression that Big was the one who owed them all the cigarettes.

It turns out that Shag wasn't kidding that first day in the day room during free time when he said Rock really did always win poker. I sat back from the game a few times to watch how he did it, eventually figuring out that he had to be stacking cards, setting himself up for success. I smiled when I figured that out. Rock was such a sweet guy that I bet no one would ever expect him to cheat. Well played.

I pulled Rock aside and asked if he would be willing to play to win all of the cigarettes. He agreed on the condition that me and someone else would also learn how to count their cards in case someone called him on it and asked to play someone different.

Rock ended up teaching Jake and I how to do it, which took a few days. Once we got it down, though? There was a week straight of brutal poker tournaments between everyone.

Rock, Jake, and I made sure to play against each other sometimes too, to show that we could also lose sometimes. Corey was also surprisingly good at the game, winning almost as often as I did even though he was playing fair. In four days we'd racked up 25 packs of cigarettes, which was plenty to pay off the six guys. I even gave each of them an extra pack as an apology for the delay. After that, we still had seven left over, which was plenty to make up for the five dollars Jinx had confiscated.

The plan was all in place. We would be leaving in two days if everything went right.

The day we'd paid everyone back with the cigarettes was the day before a cell check. On our way down to breakfast in the morning, I noticed the six guys closing in on me as the unit flooded the big hall to the cafeteria. They probably thought I'd planned that out so that they wouldn't get to keep any of their stuff.

Luckily, me and Colby's cell still had never gotten checked. Ray was smart enough to give his stuff to Sam and Jake to hide, since Jinx had made it clear that checking Ray's cell was going to be a continued practice.

I think Colby also noticed that I was getting angry stares. Before we made it into the cafeteria, Colby grabbed my hand and we ran away from the group and hid in a supply closet.

"Babe, they're going to notice I'm not there," I said.

"And I'm going to notice those guys still staring at you like they're going to eat you alive," Colby replied. "We need a plan for this."

"Ugh," I groaned, tilting my head back. "This is so tiring."

"I know, I know. Just a couple more days though, okay?" he reminded me, setting his hands on my hips.

"Yeah, okay," I sighed.

"And then we can get back to everything normal," he said.

"Amen to that," I said. "Thank you for being so... helpful with this. I know I've been sort of all over the place with everything and I'm really glad you're here for me."

"I'll always be here for you, princess. And you know I mean that," he said.

"Yes. Yes I do," I giggled.

"There's that beautiful smile," he said.

"Ugh, cheesebag," I laughed.

"You love me," he said.

"I do," I said. "Very much."

"And I love you. You know, I still wish we didn't have to hide this," Colby said. I clasped my hands behind his neck.

"Me too. But two more days," I said.

"Yup. And then you're all mine," he said. He leaned down and kissed me, which I suddenly realized he hadn't done in a very long time. It was too risky to do that in our cell, what with the guards patrolling and other cells across the way being able to see into ours if they really wanted to.

The kiss quickly intensified, us having missed being able to really even touch each other except for the occasional hug, which is probably why we didn't hear the closet door slowly creak open.

"You lying whore," Ray chuckled angrily.