Inmate #1374-6052

20

Ace picked up the folder from his stomach and faked a look of surprise mixed with confusion.

"You read my file?" The officer scoffed at the brutes attempt to fool her into thinking he had nothing to do with the documents in his hands.

"Cut the bullsh!t Ace, I know you had Kurt put that in my locker." After glaring at one another for a moment, Aces shoulders seemed to slump and his facade dropped. He figured there was no point in lying now.

"Did you enjoy it? It's quite a story no?" Lucy was shocked by Aces shift in attitude, he was so cold and indifferent and she did not like it one bit.

"I didn't read it." Ace ran his fingers through his hair. His plan hadn't worked, Lucy didn't know about his past and instead of being scared away she was just pissed off. "Why?" Ace almost broke his stand-offish demeanor as he heard the disappointment and hurt in her voice, but he couldn't let her in.

"I thought you should know the real me." His voice steady and he spoke in a nonchalant manner, the scrutinizing glare the woman was giving him seemingly having no effect.

"The real you, and who is that exactly?"

"It's all in that file, read it." The brutes sarcastic and demanding reply caused a fake smile to appear on Lucy's' face, she took a few steps and picked up the folder that was on the bed beside him. She made a point of maintaining her glare on Ace, before tossing the file across the cell causing the papers to scatter across the floor.

"How about you stop being a coward and tell me yourself?" The officer felt a sense of satisfaction when Aces face contorted into one of anger, as she had broken through his uncaring state. With quick movements he stood up from the bed, Lucy didn't waver when he came chest to chest with her.

"I am not a coward." Although she was pissed off with him, Lucy couldn't help but place her hand on his cheek, wanting to feel his warmth before pleadingly looking into his green eyes. She just wanted to understand the reason for his change, why he was suddenly so eager to tell her about his past? Lucy knew Ace had been dodging revealing anything about why he was incarcerated and she was to a extend happy he never told her.

"Just talk to me Ace." Finally he actually looked at her, the officer saw his eyes change and become softer. Ace took Lucy's hand off his face and enclosed her small hand in his, her gentle touch and the begging tone in her voice cut straight through him. Deciding he had to take a different approach, Ace told the minx to take a seat and prepared to dive into his dark past.

"After my dad left, my mother struggled for years to provide for our family and had to work two jobs to pay the bills. We lived in a bad neighbor, in a run down apartment complex and as the typical making of a criminal goes I had some bad role models. When I was fifteen, I seeked out to join the gang that would often hang around our complex. Everyone respected them and from their nice cars and clothes I knew they made good money."

"Why would they take in a fifteen year old boy?" Lucy figured that these gang members didn't have very good morals, but to bring a minor into their lifestyle was cruel.

"They didn't exactly welcome me with open arms, I would hang around them and basically kiss the ground they walked on. If they came to the complex I would pass on messages for them, once they trusted me enough they let me collect money for them so they didn't have to get out of their cars to get it themselves."

"You wanted to be apart of this gang that badly?" Lucy couldn't envision Ace grovelling to anyone, even if he was only a young boy.

"I craved the respect they got from people and that feeling of power, plus the money could help get my mother and I out of that sh!tty neighbourhood." Lucy nodded in understanding and let him continue his story.