Prison Promise (Prison Saints Book 1)

by Demi Vice

  “What do you mean another man?” I gritted, not taking her comment lightly.

  “Nothing. Nothing, it really isn't my place. I’m just putting my nose where it doesn't belong.”

  “Agata,” I gritted.

  “I saw them together over a week ago on Saturday.”

  Saturday? As in when I was still at The Bayne, Saturday?

  “What man?” I clenched my teeth, my anger and jealousy spinning together and ripping the whole room apart with my mood.

  I knew I had to control it. I knew what anger and jealousy could make a man in the heat of the moment do. It’s why I’m here. In this fucking bakery. Falling into a bottomless pit for my ex-cellmates sister, which I would’ve never met if I didn’t know what a man full of rage and jealousy could do to another man.

  Fuck!

  Maybe it was Gomez? Maybe a drunk she had to walk into a taxi? Maybe it wasn't even Ahri? Some other cute girl with wavy blond hair?

  The logical side of me tried to seep through.

  “I don’t know. A skinny guy with dark brown hair. I saw them a week ago outside the diner in the alley, and they were very close to each other—” She stopped.

  I flexed my jaw repeatedly, feeling as if any second now I was going to snap my teeth in half. My blood boiled, burning every part of my body like I was on fire. Agata looked away from me. She knew I was not to be messed with right now. I rarely got mad, but when I did, I was a menacing, dangerous, vicious threat.

  Pure darkness.

  But even though my madness tore through my body, my mind, and my heart. I had to stay calm.

  I didn't want to think about Ahri with another man. Not while I was around. Fuck. Not. Fucking. Ever. She was mine. Even when she finds out the truth about Fidget, prison, my past. She’s still mine. Even if she hates me, hits me, screams at me, does whatever she wants to do to me because I lied. She's still fucking mine. She could hurt me all she wants, but there was no chance in hell she was leaving me. And there was no chance in fucking hell that I was leaving her.

  She was an obsession. A permanent obsession that should’ve faded by now, but instead got worse with each glance I stole, each breath I robbed, and each touch I seized. She was the only one for me. Because Ahrianna Lore was it for me.

  There is no fucking way there’s another man.

  I'd seen the way Ahri looked at me. Only me. I caught her staring at me hundreds of times when we were in the library. Or the way she opened up to the camera and let me take a picture of her face. Her precious smile. Or the way she gave me her real smile. Not that fake bullshit she pulls at Maddy’s for tips. Ahri cares about me. She feels safe around me. She trusts me, and she should, regardless if I wasn't honest with her. But I was going to be.

  There is no fucking way there’s another man.

  I needed to talk to Ahri; she was the only one who could calm me down. To tell me that it wasn't true. To tell me that Agata was a selfish, jealous bitch. To tell me that Agata saw things. To tell me that Agata was just pulling a lie out of her ass.

  “I-I shouldn’t have said anything, I just thought—I just thought since I saw him over a week ago and a saw them in the back about ten minutes ago—” Agata’s voice, shaky.

  “Ten minutes ago?” I snapped, stepping closer to the glass pastry counter while Agata jumped back and hit the wall. She nodded frantically. Her eyes were wide and scared. She was on the verge of crying, but I didn’t care. I needed answers.

  “I saw him following her upstairs—” Agata’s voice faded in the distance.

  The bell rang behind me, and I tossed my donut to the ground. I gripped the paper bag with Ahri’s gift tight in my fist, storming through the alley and leaving scorch trials behind.

  There is no fucking way there’s another man.

  All my senses morphed into on blur when I opened the door and saw a yellow-toothed man smile at me.

  “Oh, excuse me, Tats.” He slurred his words, slightly drunk and high as he walked past me. I didn't move. I froze, consumed with two emotions: shock and confusion.

  Holy shit.

  I dropped my bag.

  Holy shit.

  Fidget?

  The longer I stared at the man, the more my vision cleared. His face became more and more familiar. He reminded me of a drunk, old, ugly version of Fidget with dark wavy brown hair, but comparing this man to Fidget felt like a sin—from what my stomach was telling me. There was no doubt in my mind that this man was related to Ahri and Fidget. My sight cleared up, and when I saw the old burn on the man's cheek, chin, and neck, my heart stopped.

  It’s him.

  The ‘he’ from Fidget’s letter.

  The man Fidget tried to kill.

  I saw only red when I grabbed the man by the collar and slammed his thin body into the brick wall. I covered his mouth with my hand. “Don't fucking make a sound.” I gritted. “You’re gonna use your inside voice, and you’re going to tell me who the fuck you are.”

  He tried to fight, punching at my face. I dodged each one of his slow, weak punches and gave him an uppercut to the gut. He coughed and grabbed his stomach before I gripped the collar of his tan jacket tightly in my fist.

  “I said, tell me who the fuck you are,” I growled, ramming his thin body into the brick wall. The sound of someone's skull hitting a hard surface never felt so satisfying.

  “I’ll call the fucking cops,” he said in a nasally voice.

  “For what? A fucking punch? What are you? A pussy? A snitch? You’re the one high off his ass on whatever you shot into you smoke. So, tell me who the fuck you are.”

  “I didn’t say I was going to call the cops on you,” he spat, but remained quiet as I asked.

  “You’re going to call the cops? On Ahri?” My upper lip twitched at his bullshit bluff. “For what?” I snarled with a laugh.

  “Get the fuck off of me, or I’ll rat out that little bitch for what she did.”

  “Call her a bitch one more time, and I’ll make sure that word is carved into your fucking bones while you bleed out.” My voice was thick with no room for negotiation.

  I pushed him into the wall again. Lazily, I examined the rest of him like he was a cheap item in the clearance section at the dollar store. His large blue jeans were held up by an old brown belt, his tan jacket was far too large for him, and the same went for his white shirt. He stunk. Like he hadn't showered in a week or two, but what was worse was the smell of bonfire mixing with his scent. He looked homeless. A stereotypical drunk and a druggie that no one gave two shits about.

  That can benefit you, Jack.

  His black eyes were like Ahri and Fidget’s, but they were empty. He looked like a true monster, and my gut was telling me I was right. My gut was telling me that I would be doing Ahri and the whole fucking world a favor if I just killed this man.

  Right here.

  Right now.

  If Fidget thought this guy was worth burning alive, then I must be right.

  “Fuck man. What’s your problem? Seriously? Who the fuck do you think you are?” He grabbed my wrist and tried to claw my flesh. “Trust me if you knew the shit she did you wouldn’t be on her side. She’s beyond saving. She’s fucking damaged goods—”

  I slammed his back so hard into the wall it knocked the wind right out of him before I dropped him on the ground.

  “Don’t you ever talk about my fucking girl like that. Now, tell me who you are before I turn your insides outsides. Tell me why you followed Ahri upstairs to her fucking place. My place.” I tried to stay quiet, but my voice and rage were getting the best of me.

  “I’m her cousin.”

  He was telling the truth, and a small fraction of me relaxed. But he still made my gut feel like an eight-inch dagger was slowly being pushed and twisted inside of me. Every time I looked at his face, I thought of Aurora. Another dagger entered my gut.

  “I swear. She’s my cousin,” he whispered loudly.

  He held his hands in the air so that I could give him me
rcy. So, I wouldn’t treat my fists to a skinny punching bag. Slowly he got to his feet, wobbling side to side. “I’m here for my money?”

  “Money?” I stepped closer to him, trying my best not to grab his neck and snap it like a twig. “Money for what?”

  “Like I would tell you.”

  My breath was heavy and thick as I took another step closer to him. My fists clenched so tight, my fingernails dug into my palms.

  Don’t do it. Jack. I heard a voice—Ahri’s. She was cooling me down. She was telling me not to. It’s not worth it. Not right now, I thought. I knew if I were to put my hands on him again I wouldn’t be able to control myself. Not until I heard bones cracking or saw the back of Wazowski’s bakery painted in red.

  “What were you doing with her last Saturday?” I gritted.

  “Money,” he slurred, but the word sounded almost foreign.

  “Did you hit her?”

  My rage was boiling to the brim. I became so intoxicated with it, the man’s face began to lose details. I didn't see a nose, mouth or eyes. I saw a blur I wanted red. Only. Fucking. Red.

  Don’t do it, Jack. Please.

  He swallowed. “I pushed her, so?”

  My head was over his; his neck snapped back. He was a short man, only a few inches taller than Ahri. I towered over him like the lid of a coffin. Like the dirt that helped keep the pressure on top for hundreds of centuries so not even his fucking zombie could rise again.

  “You lay your hands on me, and I'll make sure your girl goes to prison,” he mumbled as if he had all the power in the world at his fingertips.

  “What makes you think they’ll believe a druggie, huh?” I scoffed, letting a smile take over my face.

  “They’ll believe her writing. Her words. Her confessions.” His eyes rattled between mine as a yellow and brown spotted smile found a place on his face. He was scared, but he knew he was untouchable.

  I stepped back.

  This guy was serious. He was actually going to be a little bitch and snitch. It was written all over his drugged-up face. There was no way in hell I was going to risk the idea of Ahri going to prison even if this was a bluff. But it wasn’t. He was telling the truth. He knew something about Ahri…something worse than just her petty theft.

  My body shook with adrenaline as I had come out of an ice bath, but there was nothing I could do to release my stress. Fuck. I took another step back. Fuck!

  “I know shit about her no one else knows, and I plan to get my money’s worth. She owes me for what that bitch did to me,” he hissed, my eyes dropped down to his scorched flesh.

  Ahri?

  Ahri started the fire?

  “What did you do? What did you do to Aurora?” I whispered calmly, yet my voice as thick as smog.

  I saw the goosebumps prickle on his skin from fear. He had every right to be scared. If it wasn’t for Ahri’s voice inside my head or the fact that it was still daylight. I would’ve killed him.

  “Nothing she didn’t want to do.”

  “What. Did. You. Do. To. Aurora?” Each word left my lips with steam so blazing, it could’ve burned the rest of his face off.

  “Nothing.”

  “If you ever come here again. Near my girl. Near my apartment. Near the fucking block. I’ll finish the job myself and set you on fire in the middle of the street.”

  “Touch me, and I’ll tell the cops. You think this is only about the fire? I told you she’s beyond saving. She’s as fucked up as they come.” He scoffed and rubbed his nose with his dirty sleeve. “Oh, and by the way. I’m Eddy. You want to get a nice reaction from Ahri on her birthday, out of all days, just say my name. She’ll fucking love it,” he slurred his words one more time before I let him walk down the alley.

  That fucking bastard was going to die.

  Don’t do it, Jack, Ahri calmly spoke.

  Not yet, Jack, I thought.

  I stayed in the alley for what felt like endless hours, but in reality were only a few minutes. I replayed the letter in my head, answering the only questions I knew.

  I’m sorry for what I said…

  I hate you. I never want to see you again. You’re dead to me.

  I did it all for you…

  Fidget went to prison for Ahri.

  I know what he did to Aurora?

  Blank.

  Eddy popped into my head again. ‘You think this is only about the fire?’

  What else did you do, Ahrianna?

  I sighed, dropping my heavy body on the back door. Ahri had just as many secrets as I did.

  Do you care what she did, Jack?

  Fuck.

  No.

  In my eyes, Ahri would always be my fucking princess. My Goddess. My baby girl. Nothing. And I mean fucking nothing could make me think otherwise, because I was a blind man.

  That night. When we talked about wrong and right. She wasn't talking about Fidget. She was talking about herself. Her purely selfish reasons for doing what she did.

  I took a deep breath and controlled my body, but my hands were pale and trembling. I knew that I couldn’t bring this up. Eddy, was fucking right. If I brought it up today. It would spiral out of control. I know how hard this day must be for her. Especially not having Aurora.

  Fuck!

  I had to lie again. I had to pretend that I never met Eddy…at least until I get her home tonight after the club. Her real home. I’m going to sit her down and tell her everything. I couldn’t keep fucking lying. Not to Ahri. I couldn’t keep digging my hole. I was already six feet under trying to find my treasure, a pile of guilt and sorrow.

  Why didn’t you just give her the damn letter the first day you met and leave?

  I grabbed my chest, afraid my heart would spill out on the pavement and expose itself to me. To remind myself that it was no longer mine but stolen by a beautiful thief. A spirited arsonist. An alluring sinner just like me. To remind me that Ahrianna was my fucking everything and anything.

  Why didn’t you just give her the damn letter the first day you met and leave?

  Because if I had. It would have been my biggest regret.

  My worst crime.

  AHRI

  Forty-three, forty-four, forty-five…

  I took a deep breath, letting the cold air fill up my lungs.

  I held my breath, again and again, counting the seconds. I refused to let him take away my tears. To waste any emotion aside from anger on him. He didn't deserve emotions or words or a name. Fuck, he didn't even deserve his worthless life.

  I gasped for air once again, letting the cold shower cover my body in goosebumps.

  I tried not to think about how I was out two hundred dollars short again after he’d just came over a week ago. Or how he stalked me while I was enjoying my walk home, absorbing my music, and relaxing on my birthday. Or how he knows where I lived now. It was bound to happen, living so close to my work, but knowing he had been in my apartment made me want to set it on fire and burn every last trace of him away.

  Fifty-five, fifty-six, fifty-seven…

  The air hit my lungs like a truck. My hands trembled, my ribs were sore from his punch. It was going to bruise into that dreadful shade of red and purple.

  What a little bitch.

  He wasn’t worth being called a man. Or a boy. Or even human. Every time I said something he didn’t like—especially the truth—he hit me. He knew he could never control me. I felt the hatred burning inside of me, leaving my insides in ruin and ashes.

  I banged my head on the white tile for more times than I could count, until my head throbbed and for a split second he was out.

  I have to move, I thought.

  My lease was over at the end of this month, and I could start looking for places tomorrow, after my Diablo’s shift. I could get the money. I could, but not without dipping into Luke’s account. No, I couldn’t. That’s the only thing I could give him.

  SHIT!

  I had to get out and avoid him until he drank himself to death, or OD’d, which wa
s hopefully soon seeing how he looked today. Yellow teeth, sunken cheeks, transparent skin. If I had to keep seeing him, I’m going to become poor or worse. I’m going to snap. I’m going to get desperate enough to try again, but this time I won’t fuck up.

  Tears started to fill my eyes, but I held my breath again.

  You'll figure it out, Tinks. You always do. I heard a voice like mine, but it wasn’t mine. It was Aurora’s. But as fast as she came into my mind, so did he. He took over like a swarm of mosquitoes sucking the life out of everything until it wrinkled up and died. He gave the same answer he always gave when I asked him why he did it.

  Why Aurora?

  Why did he do that to her?

  “Because she loved me, and I loved her.” He laughed.

  He always fucking laughed like the delusional psychopath he was. As if what he’d done was a joke. As if what Aurora did to herself was a joke. He wouldn't know what love was even if it was in the form of a beer bottle or served on a silver spoon and needle.

  She didn’t fucking love you! She didn’t love any man! I wanted to shout at the top of my lungs, but instead, I let out a muffled scream. I dropped my head on the tiles once more, beginning to count.

  Forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty, fifty-one…

  “Shit!”

  Don’t cry.

  Please don’t cry.

  Don’t be weak.

  This would’ve never happened if I didn't get caught. If I hadn’t gone to jail. This would’ve never happened if I was there. If I’d found us a better place to live. If I had just seen that Aurora wasn’t herself. If I saw that her smile was faded and lifeless and that her eyes were dull and dead. I should’ve seen that she was not fine. That something was bothering her so much that she pushed Luke and me away because of it.

  SHIT!

  I was so wrapped up in my life that I’d missed it all. I missed the first few cuts on her arms she blamed on work. The fact that he was always near her, in her room or at her job. And I missed that she was gaining weight.

  How the fuck did you miss it all, Ahrianna!

  I let out an uneasy breath as if my lungs were trapped inside a box.

  Instead, it was too late, and she felt like she couldn't talk to us. But she wrote about it in a letter. A letter that she’d hidden under my pillow before she took her own life.