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Chapter 34– No fucking way:

        Droplets of dirty water run along the pipelines on the ceiling before dropping to the floor, a small, annoying 'plop' that sounds louder in the bare room of our cell block following shortly after. It's a consistent sound of irritation that would normally make my anger spike, but after the day I've had, I don't seem to have the energy to feel anything but numb and unbothered by the constant disturbance.

        I sit on the filthy floor riddled with all sorts of germs and diseases, disgusted at the mere sight of it, let alone the feel of the tainted hardness against my skin. Regardless of the extremely low chances of being affected by the terrible conditions of my cell, I'm still sickened by its filth. Even despite the things that happen in the sterile room that I detest so much, I would much rather sleep in there. No furry black things grow in the corners of that room.

        I yawn loudly as I draw my attention away from what I'd been informed was mould. I'm tired and hungry, unable to remember the last time I slept, or even ate for that matter. I'm able to last several days without sleeping, a theory proven by one of the experiments— or rather a side affect of an experiment— and even longer without eating, but my body feels extremely drained because of it and I feel sick to my stomach.

        My head hurts again, too, this time the pain worse. I'm alone in my cell; the second day of not having anybody occupying the cells around me in longer than I can care to remember. It's eerily silent in my cell block and I find myself missing Nine's laughter more than I ever have.

        It always sounded so pure in this Hell.

        "You think this is it for us?" I remember she'd asked me in her thick accent which she said was American. Her voice cracked slightly as she spoke, but she held it together well, or at least well enough for Nine. I didn't know what she'd meant at first, seeing as this had always been 'it' for me; I never knew any different.

        But Nine, I often forgot, had seen the world. She knew all of these things which I didn't and spoke of this reality which was nothing but a dream to me.

        On days like this one I sometimes missed the life she'd described to me like it was something I had lost, when really, it was never something I'd possessed to begin with.

        Unlike the friendship I had and I'd lost with Nine.

        On days like this one, I missed my friend with the bright hair and wide eyes more than I ever had.

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        I watch with distaste the way the misty droplets of water drip down from a hole in the ceiling, the sight disturbingly familiar. My nose scrunches in disgust at the state the building is in, even though I expected nothing more from a run-down building almost an hour out of town.

        I turn to Ricky with a frown, the disapproval clear in my expression. "This is low, even for you."

        Ricky rolls his eyes as he sits on a wall where it's more than clear a window once used to fill the large gap. His arms are crossed and his shoulders pushed back in a less-sloppy stance than his usual one. "Sorry," he says unapologetically, "I didn't realise you were a snob."

        I narrow my eyes at him and he glares back mockingly, similar to how Benny does when he gets me into trouble for bickering with him. "I'm not a snob, I'm just not a fan of rat shit and unknown life forms growing within a five mile radius of me." I kick at a plank of wood covered in a substance I want no knowledge of. "Why are we even here?"

        "You know, the more I get to know you, the more you remind me of a spoilt child that does nothing but constantly whine."

        My teeth grind together at his remark. "I've never met someone whose as much a waste of oxygen as he is a bullet."

        "Look, Kody, if you're going to shoot me, shoot me; if not, then stop threatening it," he looks away boredly. "Because it's starting to get old real quick."

        I nod my head in agreement. "You're right, Prick, I'm not going to shoot you, because right now you're of use to me. But the second you go back to the useless, worthless being that you are, I'm not going to waste a second before snapping your skinny, little neck."

        "Charming."

We scowl at each other for a strong thirty seconds before he rolls his eyes and calls me a stubborn bitch. It earns him a swift punch to the face but he takes it like it was worth it.

"Was coming all the way out here really necessary?" My eyes scan my surroundings as I speak, ignoring the way Ricky rubs at his cheek. "And even if the distance was a requirement, couldn't you have picked a spot a little more... clean?" I almost gag at the bugs underneath a rock I turn over with my foot, backing away almost instantly.

Ricky also frowns at the beetles that scurry out their exposed hiding place before turning away with a grimace, not a fan of the bugs either. He looks behind him out of the open gap and my eyes travel past his figure and stare out into the distance, too.

It's not raining anymore, it stopped about five minutes ago, but the air is still bitter and the wind still strong. The few trees in the distance shake and leaves fall from their branches. There's nothing around this abandoned building but a field and a small hut a few hundred yards away. We're completely secluded.

"Not being funny, Kody baby, but I choose living over taking you out on a date," he turns back to face me, his expression serious despite his dramatic words. "I'm not risking being seen with you."

"Should have thought of that when you wanted to pretend I was your fucking bed warmer," I snap angrily, the memory of the encounter alone causing my blood to boil.

He shakes his head. "That's not what I meant," he sighs. "Look, going behind Mac's back to help you and your idiot friends isn't something he'd be too fond of if he were to find out," he pushes himself away from where he rests against the wall. "I'm not going to risk someone over-hearing us."

"You think they've bugged your apartment or something?" I raise an eyebrow. "A bit paranoid, don't you think?"

"And you're not?" He's quick to counter back.

Without a thought, I reply, "Touché," and immediately curse Dakota for rubbing off on me. "So what do you want to speak about?"

Ricky licks his lips before slightly rubbing them together in hesitation. I impatiently wait for him to reveal his motives as I tap my foot along the dirty floor.

He sighs quietly, taking in a not-so-subtle breath of polluted air before digging into his pocket. "Here," he outstretches his hand to me, a knuckled popped out of place and the skin purple; the discolouration matches the bruises on his face.

I cautiously take the paper from his hand without unfolding it. It's a little crumpled, I note, and has drawings covering the front, a few of them cut in half where the paper is folded. They look sloppy and overall terrible, but I decide not to question it. "What's this?"

Ricky shrugs. "A little bit of a push in the right direction," he answers vaguely. "I figured it's been almost four weeks since I gave you those names and you have yet to do anything about it. I get that you've been having a rough time what with Lilah being back in the hospital, so I thought I'd lend you a hand."

I look down at the paper with furrowed eyebrows, wondering if this is what I think it is.

"Just—." Ricky speaks again, drawing my attention to him as he cuts himself off with a troubled look, his stare a little distant. "Just make sure they pay for what they did, yeah?"

I hold his gaze with a blank one of my own, silent and unmoving. I'm stunned on what to say because I never expected Ricky to be so... helpful, I suppose the word is.

He nods his head, accepting that I won't be offering a response, probably not expecting one anyway. But the only reason I don't talk is because I don't know what to say. Admittedly, Ricky has left me speechless.

'Not every bad person you meet is a bad person, Corazon.'

"Get home safe, Kody."

And then I'm left standing in the middle of the abandoned building with nothing but the eerie silence and the falling droplets of water, just like I was all those years ago. Although this time, instead of missing Nine, my thoughts are consumed by one thing.

Could Ricky maybe be one of those not-so-bad, bad people?

•

The drive home after that is a quiet one as I don't feel the need to put the radio on to tune out the voices. Amidst all the chaos that has inserted itself into my life, it's comforting to have a moment of solitude with something familiar to me, despite the things they say, the memories they bring up, and the irritation they cause.

My hands tighten around the steering wheel while I wait for the lights to change and the car opposite me to move, the closer I get to home the more impatient I becomes. I'm cursing the guy in front of me for not taking off the second the lights are green when my phone goes off and Jace's ringtone feels the silent interior of the car.

"What?" I answer snappily, beeping my horn at the slow driver that holds me up and wastes my time. "Fucking drive you stupid prick!" I shout out the window, earning disapproving looks from the people walking past on the sidewalk.

"I was hoping you'd be in a better mood," Jace finally speaks after a moment of not saying anything, his tone slightly sheepish.

I focus on the road ahead as I light a cigarette, taking my hands of the wheel momentarily. "I'm in a fine mood," I deny. "What do you want?"

Jace hesitates for a beat. "Um... I need a favour." I can see the look on his face clearly as I envision what he must look like right now; teeth bared in an overly innocent smile, cheeks puffy due to the awkward way his mouth stretches. My eyes roll just picturing his pleading look. One I find more annoying than it is persuasive.

"Can't you ask someone else? I'm busy."

"Doing what?" He asks, sounding genuinely nosey as usual.

"Not doing people favours."

"Ah, come on R.A, you know I wouldn't ask unless it was important," he pleads, causing me to grit my teeth. "Por favor mi guerrera favorita."

At his begging and whining I relent. "What is it?"

"Nope, can't tell you that until you agree to it I'm afraid."

"Don't play with me, Jace," I huff. "You're lucky I'm even fucking doing this for you."

"So you agree? You'll do it?"

"Yes," I confirm without much thought, just wanting him to hurry up and tell me what he wants. "Now spill."

"Great. You need to pick Benny up from school. Bye!"

And before I can protest, he hangs up the phone and the car once again returns to its silent state.

No fucking way.

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Author's Note

Slightly longer chapter but nothing too extra. The next one should be out soon if I have enough free time to write it (:

Also, thank you all for almost 400k reads! I appreciate it so much.