I pressed my head gently against the cold ss, letting the chill seep into my skin.

It was better than thinking too hard – better than watching Coban ughter that poor punching bag like it owed him something.

I focused instead on the grey outside world. The barred windows, the concrete walls, chain–link fencing, some watch towers and their rifled guards in the event of an attempted escape.

–

When the familiar whoosh of the gym doors opened I couldn’t tell how long I’d been sitting like that again behind me, followed by a sharp, excited shriek.

“Margot!”

Jolted like I’d been tasered, snapping my head around just as a blur of dark curls came charging toward me.

Oh my god!

It was Cara!

I was on my feet before my brain had caught up, my heart leaping in a way that felt stupidly close to relief.

She was alive. Intact. She looked like herself – disheveled in a cute way, her cheeks flushed with recognition.

“Holy shit, you’re in here!” I gasped, barely able to believe it myself before she crashed into me, throwing her arms around my shoulders with enough force to make me stagger.

It was somewhat ridiculous really, since we hadn’t even been separated for an entire twenty four hours yet, but it felt like it had been a lifetime.

–

“I worried you were dead!” Cara cried dramatically, squeezing me, “Like actually murdered in your sleep and rolled up in a mattress, sorta dead!”

“Jesus, Cara!” Iughed, hugging her back. “What is wrong with you?”

“I just missed you,” she said with a shrug, as we finally stepped back from the embrace and looked each other over once more, in a maximum–security prison surrounded by felons.

I remembered where we were, realising we were being slightly louder than necessary, before I grabbed her wrist and yanked her down beside me on the seat. “So you managed to make it through the night, huh?” I asked, suddenly breathless from the short burst of energy.

Where is your guy? What one is he?” I asked her cautiously, scanning the room.

Cara nced sideways, her body turning just slightly as she peeked around a few shoulders.

“There!” she whispered, practically bouncing in ce. “That one – beside the tattoo guy. Next to the punching bag. Oh! Fuck! They’re both staring at us. Don’t look, don’t look!”

Toote…

I followed her gaze and instantly found them.

Two men, standing side by side like they’d stepped out of some testosterone–fueled prison catalogue: Coban, glistening with sweat, and right next to him, another mountain of a man with a sleeve of ink twisting down his arm and a stare sharp enough to slice through steel. Both of them were watching us.

Shit,” I muttered. “That tattoo guy is mine.” I whispered sharply, mortified to be caught ogling the pair.

Cara’s jaw dropped. “Shut up! No way! Well at least he isn’t old like you had dreaded! He’s pretty hot Margot! They both are… I think we got lucky.” Cara states, wiping faux sweat from her head in a ‘phew‘ motion.

“They seem to know each other pretty well,” I realised, heart skipping as Coban leaned in slightly toward the other man, murmuring something so that nobody around them would hear.

“Oh my god, what if they’re friends?!” Cara squealed, pping her hands like we’d just discovered they were in a boyband together. “This could be amazing – for us I mean!”

I stared at her in disbelief. “You’re weirdly happy today. What the fuck? I’ve been rattled right up until you got here; I’m shitting my pants every two seconds in here Cara – how are you ok?!”

She shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe I’m just d we didn’t get paired with total psychos. Well… technically, we did. But you know what I mean.”

“Not really – Coban is as terrifyingly nuts as they get.” I roll my eyes, offering a nervousugh at the end.

I leaned back a little to get asfortable as possible, studying her again.

“How’s yours been with you?” I asked carefully. “Has he… done or tried anything with you?”

Cara sighed deeply, brushing her curls back behind her ears. “He’s been good. I mean, he definitely has his moments and he set out some pretty strict rules right out of the gate. I thought he was going to rip my head off this morning though when I said I wanted to sleep longer and skip breakfast. Full–on meltdown. But besides that? Totally fine. Protective, even. Kinda like a grumpy bodyguard with resting murder face.”

“Charming.” I snort, unable to contain it.

“What about you?” she asked, tilting her head curiously. “How’s Coban? What happened to your pink uniform by the way? You’re in grey now.” She suddenly stated the obvious.

I stiffened.

My hand drifted over the dull grey fabric of my recement uniform, and I felt the memory spike like a needle to the chest.

“Long story.” I mumble, but Cara wasn’t prepared to let me off the hook.

“We’ve got time.” She pointed, as I nced over to find both of our guys doing weights together now.

I sighed, leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees. “Let’s just say… there’s been a few incidents. He’s definitely kept me on my toes since I got here.” I began, sifting through each memory, deciding what to share first,

“He’s just really snappy, seems to get pissed off at every little thing. He seen me for the first time and demanded to the guards that I change my uniform colour because he wouldn’t be caught walking around with a Barbie… something along those lines anyhow.” I exin, my voice lowering despite Coban being at the opposite end of the room.

Cara gasped, shaking her head. “It’s only clothes! Why does it matter?!” She groans, as I nod.

“Well it mattered to him. But I agreed to swap for grey or ck – which was the only two choices he gave me… The next thing was that I was to sleep on the floorst night – he said I would need to earn my spot on the bed.” I swallow hard, grimacing at the stiff pain I had woke up with this morning.

“What an ass! Luca made ament about wanting the bed all to himself too until I must’ve pulled off the best soppy face of a lifetime! He quickly told me to chill, and that he was only joking… if I’d fuck him.” Cara stated bluntly, as I nearly choked on air at her words.

‘WHAT?! WELL, DID YOU?!” I demand to know, knowing that my best–friend was a fellow virgin.

“No! Of course not! He started mocking me though, saying he could tell I was a virgin from my reaction, it was pretty embarrassing but he let it go eventually telling me to get some rest. He left me alone the entire night and I had a pretty good sleep…” Cara recites the memory, as I clutch my heart.

Thank God!

–

“Well this morning, Coban woke me up, before spotting my shiner of a bruise and wanted to know where it came from.” I start, as Cara’s eyes widen. “I forgot about the makeup, then I tried to lie, but he could see right through it.”

“So did you tell him the truth?” Cara leans in to ask, as I nod once, confirming that he now knew all about my abusive father…

Reflecting on it now, Coban had pretty much cracked me open in under a day… how was I going to survive the man?!