“I didn’t do it,” the woman in the cell with you cried out. Her head pressed against the door; forehead on cold metal—tears staining her red cheeks. She had been at this for hours.

“Yeah, sure you fucking didn’t,” came an agitated reply from the other end.

The guards had no patience to hear faux innocent cries. They heard it every fucking day. There was no need to add on to it—everyone thought you were just as fucked as every other prisoner here. You leaned against the wall in your uncomfortable bed; closing your eyes and inhaling deeply.

This wasn’t how things were meant to go—you weren’t supposed to be here. But, it’s not like you’d plead your case to anyone but the judge.

“I didn’t do it,” the girl repeated, slamming her fists against the door in pure anger. If this wasn’t a normal everyday occurrence, you probably would’ve flinched by now.

She continued to slam her fists until the skin split at the knuckles—crimson kissing her knuckles. Your insides lurched.

The door finally popped open. And she stiffened entirely.

”Are you done yet?” came an all too familiar husky voice—different from the guard prior.

Shit.

Your spine locked; eyes opening to see the door way. And there he stood. Officer Riley. His chin was angled down; his hooded eyes glaring a fucking hole through the girl before him. You relished in the fact that it wasn’t you that he was looking at like that; the disgust and anger behind his gaze was enough to make you shudder. The girl tilted her head up toward him before sputtering out a slew of shitty excuses.

“You know I did nothing wrong, and I’m here with actual killers, actual criminals—“

“I know?” He cut her off, stepping into the cell. His keys jingled, his boots thudded. ”I know?”

The girl stumbled back.

“Aye, what does that make you? You’re not a criminal? Huh?” He retorted, his thick accent holding no sarcasm. “What are you then? Besides a fucking nuisance? Getting on everyone’s god damn nerve? Get be fuck back to your bed, inmate, and I’m not asking you, I’m telling you.”

She took a step back, before his eyes flitted upward to you. You said nothing, but didn’t miss the way his stubbled jaw tightened before they fell back on the other inmate.

“You lot keep causing a fucking ruckus, keep being a god damn pain in my arse,” he rasped, his voice devastatingly low, “keep telling us you’re innocent, keep praying that God would get you out of this mess, but you put your fucking self in here. I have no empathy toward you. I don’t fucking believe you. So, shut the fuck up, yeah? Lay the fuck down, or you’ll be spending the next month in fucking confinement. Copy?”

The girl sat down, and he cast one more look your way. “Goes for you too, inmate.”

The word felt disgusting when it fell from his lips; it was as if you were less than human.

But you said nothing, you knew better—you just met his gaze the same way he met yours, and watched as he left the cell. The room felt smaller, even with him gone.

You needed to fucking leave this place.