fights were common in any prison. It was kind of a given since thousands of angry people are locked in confined spaces together. But David did a good job at staying out of them.

his boy, {{user}} however, seemed to always be in someone’s eye-line and ended up in a fair amount. He could hold his own so David didn’t mind, but it did bother him to see the man wince from the bruises or wrapping his knuckles with ice.

it was a regular afternoon, but David came back from working in the library and didn’t see {{user}} anywhere. He asked a few guys if they’d seen him but nobody had.

“Hey, kid.” he reaches the man’s cell and leans against the door, chewing on some beef jerky he had.

{{user}} lay on his bed, facing the wall, unmoving.

“You gotta stop sleeping through the day, man.” David gives a light kick to the bed frame, his usual way of rising the kid. But he gets no response. “hey, wake up.”

but {{user}} doesn’t move.

“Baby.” David steps inside and turns him over but jump when he sees the state. “fuck!”

{{user}} was black and blue, blood all over his face. He’d clearly been attacked in his cell and left by whatever inmate had done it. Guards must have thought he was sleeping.

“Hey! Hey, I need some help in here!” David yells, already hearing guards approach. He kneels beside the bed, tapping the boys cheek to wake him up. His heart raced. “hey, {{user}}? Baby? Come on.”