Forbidden

𝔱𝔴𝔬

August 26th, 2089

I had managed to make it six months into my stay at the Bayview Prison for Women. As expected, my parents sent me every marriage offer they could conjure up just to get me out. They sent me letters blaming themselves for having ever opened up about their love story and that they wished I had just been open and honest with them from the start. Even with full transparency, they would have never seen it coming, either. No one had ever heard of the government using undercover spies to trap girls into getting caught violating the Best Wishes Act. 

It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that entrapment seemed unlawful and far from being what's best for a young girl.

Eventually, I had stopped responding to my parents' letters. It's what's best for them, is what I told myself. After all, Bayview was my new life now. I spent every free moment with Tosha. We were inseparable. She became almost like a second mother to me in such a short time. Honestly, if it weren't for her, I'd probably would have found a way to take myself out of this loveless world.

Everyone had been right about Macintosh, by the way. He was a cocky and arrogant son of a bitch. A much younger man and built like an absolute tool-bag in every way. He'd taunt some of the girls. Bark at them like a rowdy dog. Smack their asses in places where the cameras on the ceilings couldn't quite reach. He'd challenge them, too. 

"My word over yours," he'd whisper to them. 

He reminded me of Nathaniel, and it made me sick.

There was one evening last week I got sick of his bullshit, and I got so brave that I slugged him in the right eye. I must have hit him pretty hard, because he still had the bruise to show for it the following week. That little stunt landed me a full day in solitary confinement with no food and no enrichment activities. I had even imagined that it was Nathaniel I had been punching. I had an eat-shit grin the whole time I was alone in solitary. It was worth every silent moment that day. 

We had just finished our dinner hour in the cafeteria and were back in our cells rolling a rubber ball back-and-forth between them. We were keeping track of who could roll it successfully across the way without hitting any of the metal bars. The door at the end of the hall opened, surely to be Howell doing his routine watching of our cell block for his day shift. 

I was about to receive the ball from Tosha, but she held it firmly in her grasp with her head craned in the direction of the door. "You're not Howell," she exclaimed. 

A young man with green eyes, dark hair, and hazy stubble was traipsing down the hallway. His build was firm. Stocky. Powerful eyebrows and a piercing gaze accompanied a chiseled face. The all-black guard uniform made him look more like an officer of the law rather than a lowly prison guard. I'd never seen a guard built quite like him. Aside from Macintosh, he had to have been one of the younger guards at Bayview. 

Then again, Tosha had been in here for two years and didn't even recognize the man.

"You'd be correct," his voice was confident and didn't have any particular accent that I could make out, "Howell will be retiring soon. I'm Kai, Kai Marino, and I'll be taking his place when he goes."

"Damn," Tosha slapped her knee and swore under her breath, "leave it to the old man to keep a secret like that from us. Some friend."

I fell back on the floor and let out a laugh. "The guards aren't our friends, Tosh."

Kai cleared his throat. "Be that as it may, you ladies might as well go ahead and get used to having my face around more often. Don't hesitate to ask me anything you feel like you need to know to get more comfortable with my presence. Oh, and one more thing-"

He gestured to a small and mousy girl hiding behind him. She had to have been a fresh eighteen to wind up here with as young as she looked. Her face was supple like a child's, and she had seafoam eyes shrouded by wispy blonde hair. 

"-this is your new companion, Emelie. She'll be staying with a miss Dylan until she decides to accept a marriage offer. Or, of course, until miss Dylan accepts one of her own."

I shot upwards with a snort. "Not gonna happen, bucko." I craned my head to the side and gave a small wave to the new girl. "Hey there. Name's Dylan. Bottom bunk is mine." 

While I exchanged pleasantries with Emelie as Kai let her into my cell, Tosha was staring Kai up and down with crossed arms. 

"Introductions and kindness? Damn, you really are new here." She laughed.

He grinned. "Ah, and you must be miss Tosha. Oh, trust me, I've heard my fair share about you. Just because you ladies are used to monsters in these halls does not mean that I will resort to becoming one myself. I fully intend to abide by my rules and training as a new guard here at Bayview."

"Dear God," Tosha mused, "they're gonna eat you alive."

Laughter broke out up and down the cell block.

I jumped back into the conversation highly amused. "There's no point in setting yourself out from the others. You're all the same. Controlling, degrading men who treat us like dogs."

I noticed a vein bulge in Kai's neck and suddenly those fierce, piercing green eyes were locked on mine. Emelie shrunk away toward the back of our cell, but I stepped forward unafraid.

"Do your worst," I breathed, the only thing separating our faces being metal bars and a few inches of a heigh difference.

"Please," his eyes softened, "you honestly think I'd hit you?"

I scoffed and gave a shrug. "It's what we're used to." 

Nods and calls of agreement came out from all around the hall.

Kai flashed me a toothy smile. "Oh, it all makes sense now. You're the one who socked Macintosh right in the eye. He had a few choice words to warn me about you. He got the attitude and the spunk right. But he missed the mark about the rest of you. You're really something else." 

His comment didn't sound at all flirtatious. It came off as a genuine compliment. Not once did his eyes even leave mine to roam my body. There was no way this guy was even remotely this nice. This had to have been a joke. Maybe Macintosh had set this up.

Neither of us spoke after that, but there was such a fierce intensity radiating between us that you could have cut it with a knife. Every part of me felt alive. I hadn't been this perky in a long time. 

Tosha was behind Kai staring at us with a wide grin on her face. She was loving this.

His watch beeped, causing us both to jump a little. 

Clearly on edge, he coughed and looked down at his watch to avoid any further confrontation.

"It appears it's time for a shift change. Macintosh should be here shortly. Don't do anything I would do, ladies." He turned to walk away but looked over his shoulder at me, "especially you."

I laughed and shook my head in disbelief.

Who even was this Kai guy?

Was he for real?

"I like him," Tosha remarked as we watched the door close silently behind the new guard.

"Enough about him," I said as I turned my attention to Emelie, "let's get to know you."

The shy and petite new girl took another fearful step backward and gulped.

She was going to be a tough nut to crack if she had any sort of hope in fitting in here at Bayview. Here's hoping she accepted the first marriage proposal that came her way. She was the type all of the asshole guards loved to pick on, and I'd be damned if I let that happen to her.