after they met her

fiftyone

i v a n a

I sat on the cold floor, feeling the rough stone beneath me, brushing Glenn's hair gently with the brush Jaqueline had given me. His hair was matted and tangled, but he didn't make a sound, though I knew it must've hurt.

We hadn't been separated since the incident—since that moment everything changed. Now, we shared the cell. I didn't mind it though. It was warmer this way, with him here.

"You know, sometimes it feels like you're my older sister," Glenn said, his voice soft, almost wistful. "I feel like you forget that I'm actually older than you."

I paused for a moment, tilting my head slightly as I met his gaze. "Why do you think so?"

He shrugged lightly. "You baby me a lot, Ivana. Always fussing over me, like I'm the one who needs protecting."

I smiled, resuming the gentle strokes through his hair. "Right now, I am your older sister. So don't worry about anything, okay? When you're better, you can go back to being my big brother."

Glenn chuckled softly at that. "So, I'm not the youngest anymore, huh? Now I get to be a big brother."

"Not yet," I teased, pinching his arm lightly. "When we're out of here and you gain some muscles, then you can be the big brother."

"Hey!" he protested with a laugh, rubbing the spot where I pinched him.

Despite the laughter, the reality of where we were weighed on me. I kept combing his hair, trying to ignore the pit in my stomach.

The last few days had been eerily quiet. Daniel hadn't bothered us, which was strange in itself. But Rick, who seemed to shadow me now, still came every day to drag me upstairs to see Jaqueline.

He was rough, his grip always too tight, but in front of Jaqueline, his whole attitude changed. He became passive, almost like a guard dog that just sat and watched.

Jaqueline didn't seem to notice, though. She treated him like usual. In her eyes he was a normal person, even complained to him about being locked inside the house. "It's dangerous out there," he would tell her in that calm, measured tone.

And the worst part was, I believed him. It was dangerous. The same way it had been dangerous for me. I should've never left the orphanage.

Suddenly, a wave of guilt washed over me, and I widened my eyes in shock. How could I think something so awful? I shook my head, trying to push the thought away, but it lingered, gnawing at the edges of my mind.

"Ivana, can I ask you something?" Jaqueline's voice pulled me back to the present. She was watching me as I folded a piece of paper into an intricate origami figure. It had become a habit—something to keep my hands busy and my mind from spiraling.

"Sure," I said quietly, focusing on the paper in my hands.

"You're really good at that," she said, her eyes fixed on the delicate folds I was creating. "Where did you learn to fold paper like that? You make such pretty things."

I glanced at myself in the small mirror in the corner. My reflection looked hollow. Dark circles hung under my eyes, and my face looked pale and gaunt. "It was my hobby," I said softly. "I did it for almost two years. That's how I got so good at it."

"Two years?!" Jaqueline sat up, her expression incredulous. "Wasn't that boring? I'm always bored in here," she sighed, falling back onto her bed, tears welling up in her eyes.

I felt a pang of sympathy for her.

Despite everything, she was just a girl trapped in a nightmare, too. I didn't want her to feel bad. I didn't want to hurt anyone. So, for the first time, I decided to open up a little. Maybe it would give her some comfort.