𝐌𝐘 𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐍.

𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐓𝐖𝐎.

⌖ TWISTED LULLABY | O42. ‹ ⚜ ›
❝ you shoulda acted sooner, but you let her die,
now close them eyes, kiss that dead bitch goodbye. ❞

— JANUARY TWENTY FOURTH
1O:OO A.M. ᐟ

Jasiah sat stiffly on his side of the thick glass, his gaze locked onto Reign as they both lifted the phones from their hooks in unison. The receiver pressed against his ear before he exhaled deeply through his nose.

Visitations had been reduced to this—non-contact. No physical interaction, no quiet moments without a barrier between him & his visitor. He lost the privilege of those more intimate visits the moment he pulled that stunt with Iris. Now, instead of the standard beige attire, his was yellow. A indication to officers & other inmates that there was behavioral concern.

Their court date was supposed to take place in two days, but now it was looking like another delay. Another week tacked on because of his explosive behavior. The system was diving deeper into what happened, pulling statements from every officer who had been present. Spoon wasn't happy about it, but he still stood by Jasiah, understanding his reaction to the news.

Carter had told them from the beginning—keep your heads down, stay on your best behavior. But Jasiah had done the exact opposite since their first night. The fight. The stabbing. The water bottle. Slick. & now Iris.

One thing after another, reckless move after reckless move. Spoon was almost surprised Jasiah & Xavier hadn't been dragged into a full blown investigation. But for whatever reason, the guards didn't seem to care. Or maybe Xavier had something to do with that.

He'd been here long enough to know how to play in the officers' ears, to make himself a problem they didn't want to deal with. Maybe he'd threatened them just because he could. Xavier had pull inside here, enough to make people look the other way when it suited him. Enough to make things disappear.

& maybe, just maybe, Jasiah was benefiting from that too. Despite everything—he had no disciplinary hearings, no added time to his sentence. Just a color change in his jumpsuit & a few extra eyes on him, but nothing that actually stuck.

Reign studied him for a long moment, her expression shifting between confusion, shock, & unease. She wasn't sure how this conversation would go, wasn't sure how he would respond but she knew he wasn't ready to hear it. She knew Iris had come to see him, but she didn't know the details of their conversation. She had no idea how badly he had reacted, what words were exchanged. She was stepping into this blindly.

Jasiah looked different—worn down in a way that was almost unrecognizable. His curly hair had grown out, wild & unkempt like he hadn't touched it in weeks. His eyes were dull, bloodshot, the veins in them webbed in red from endless crying that hadn't seemed to stop. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. His skin had lost its warmth, taking on a pale, almost sickly hue, like he was draining dry. He had lost weight, not enough to make him look frail, but enough for his cheekbones to carve sharper angles into his face.