Amelia

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

"You're here!" Jamie's curly blonde hair greeted me as she bounced from the front desk and tackled me in a bear hug. Jamie and I had gone to university together, her for criminal justice and me for nursing. She had never been a big fan of Alexander and was all too happy to get me a job and "outta that nut house." We had been best friends since our first year of college.

"I wasn't going to ditch! You know me better than that!" She smiled wider and led me over to the security desk. Her name was on a golden plate resting front and center, surrounded by mounds of paper and several computer screens, presumably displaying security camera footage.

"Okay, well, you'll need to get an I.D. before anything. But I can show you around a bit today, let you see the place and figure out what you may need. I'll take your picture today and send it over to Mark for the I.D. so you can start later this week." She pulled out a small silver camera and positioned me by a plain white wall. After the blinding click, Jamie led me over to the door marked Authorized Personnel Only.

"So this is the medical ward. Check-ups are next week so it'll be a big help with you here. I know the doctor will be grateful. He was swamped last time since most nurses don't want to be in a room alone with the convicts."

The rooms were basic: four white walls, a sink and cabinet on one wall and a lounge bed across from it. There was also a plastic folding chair next to the bed with a small table next to it. Pretty standard hospital furniture.

"Well, there's not much else to show; all these rooms sorta look the same." Jamie pursed her lips and ran a hand over the top of the chair. "Hm... I guess I could let you see your future patients."

"Wait, what? Like, the inmates? Is that allowed? Or safe?" I know I had defended them to Alexander, but I suddenly got an uneasy feeling in my gut at the thought of meeting the prisoners.

Jamie gave a snort and grabbed my wrist, pulling my along to a door leading outside. "It's totally fine. They're outside right now for what I call 'play time.' We'll just take a quick peek so you can see who you're dealing with."

It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the bright light, but when they did, I saw the "play area." There were a few benches, a basketball hoop with no net, some workout equipment, and a picnic table. And around twenty guys all mingling about.

They all looked like normal guys, just hanging out, having a smoke. There was nothing about them that could really single them out as criminals –save for the bright orange jumpsuits they were sporting. All of them simply blended into one another.

Except one. He caught my eye, whereas the others seemed to be intentionally ignoring Jamie and me. He was propped up against the wall, a cigarette hanging from his mouth. Much like the others, there wasn't really anything that could single him out from the group...except his eyes. They were a piercing blue, clear and bright and true, that had me magnetized. His eyes, though beautiful, were guarded.

"That's all of them. We're not very big, which keeps things pretty simple, but with one doctor versus twenty guys, well. You can see why we hired you." Jamie's voiced was enough to break me from my spell. I tore my eyes from their weird connection with his and smiled at my friend.

"Of course. When do I start?"

...

I hadn't gotten up early in what felt like forever. Since we had been married, Alexander had basically forbidden me from doing anything, including cooking, cleaning, laundry, and working. It had been nice...for about one day. After that, I started feeling restless, and a tad useless. The job at the correctional facility gave me a reason to finally put my hands to good work.