incarcerated

5.

(trigger warning: rape/sexual assault)

brett woke up to a large hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently.

"hey, it's dinner time," eddy's voice was soft and sweet, nothing like it had been the day they'd met. brett opened his eyes to see the taller man standing over him, slight amusement on his face.

"what?" brett asked defensively, sitting up and wrapping the heavy blanket around his shoulders.

"you talk in your sleep," eddy grinned. a fiery red tint made its way across brett's already flushed cheeks and he cringed visibly.

"what did i say?" he quizzed, but he almost didn't want to know. the smile didn't leave eddy's face.

"well," he stood up, slapping his knees, "you said my name about... four times. and some other things i couldn't really make out."

brett groaned loudly and pulled the blanket over his head, curling up into a ball on the couch. how embarrassing.

"yang, there's no time for you to lay there and wallow in your embarrassment. come on."

"it's better than going to the cafeteria and having some dude twice my size shove me up against the wall and ask me why i was in the warden's office for hours... sir," came brett's muffled reply. eddy winced.

"tell them you were in trouble," he offered, attempting to take the blanket from brett. he gripped it tighter.

"for what?" brett almost laughed. eddy shrugged.

the smaller man sighed deeply and stood up.

"well," he said, "i'm going to head that way. thank you.. uh, sir."

eddy only grinned in response. the door shut behind brett with a quiet click and he took a deep breath.

surprisingly, no one said a word to brett on his short journey to the cafeteria. the other inmates still seemed to be focused on the extremely large man and the way he walked. brett did not condone bullying in any shape or form, but it was a relief to have the focus off of him. he clung to the wall and kept his head down so it would stay that way.

dinner was as disgusting as usual, so brett got a glass of water and sat alone—as usual. prison was all about routine and he'd established his pretty quickly. it consisted of avoiding other inmates and trying to stay hydrated so that starvation would be the only nutrition-related danger in his stay. his commissary money would come in soon and he'd be able to buy food, but a man can't live on chips and ramen noodles forever. he'd already lost a few pounds in the short duration he'd been there, making him even smaller. the weight loss angered him, but there was no way he was going to give in to eating the food and destroy his already sensitive stomach.

eddy had the guards keep an eye on brett and they never failed to inform him of the smaller man's eating habits, or lack thereof. the way he treated his staff greatly contrasted the way he treated brett and all of the COs found his interest in the inmate strange, but none of them dared to say a word. eddy was not usually a kind man at his job, especially if his authority was challenged in any way.

after dinner, brett shuffled along with the other inmates in the hall to return to his bunk. the only notably unpleasant interaction (besides the constant overall unpleasantness of the facility) was a hard shove against his back, but that was only because he got stuck behind someone who seemed to be unaware of how his own feet worked. he said nothing to the man who shoved him. he knew better.

thankfully, he made it back to his cubicle in one piece. he sat down on his bed and curled up into a ball with a book that he'd taken from the library.