Page 23 of Butterfly

“I’m okay now, though,” Ollie murmured, relaxing onto Teddy’s chest. “You’ve got me.”

Teddy pressed a kiss to the top of Ollie’s head, and Ollie closed his eyes.

He didn’t need to see Teddy’s face to know what he was saying.

I have.

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OneglimpseofOllie’sbeaten face, and there was outrage across the entire wing. Captain demanded to speak to the governor, wanting both Pichard and Seinfeld to be held accountable for what happened. According to him, they’d failed in their responsibilities, in particular, duty of care, and their heads should be delivered to F-wing on a platter.

Ollie decided not to mention it was his dropping of the clipboard that probably woke the inmate from his slumber.

Green and Jack discussed how they’d double-team the man that hurt Ollie if they ever got the chance, with Green desperate to pull off his fingernails and Jack wanting to snap his hard cock like a twig.

Einstein declared war on B-wing, where Keith was from, not that their paths ever crossed except for in the hospital wing. Jonesy had even volunteered himself for a pummelling so he could end up there and attack an inmate of that wing.

Tit for tat.

Hatred between the wings was the one thing that united them.

Only inmates on F-wing were allowed to harm inmates on F-wing.

That was the unspoken rule.

The man from B-wing had broken it, and everyone wanted to lay a punch on his face, not on behalf of Ollie, but on behalf of the whole wing.

It was all words, but Ollie appreciated every one of them.

Ollie’s red cheeks faded after a few days, but the pinch to his face lasted longer, a perfect purple circle high up on his cheekbone.

He kept catching Teddy staring at it with an unreadable look.

The days following the attack, everyone rallied around Ollie in a protective bubble, all except Teddy, who distanced himself.

He didn’t come over to the pool table to squeeze Ollie’s side, or flash him fond looks across the wing, or even sit with him during mealtimes.

Every time Ollie searched for him during association, Teddy was elsewhere.

It took seven days for Ollie to build up the courage to confront him over his behaviour.

He took a deep breath, watching Teddy from the top bunk while he brushed his teeth, then asked, “Have I done something wrong?”

Teddy froze, toothbrush in his mouth, and shot Ollie a quizzical look in the mirror.

Ollie dropped his shoulders. “You know you’re being different.”

He got a raised eyebrow in reply.

“You don’t sit with me at breakfast, lunch or dinner. You stopped going to classes with me, and you’re never on the wing anymore. Even when they close the gym and lock the door to the yard, you retreat to the cell. You never used to do that.”

Teddy hesitated, then resumed brushing his teeth.

Ollie slipped down from the bed. “What did I do?”

Teddy’s frown said,Nothing.

“Well, I must’ve done something.”

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