Chapter 6
The clang of the morning bell jolted Sophia awake. The prison block stirred like a nest of crows, voices rising, chains clinking, boots stomping. The thin mattress under her bones might as well have been stone. She drew her knees to her chest, trying to make herself small as footsteps thundered past her cell.
"New girl," a voice rasped from the bunk above. Tasha, her cellmate, leaned over with a smirk. "Best get moving before they decide you're soft meat."
Sophia forced herself upright. Her limbs ached from the night before - too much crying, too little sleep. She smoothed her hair with trembling fingers, then followed the guard's bark down the hall toward the mess.
The dining hall was a cavern of noise. Metal trays scraped, spoons clattered, laughter cut sharp as knives. Sophia took a tray and edged down the line, ignoring the watery porridge and burnt bread. She found an empty spot in the corner, but before she could sit, three women blocked her way.
"Well, look who thinks she's too good for us," the tallest sneered. Her hair was shorn close, her eyes glinting like shards of glass. "The Kingston princess."
"I'm not-" Sophia started, but the woman shoved her tray. Porridge slopped down her dress.
The hall roared with laughter.
Another inmate leaned close, her breath sour. "Your daddy's money can't buy you out of this slop. He's not coming for you."
"She's probably here to spy on us," a third said mockingly. "Princess Kingston, pretending to be one of us. Bet she's never washed a dish in her life."
Sophia's cheeks burned. She clutched the tray tighter. "Please. I don't want trouble."
"Trouble found you the moment you walked in here," the tallest hissed. She jabbed a finger into Sophia's shoulder. "Think you'll survive in here looking like that?"
Before the first shove could become more, Tasha appeared at her side. "Back off, Marla. Fresh meat's mine."
The women hesitated, then spat on the floor and sauntered away. Sophia's legs trembled as she slid onto the bench.
Tasha dropped beside her with a crooked grin. "Lesson one: never show fear. Lesson two: never eat the porridge. Tastes worse coming back up."
Sophia whispered, "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet," Tasha said. "You'll owe me."
---
Later that afternoon, Sophia was scrubbing floors when Marla struck again. A bucket tipped, dirty water soaking Sophia's shoes. Marla loomed over her, fists clenched.
"Princess thinks she can hide behind Tasha. Let's see what she's made of."
The first blow came fast. Sophia staggered, pain flaring across her cheek. She dropped the brush and raised her arms. The second strike knocked her sideways, the taste of rust filling her mouth.
"Fight back!" Tasha shouted from the doorway.
Sophia's vision blurred, but something inside her snapped. She lunged forward, clawing, shoving with all her strength. Marla stumbled back, startled, but recovered quickly and shoved Sophia into the wall. The crack of impact rattled her teeth.
Sophia's fear turned to fury. "I said leave me alone!" she cried, her voice breaking. She swung blindly, her knuckles connecting with Marla's jaw. For one stunned heartbeat, the other woman staggered.
Guards stormed in, dragging them apart. One guard twisted Sophia's arms behind her back while another pinned Marla.
Sophia's lip bled, her arms shook, but she was standing. Marla spat blood onto the floor and snarled. "This isn't over, Kingston. Next time, no guards to save you."
In her cell that night, Sophia lay against the cold wall, every bruise throbbing. Tasha tossed a rag at her. "You did alright. Got fire under all that silk."
Sophia dabbed her lip. "I was terrified."
"That's prison. Be terrified, but never let them see it."
Sophia closed her eyes. She thought of Lucas. His hands rough with calluses, his voice steady when he promised he'd never leave her. She clung to that memory like a lifeline.
---
Days blurred into weeks. Sophia learned to keep her head low, to eat quickly, to sleep with one eye open. Yet every night, when the noise died down, she whispered his name into the dark.
One morning, Officer Mason appeared at her cell with a small envelope. "Letter for Kingston."
Her hands shook as she tore it open. Lucas's handwriting spilled across the page, messy but familiar.
Sophia, I'm working every hour I can. I'll find a way to fight this. I promise. Hold on for me.
Tears blurred the ink as she pressed the paper to her chest. For the first time since her arrest, she let herself believe she wasn't forgotten.
She read it again and again until she could hear his voice in every line. She pictured him at the bridge, his thumb brushing her knuckles. She pictured his half-smile, the one he tried to hide when he was nervous. For a moment she could almost smell the river breeze, almost feel him beside her.
But when she flipped the letter over, she noticed a smudge, as if the pen had stopped mid-sentence. A second page was missing.
"What was on it?" she whispered. "What did you stop yourself from saying?"
Tasha leaned over, reading upside down. "Doesn't matter. He's still out there. Better than most men I've seen."
Sophia shook her head. The ache in her chest wouldn't let go. She traced the unfinished line at the bottom of the page until her hands ached.
And for the first time, doubt crept in - a small, poisonous whisper.
What if he forgets you?
---
That night, long after lights out, Sophia pressed her ear to the bars. Somewhere down the hall, Marla laughed in her sleep. Tasha snored above. The letter burned against her skin where she'd tucked it under her shift.
She whispered into the dark, "Lucas, don't let me disappear."
A shadow moved past her cell door. Too tall for a guard. Silent. Watching.
Sophia froze, her breath catching.
When she blinked, the shadow was gone.
But the letter crumpled in her hand felt suddenly fragile, as if promises could vanish as easily as shadows in the night.
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