Theo froze for a moment before replying. “She died shortly after the riot. As much as the inmates were furious the guards killed one of their own, it didn’t stop them from ruining that poor woman.”
I nod sadly, fiddling with the sleeves of my hoodie. After a moment I look up and see Theo staring at me, a strange and knowing look on his face.
“So, that’s how Axle came to take over here,” Theo says, not taking his gaze off me, “but that still doesn’t answer why he helped you…Or does it?”
He raises an eyebrow at me, and I feel my face heat up. Surely, he can’t…
Theo chuckles, “Thought so.”
“I—But—” I sputter, trying to make sense of it and come up with some kind of retort. “How?” I finally squeak.
“I wasn’t born yesterday,boy,” he says with a pointed smirk, the emphasis making his meaning clear. “I thought there was something off about ya, but when you said Ax protected you, I made a guess. Which you just confirmed,” he points out.
I narrow my eyes at the sneaky old man as he has a little laugh at his cleverness.
“You gonna tell on me?” I ask him coldly and Theo stops laughing and glares at me.
“You accusing me of fucking you over after I helped you, not once, but twice now?” He glares and I immediately drop my head in shame.
“Sorry,” I mutter.
We sit in silence for a few minutes. I’m still processing that Theo figured me out, much less Axle’s own history.
When I was first brought before him, he terrified me. As I learn about him, spend time with him, it all begins to make sense. I can picture him, this little boy crying out for his mother, and it breaks my heart. No wonder he wants to keep me safe.
“What’s yer name anyways?” Theo finally asks, breaking my attention back to him. I dart a glance around, confirming no one is near.
“Ana,” I reply quietly. “Josh was my brother.” As usual, I feel a stab in my heart when I think of him but push it away.
Theo nods. “Well, I won’t tell no one, but you’d best be careful. No more crap like in the yard today, you hear? You got lucky this time, but Cole and his boys already seem suspicious of Axle’s interest in ya. Don’t want to see what would happen to you if they found out.”
I pale slightly and nod. Theo seems to think this sufficient warning as he goes back to his desk and starts doing something among his things.
“Theo?”
“Mmmhmmm?”
“Has anyone ever left this place?”
Theo freezes with his back to me, turning slowly to point a knobby finger at me accusingly.
“Don’t you think you’ve caused enough trouble already?”
I chuckle lightly as I rise, getting ready to leave. “It was just a question, Theo. Don’t worry about me,” I lie easily.
He narrows his eyes at me but doesn’t say anything more. When I figure out how to get out of here, I’ll try to include Theo. I never did ask what landed him in here, but my instincts tell me he’s a good guy, and those instincts have seldom led me wrong.
“Thank you for sharing with me,” I tell him honestly, “and for your help.” As I turn to leave, Theo’s voice picks up again behind me.
“Remember I said you reminded me of someone?” He asks.
“Yeah, you gonna tell me who now?”
He nods and walks over to his desk, pulling out something small and handing it to me. I take it and look back at a worn picture of a young woman and look up at Theo questioningly.
“My daughter,” he says, still smiling at the picture I held, “she died the night I got arrested. She had spunk, like you.” I smile sadly and hand him back the picture, leaving without another word.
Twenty Two