* * *
“What the hell was that?” I ask as I step into our chamber. Ax is pacing the room in a familiar pattern, his fingers twitching at his sides. He hasn’t cut in a few weeks, but I can almost feel the need emanating off of him. Curbing my annoyance for the moment, I make my way over to him, placing a hand on his arm.
His eyes meet mine, black and filled with anger, and I have to will myself not to take a step back. This is Axle, my lover, and he would never hurt me.
“What’s going on?” I ask again, softer this time.
“Why were you speaking to John?” he hisses and I immediately withdraw my hand, my brow knit together.
“Seriously?” I say incredulously, “That’s what’s bugging you?”
Today, right now, the jealousy is most definitelynotendearing.
He immediately steps up to me, his face only inches from mine.
“And why shouldn’t I be bothered by my woman talking to a piece of shit like that? Taking fucking cues from him.”
“Your woman?” I reply angrily, “Excuse me, but I can talk to whoever the fuck I want to.”
“So, you choose the fuckhead that said shit aboutmy mother?” he shouts and this time, I cringe. My own perception of John has changed drastically today, and I forgot what happened only yesterday. As much as I am still reallynotinto this whole “my woman” shit, I do feel bad. It’s easy to forget with how stressed I am that Axle is just as stressed, if not more.
My face softens, and I step up to Ax again. “I’m sorry.” I say simply, placing a hand on his chest. Ax is still breathing heavily through his nose, his body stiff.
“John ended up talking to me after you guys left, I think there’s more to him than we thought.” Suddenly, the smell hits me and my nose crinkles as I sniff the air around him.
“Eww!” I exclaim, taking a step back, and finally I am rewarded with a twitch of his lips and the moment is broken.
“Iwaswandering around a sewer,mi amor,” he replies wryly as he begins to peel his filthy clothes off. I can’t help but gawk at his body, despite how many times I’ve seen it. The perfect lines of his chest covered only by the winding black ink, all leading down to a delicious V.
“Hurry up and get clean,” I say, biting my bottom lip, my mind eager to shy away from the situation and take distraction where it can. He chuckles as he makes his way over to the tub.
As he bathes, I quickly explain the conversation I had with John. The entire time Ax is frowning, but he says nothing, so I quickly move on. I don’t think he really agrees with the approach I took, but he’s wisely biting his tongue for now.
“We need to fill some water containers in here too, I think, just in case,” I say, finally finishing. “So, what happened below? Can we get out?” I ask hopefully.
“Well, there are some rocks and debris in front of what I am pretty sure is the exit,” Ax replies as he pours one last bucket of water on himself before wandering over and grabbing a handful of dates off the table. “So, we’ll need to clear it and then see.”
Frowning, I reply, “Youthinkit’s the exit? So, you aren’t even sure?”
He darts a glance at me, “I was a fucking kid last time I saw it, and it’s a goddamn maze down there. So yeah, I’m pretty sure, but not positive.”
I promised the inmates two days. Two days and then I would turn myself in. I’m sure Ax assumes it was a bluff on my part, a way to buy time. To be honest, I’m not even sure myself at this point. If I don’t give myself up in two days, the prisoners would likely do it for me. Sighing, I push it out of my mind for the time being. Compartmentalize is definitely the new word of the day.
“Okaayy, so when do we go back down and finish?”
He shakes his head at me, “If you’re down there too, others will get suspicious. It’s gotta be me and Ethan. We need a few more lights and tools and then we’ll head back down.”
“John figured it out, and I wasn’t down there,” I point out, immediately regretting it when I see the scowl on his face. Stepping up to me, water still dripping from his head, he leans down and kisses me. Hard.
“Just stay here and hold down the fort, I’ll be back tonight.”
And with that, once again I am left alone, gnashing my teeth. I didn’t even get an orgasm.
With nothing else to do and not wanting to hang around my room, I decide to go for a walk. Before my secret was exposed, I would never even consider a leisurely walk. Even in my first few weeks in charge, there was more than one close encounter with an inmate trying something untoward. Luckily, I’m handy as fuck with a knife though and keep a few on me at all times. Since I’m suitably equipped, I decide to leave Brutus be for a bit and go on my own.
As I walk through the corridors, I notice the lights are still flickering away. A quick glance at the sky tells me its past midday, maybe a few hours left until dark at the most. My guess is that is when they turn them off.
Taking advantage of what I hope will be one of my last strolls, my eyes wander to the graffiti covering some of the walls. Some of it is just plain old-school graffiti writing that I couldn’t read if I wanted to. Along with it though are drawings and doodles of varying skill levels. I happen to know of one cell with some particularly good naked women. The cell owner rents out his cell for short intervals, though I’m not sure if he was the original artist.