Two for Joy - Louise Collins Page 0,3

“That’s enough now. Get on with your visit.”

Chad seemed to notice he was twitching his hands and laid them flat on the newspaper. He looked down gesturing to the crossword. “Shall we?”

“Yes, we shall.”

He hummed, studying the clues for real. “Lazy person, four letters.”

“Ah, yes… Paul’s definitely one of those…”

Chad didn’t comment, he’d worked the clue out, too, and wrote slob in the correct boxes.

Romeo leaned as close as he could to the barrier. “Wait. Actually. Stupid and clumsy, three letters … that’s what Paul is.”

“I’m warning you Romeo.” Paul growled.

“Oaf.” Chad said, filling it in.

“Wait, wait.” Romeo said, with a smile. “Tug at with force, four letters, that’s definitely P—

Paul stepped closer. “Shut your goddamn mouth, Romeo.”

“Wait,” Fred said, “The answer is pull…”

Romeo glanced over his shoulder and watched as Paul deflated. He smirked, but Chad gave him a very unimpressed look.

“What?”

“I’m gonna put the crossword away so you don’t end up in trouble.”

“Spoilsport.”

Chad smiled. “You’re terrible.”

Romeo lifted his eyebrows and gave Chad the look. The look that said, “I know, but you love me anyway,” and the response was Chad blushing and giving him a coy smile. He was flexing his hand on the table, faster than before.

Sometimes Romeo wanted to unravel Chad’s head completely, see what was going on in there, analyze the damage he’d done. He knew how to provoke it, bring it to the surface, and he did when he murmured promises of his escape.

“Just you wait until I’m outta here…”

His words never failed to get a reaction. Not a verbal one, or a physical one unless you were focused on Chad with laser intensity. His emotions played out in his eyes. The slight excitement, the embers of hope in his brown eyes before they cooled, and steely determination took over.

Chad was replaced by the detective.

There was four of them in their messed-up relationship. The monster, the detective, Chad, and Romeo, and the four of them switched and interacted.

Chad—the detective—finally whispered, “You belong in here.”

Romeo smiled.

Toying with Chad’s threadbare morals was fascinating to watch.

****

When he stepped back into his cell, the countdown in his head reset itself. Another seven days until he saw Chad again. Seven painfully slow days of laying on his bed, caught in the past.

It took over his mind. He thought of his family life, his upbringing, his parents. Random memories cropped up when he least expected them to, and he was left dwelling.

When the unavoidable present interrupted his thoughts, he hated it. The present was poison, filled with the unachievable desire to escape, but even worse than that was sleeping.

The nightmares.

Romeo stared around his cell, then ungracefully slumped on the bed. 211 days since the cuffs had first snapped on his wrists, and escape had been on his mind ever since, but it seemed impossible in the maximum-security prison.

Chapter Two

“It’s 2:00.”

Romeo looked at Paul through the bars, then sighed, getting out of bed. 2:00 on a Saturday meant it was his only other visitor, Holly Stevenson.

Wednesdays were Chad days, and Saturdays were for Stevenson.

“Hey Romeo…”

He paused as he went through the gate and looked at Will in the neighboring cell. Long hair up in a bun, big smile on his face. It was hard to imagine he’d killed anyone, slim, gaunt. He looked like a gust of wind would’ve been his undoing. He was in for stabbing two police officers to death, and was the only man in the prison Fred and Paul hated more than Romeo.

“You going to see that hotty?”

Paul waved his baton at Will. “Back off.”

“Was only asking…”

“Yep, I’m off to see hot Holly.”

Paul glared at him. “Watch your tone.”

“Can you tell her I’ll be thinking of her?” Will said, winking.

Romeo smiled. “No. Holly’s for me.”

“In your messed-up dreams.” Paul growled.

Will snickered. “I’ll catch up with you later, Romeo.”

“We’ll have a beer at the bar.”

“Some pork scratchings?”

“Yeah, why not? I’ll treat you.”

Fred pushed Romeo in the back, encouraging him to walk.

****

94 days since he’d first agreed to meet Holly Stevenson.

Holly Stevenson, who had picked up where Marc had left off, writing the next installment in Romeo’s dramatic tale.

Psychologist. Journalist, and single. She’d dropped enough hints for Romeo to know.

Blonde hair, low cut top, and fake lashes surrounding her blue eyes. When Holly first started visiting, she kept her blouse done up to the top, her make-up minimal, and her hair tied up, but after three months of weekly interviews, she’d relaxed her uptight appearance. Romeo didn’t know whether she was trying to seduce information from him, or whether