Roland’s POV
My glare hardened as I huddled farther into the corner of Patrick’s police car. I didn’t care if my shoes were dirty, I propped them up on the seat as I curled in on myself while Patrick blabbed on. Part of secretly wished I stained the seats.
The morning had been horrible so far. My back was sore, the cramping in my stomach was persistent, and it was far to early to be doing jack shit.
In my sleep induced daze Patrick had managed to lead me to his cop car without any sort of struggle and thankfully that kept his grip on my hands as gentle as he had been the night before.
But that docile sleep induced daze was now far behind me and I was back to hating this man with everything in me.
My disinterest quickly turned to pure distaste when the dreaded question ‘Where do you want to eat’ came up.
I had simply ignored him, hoping my silence would answer the question but that hope came to an end shortly when he pulled into a fast food drive thru.
My distaste for him turned into actual dislike when he asked what I wanted. When I again didn’t answer his response was to read me the entire menu as if I were stupid and couldn’t read. I was insulting. In retaliation I again didn’t answer, not only because I didn’t like how he was treating me but also because of what was about to happen.
Within minutes I would be left at a camp I didn’t, with people I didn’t know, and as far away from home as I have ever been and it’s all his fault. I wasn’t going to allow him to try and bribe my tolerance.
Sadly when I didn’t answer he order something anyway. By the time we were pulling back onto he road he was handing me a bag while keeping another bag for himself.
I don’t move to take it though. His hand hangs there for minutes before he looks back at me with a confused look that I don’t bother answering to.
“Are you sure you don’t want anything?” My arms cross over my chest as I looked out the window to see the trees passing quickly. His voice was hard to place, somewhere between pity and disbelief but I don’t care enough to read his body to figure it out. “Well you can take it with you if you change your mind.”
My dislike for the man turned into pure hatred when he opened his mouth the very next time. The drive was entirely to long for Patrick to be talking as much as he was. From the moment he stopped talking about food he was talking about the most mindless and meaningless things be could possibly think of. By the time the car stopped again he had went into heavy detail about some old movie I have never even heard of before. I had wanted to scream at him to shut up do many times but every time I was about to I was reminded of the countless times I had been told that it wasn’t acceptable.
The car stopping was my saving grace. A cheap looking security gate stood in front of us while a mean looking guard gave a harsh glare at me before waving Patrick on through the gate.
The driveway was long and a bit winding but I committed every detail to memory until an old run down building came into view.
Patrick stiffened as he put the car in park. Before I had a chance to do anything, Patrick was hauling me out of the car and releasing me from the cuffs I had been forced into.
“Let’s get this over with,” he sighed before walking into the building, a hand on my shoulders forcing me to follow him while I couldn’t help but cringe away from the touch.
Inside was somehow worse than the outside. Water damage littered the ceiling and nearly everything seemed to be falling apart one way or another but it kept the heat in so it was doing something right.
“We need to see Mary,” Patrick said to the only other person in here. The woman sat behind the desk and barely bothered looking up before pressing a button on the old phone. A chime rang through the building. I couldn’t help but wonder what the point of the call was for; if the chime could be heard that well through the thin walls then surely Mary would have heard us come in or at the very least a slightly above average voice would catch her attention.
I kept that opinion to myself though, something tells me they wouldn’t appreciate my thinking.
Soon enough a short black haired woman popped out of the back room with a big smile on her face that didn’t reach her eyes when she looked at Patrick. I couldn’t help but feel bad for him, I had seen that look enough times to know what it meant without having to ask.
“Thank you for bringing him so quickly,” she said tightly before her eyes moved over to me, her smile becoming more genuine the second her eyes left his. “It’s Roland right?”
I don’t bother answering her as I looked down to the floor.
“Normally we would have a roommate show you around but unfortunately we don’t have that many kids this year so I’ll show you around myself! I know all the best places anyway,” she said with a laugh that seemed fake but I could be wrong before lightly touching my shoulder. I cringed out of her hold but she didn’t comment.
“I guess I’ll let you two get to it then,” Patrick said as he eased closer to the door. “I’ll be back later this week to check in on you. I hope you like it,” he said with one last smile before slipping out the door and all but speeding out of the drive way, leaving me here alone with absolute strangers.
That was the moment utter hatred turned to disappointment.
“Well let’s not waste any more time,” Mary said with another smile as she led me to the door. “We’ve got a lot to see.”
My chest tightened as I pulled my jacket closer while the cold air hit us the second we stepped out the building.
The tour had been quick but I didn’t really pay attention. My focus had been on the armed cops barely visible, lurking around in the woods.
“Oh don’t worry about them,” Mary said when she caught me staring. “They’re just here to keep everyone safe.” I wanted to scoff. This wasn’t safety, it was fear induced obedience.
Still, the camp wasn’t all bad. There had been a lake, volleyball and basketball courts, a makeshift baseball field, Mary mentioned an art class, and a library. I wouldn’t be using any of them but it was nice to know that all the jocks had some place to let out their anger aside from innocent bystanders and that the rest of us had places to hide from them.
“And this is going to be your cabin!” Mary said happily when we came to a stop. I tired hard not to turn my nose up at the sight but I don’t think I was successful judging by the look on Mary’s face. “You can decorate it! The shop I showed you has a few things or you can even make some things at the art class. It’ll look like home in no time!” Doubtful.
She didn’t wait for a response as she opened the door and walked in.
“You’ll be alone for now but we plan on getting you a roommate as soon as possible,” I cringed at the thought but she didn’t seem to care. “For now just try and get settled in. You have a credit at the shop, you can get some clothes and toiletries whenever you want. We’ll see about getting you a sponsor later but for now just take a breath, I’m sure it’s been a long day already.”
She left without another word, pulling the door shut behind her and leaving me alone in a bare cabin.
Four beds sat here the two on the left side were pushed together while the two on the right were spaced apart still. Each bed had a dresser but that was all. Who ever came before me had taken everything but the paint off the walls when they left.
I could vaguely make out five names carved into the bed frame of the beds pushed together; Jax, two c names, maybe one said Lian, and the last looked like Ryder. It felt weird knowing people had spent time here before me but I tried to shake off the feeling as I stared down at the bed.
I was filthy and I knew it. It had been days since I took anything that even remotely resembled a shower but now that I could actually take one, it didn’t seem nearly as important now that an actual bed sat in front of me.
I ran a hand across the spread, it felt cheap and thin while the bed itself was old and worn out but anything was better than the floor I had been sleeping on for the past few months.
I didn’t matter how dirty I was. I kicked off my shoes without a second thought and climbed into the bed without any bit of guilt. The second my head hit the poor excuse of a pillow a smile ghosted over my lips as I allowed my eyes to close.
I would leave soon. I had managed to break out of the most secure boy’s homes in the state without breaking a sweat; this place could be that much harder considering the guard to camper ratio was grossly in proportionate with guards being outnumbered 14:1 even with so few campers. They were over worked and surely underpaid in this place, slipping out front gate at the right time of day would be a cake walk.
I would make it out and go back home but for now, a small nap on a real bed wouldn’t hurt a damn thing.
Last updated September 19, 2022
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